CONSTRUCTION METHODS
We've selected a building system that we believe is the most sustainable for modular homes. Please note, these are NOT “mobile homes” nor “manufactured homes”. These terms make it hard to distinguish between our product and the less durable type, since they are both indeed made off site or “manufactured”!
BUILDING ENVELOPE
Our houses are built using high quality Structural Insulated Panels (SIP’s) to form a building envelope that substantially outperforms traditional stick framed buildings. Even compared with other SIP’s, the polyurethane panels LivLab uses outperform their EPS counterparts by almost double (R-value of 6.9 per inch vs. 3.84 per inch with EPS panels)!
Our walls: R34 SIP
Our Roofs: R41 SIP
Our Floors: R30 Batt
INTERIOR FRAMING & FLOORS
Our interior walls are wood framed, a mixture of 2x4 studs and 2x6 walls, depending on how much plumbing is run in each wall. This is where our plumbers and electricians like to run the majority of their work, rather than in the exterior walls and roof, which are full of rigid foam. Or floor is built from 2x12 joists and the loft floor uses 2x6 joists.
FOUNDATIONS
Our houses sit on permanent, continuous foundations, which should qualify them for any type of loan that a traditional, site built home qualifies for, as well as being permissible in more areas than mobile homes. In order to work with our modules, the foundation needs to be a stem wall with crawl space. Slabs are not possible because our houses need a floor for moving them to site so that everything inside doesn’t fall out.
ROOFS
Our modules primarily have metal, sloped roofs, but our star gazing deck on each of our Precipice House main modules have a durable, elastomeric roof that is built to withstand New Mexico sun and wear and tear from furniture/shoes.
WINDOWS
Options for windows include metal & vinyl
CONNECTING MULTI-MODULAR HOMES
For projects including multiple modules we use a Portal-Unit, which is basically a small, enclosed breezeway, to connect the modules. This gives several benefits: it eliminates the need to adjust siding and roof pitches while adding more entry options.