One of the most common questions home builders get asked is “What is the difference between a traditional home and a manufactured home, and which is better?” If you’re considering building your own home on your property, you’ve likely wondered this yourself.
Constructing a traditional (“stick-built”) home on your land is a different experience than buying a ready-made home and having it transported to your lot. The resulting home is likely to be different in terms of layout, structure, materials, features, and design.
Keep reading to learn 5 must-know facts about stick-built homes and how they differ from prefabricated (“prefab”) houses!
1. Stick Built Homes are Constructed On-Site
Unlike prefab homes, which are typically constructed in bulk in factories and transported in sections to their permanent locations, stick-built homes are constructed on-site. If you’re building your own home from the ground up on your land, it’s a stick-built home.
Because construction takes place on the homeowner’s property, stick-built homes are likely to be built by a local construction company, using local labor and materials. Even if you buy a modular or manufactured home from a local company, it’s unlikely you’ll ever meet or interact with the builders.
With a stick-built home, you’ll watch your home be built on your land, and you’ll work with a project manager and construction team on each aspect of your home.
2. Traditional Building Techniques
Although “stick-built” may sound like it involves a new fancy technique, the construction process used to build these homes is traditional. In fact, stick-building is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the process of building a house. It involves building a wooden-framed structure, piece by piece — or stick by stick.
Also sometimes referred to as “site-built” homes, stick-built homes are constructed on-site using tried-and-true home building techniques. Each and every component, down to the lumber and siding, is brought to the home’s permanent location and the home is manually constructed.
3. Construction is Customizable
Since prefab homes are made in factories, they tend to be pretty standard in terms of materials, layouts, and design features.
Because of the way they’re built and the fact that you’re likely to be working closely with a local construction company, stick-built homes are fairly easy to add custom features.
Although they’re generally more customizable than prefab homes, you can still find ready-to-use floor plans intended for stick-built construction. In fact, many on-your-property home builders offer prepared floor plans with standard features and then allow homeowners to choose from custom features.
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4. A Stick Built Home is Affordable
It’s a common misconception that you have to spend more money to have a stick-built home constructed on your property than you would for a prefab home. On the surface, it may seem like a prefab or manufactured home is more affordable, but stick-built homes don’t involve the added cost of transporting a factory-built home across the Pacific Northwest and also tend to require less maintenance over time. Financing issues are also more common with manufactured homes than stick-built homes.
A local construction company that focuses on stick-built homes, and has financing options up to 100% through our list of approved lenders, can help you:
- Secure a high-quality construction loan at the best rates
- Provide engineering plans and offer permit assistance packages
- Stick to your budget (HiLine Homes offers a price-lock guarantee — once the foundation is poured, your price is locked in and will never increase.)
5. Build Home Equity
Stick-built homes hold their value better than modular homes, often increasing in appraised value over time, partly because stick-built home builders are able to use the newest and best technologies and materials in their projects.
Prefab homes are typically produced in bulk, so once they’re designed, they tend to use the same building techniques and materials to construct them.
Importantly, stick-built homes are built to last. Traditional home builders can incorporate custom features, new durable materials, and energy-saving technologies as soon as they become available. These include:
- Energy efficient dual-glazed windows that block UV rays and control temperature
- Temperature and noise-controlled floor-to-ceiling insulation
- Energy-efficient light fixtures
- Siding and roofing built to resist moisture and decay
Looking to build a new home on your property?
If you’re planning to build a brand new custom home on your own land in the Pacific Northwest, you’ve come to the right place. HiLine Homes is a local home construction company with over 25 years of experience building beautiful, affordable custom homes from the ground up. Our building program is designed to allow families to build their dream home and create equity for their future.
Browse our floor plans and contact us today to learn more about our building program and to discuss your project.
