Talk:Manufactured housing
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[edit] Proposal to merge articles
In addition to Prefabricated home, this article should perhaps also be merged with Mobile home. └UkPaolo/talk┐ 18:19, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Manufactured housing should be separate from prefabricated or modular homes because manufactured houses in the USA are built to Federal (HUD) standards and other off-site built homes are built to local standards. --66.27.61.202 17:01, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
- Standards are different everywere this is still a prefabricated house. Merger would be best. --Dahlis 10:12, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
-- Regardless, the terms have very different use in the US. Manufactured homes (previously known as mobile homes) are a specific type of pre-fabricated home. Suggestion: Merge Manufactured housing and Mobile home under Manufactured Housing - HUD Code and leave Prefabricated home as the more general entry on factory built housing. --24.153.227.130 10:51, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
I think they should all be together - Mobile, Manufactured, Modular and Prefabricated (or, perhaps, Factory Built) Homes. The main difference between a new manufactured home and a new modular home is the codes under which they are built. Once in place, the home owner and neighbors cannot tell the difference. --Jrioux 23:36, 24 June 2006 (UTC)
"Prefabricated housing" is similar to "Factory-Built housing" and both are umbrella names for different types of homes built in a factory. This includes manufactured, modular, panelized, kit and pre-cut homes. It is not the same as manufactured housing. They should not be merged.
While the terms are often used interchangeably, mobile homes and manufactured homes have a legal distinction. Mobile homes are legally homes built before June 1976, when the HUD Code went into effect. Mobile homes were built to voluntary consensus standards. Manufactured Homes are built to the national HUD Code. --Mobindc 11:04, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
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- disagree The articles should be merged, but manufactured housing should be moved into prefabricated home - the latter is a clearer definition in that it implies that the article is about physical homes and their construction. Manufactured housing also implies the abstract case of 'manufacturing' housing (e.g. using an office as a home by redesignating it as residential) so this term is therefore less precise. Anon.
User Mobindc is incorrect in his/her terminology description. Mobile homes are factory-built housing on a roadable frame with axles and wheels, designed to be towed to the site where they will be used. Manufactured housing, prefabricated housing and all other similarly called factory-built housing are designed to be transported in modular form on tractor-trailers, and do not include road gear at any time in their existence. It has nothing to do with HUD, legal distinctions, or the year they were built.
I disagree with "Anon.", above, about Prefabricated home. Houses are built, but home is an abstract concept. Such twisted English is promulgated by real estate agents and building contractors, but shouldn't be used in an encyclopædia. Mobile home should be kept as a separate article, for the reasons stated in the above paragraph. Therefore, I think that Prefabricated home and Manufactured housing be merged into Manufactured housing. —QuicksilverT @ 18:35, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
Manufactured housing is a technical term for a house built to a specific HUD building code whereas Prefabricated home is a general expression for homes that are built in factories. Manufactured housing is just one type of Prefabricated home. Prefabricated home is a superset of Manufactured housing. They are not synonymous and should not be merged.
Also I disagree with Jrioux comment that manufactured and modular homes are indiscernable from each other once installed. There are many simple visible differences, not the least of which is the height that Manufactured Housing is raised above ground to accommodate the permanent chassis and axle system.MikeD888 07:53, 27 September 2006 (UTC)
As an active member of the manufactured housing industry, it seems that lumping non HUD Code housing into the same category as HUD Code housing will only add to the confusion that already exists. There are differences between even manufactured and modular homes and each type has both advantages and disadvantages that are important enough that people looking for information should be able to find with as little confusion as possible.
I would agree that the term manufactured home is an overly broad designation, but it is the generally accepted one for a HUD Code home and to try and correct it at this point would only serve to confuse readers more. It would take the cooperation of many other sources and many years to clear up the confusion, and it cannot be done through a single source like this one. People are still calling HUD Code homes trailers and mobile homes and often local or state governments are still using the term mobile home in current legislation regulating manufactured homes.
I agree with the statement that manufactured and modular homes can be indiscernable after installation, but given that requires a pit to be dug and lined with concrete, this is more often not done because of the increased costs. While a pit set is preferred and has been around since the late 1970s, 90% of HUD Code houses are not set that way.
I would strongly suggest not merging articles.
I do not think the articles should be merged. Manufactured homes are legally defined under federal law that delineates them as structures that have a chassis and meet the HUD-Code. The federal law also specifically excludes other forms of factory-built homes from that definition.
Most states have a definition of modular home, as a home that is built in module components off-site, and built to meet prevailing state or local building code.
The two should remain different and separate since they are.
Panelized homes are also different and should remain different. They are homes built in two-dimensional pieces (walls, floors, ceilings) to local code and assembled on-site.
First, let me disclose that I have worked in the manufactured housing industry, both as an employee at the Manufactured Housing Institute and now a contractor, since 1995. I disagree with merging these two terms, they are completely different types of housing. In fact, most site-built homes have some prefabricated trusses and/or wall units. Manufactured Homes are those built to the HUD Code, and I think this is very relevant to the discussion because they are handled and regulated very differently than either modular or prefab housing. As for looks, you would be surprised with how widely this varies. In some states, many manufactured homes are placed on full basements or other permanent foundations, making them very unlikely to be moved again. Also, some manufactured homes have gotten variance letters from HUD that allow them to be shipped with a hinged roof, erasing the tell-tale roof line. Then many others look as we would expect. So, my vote would be to keep these entries separate, they are very different animals. --Kamichat 21:43, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
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This article should not be merged with the Prefab article, for reasons others have already sufficiently articulated. However, it makes sense to merge Manufactured Home with Mobile Home, since they already contain a significant amount of overlap in terms of content (and they refer to similar and often confused structures). An alternative would be to clearly separate the information into two independent articles, since right now there is actually more "manufactured home" information at the "mobile home" article. 68.61.241.968.61.241.9 08:03, 10 December 2006 (UTC)DB
