The Buffalo NewsBuilding Systems Magazine

Modular Homes Stronger Than Site Built, FEMA Says

Proponents of modular homes have long maintained that the building system produces structures that are far stronger than site-built housing. For one thing, the modular sections contain up to 30% more building materials than a comparable site built home to withstand the stresses of highway travel. In addition, drywall is often both glued and screwed to wall studs and triple headers are used over window openings and around stairwells to withstand the stress of transportation and being lifted by a crane.

Recently the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confirmed that modular homes withstood a hurricane far better than site-built housing. In its report “Building Performance:  Hurricane Andrew in Florida,” assessment teams from FEMA concluded that modular homes withstood the 131-155 mph winds of the Category 4 storm in August of 1992 far better than site-built housing.

“Overall, relatively minimal structural damage was noted in modular housing developments. The module-to-module combination of units appears to have provided an inherently rigid system that performed much better than conventional residential framing. This was evident in both the transverse and longitudinal directions of the modular buildings,” according to the report.