Modular Construction: Reinventing the Building Process
Date Posted: April 14, 2022
Posted In: Discussion,
From BigRentz: The modular construction market has experienced a massive surge of growth over the past few years, reaching a value of $76 billion in 2021.
While modular construction currently represents a small subset of the $1 trillion construction industry, the market will only continue to grow as demand increases. More people than ever are turning to prefabrication for its on-site efficiency, improved labor productivity and safety and lower construction costs.
In addition to these benefits, modular construction represents a huge leap forward in environmental sustainability, including excellent opportunities for more responsible use of building materials and more eco-friendly designs.
Read on to learn more about the benefits of modular construction and how it works, or jump to our infographic to get a visual look at the eco-friendly features of modular buildings.
What Is Modular Construction?
Modular construction is a process that involves constructing prefabricated buildings in off-site factories and transporting them to a worksite for installation. While modular structures meet the same building codes and regulations as traditional buildings, they consist of smaller prefabricated units, called modules, which are assembled after arriving at a worksite.
In the factory, modules are built using assembly line systems and construction technology, leading to an efficient and standard process. The use of precise modeling and construction in the factory reduces the need for change orders and adjustments.
Before leaving the factory, walls, floors, roofs, doors and windows are built and installed, and wiring, plumbing and ductwork are added. Many modern modular buildings are even outfitted with fixtures and finishes before leaving the factory.
Once the modules are built, they are transported to the building site on flatbed trucks and assembled in a predetermined order, a process that uses cranes to set the modules in place onto a preset foundation.
After the modules are set in place, construction professionals seamlessly fit them together to create a unified building. The resulting structures are often finished twice as fast as similar buildings on traditional sites.
Types of Modular Buildings
There are two common types of modular buildings: permanent and relocatable. While both types consist of prefabricated materials built off-site, they differ in size and application and each serves a distinct purpose.