CONSTRUCTION METHODS

We’ve chosen a system of building that we believe to be the most sustainable for modular homes. These are NOT mobile / manufactured homes.

SUPERIOR 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)!

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. 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. For those who wish to save on concrete by exploring alternative foundation solutions, our engineer can design & stamp a foundation for a small fee (probably under $500).

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

Multiple levels of cost, but all durable and high performance, similar to site built homes.

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 the versatility of more entry options.