Westwood Modular Cabin Factory Tour Part 1

We have the land. Now we have been trying to find a home we can afford to put on it. It seems like there are a lot of choices, but once you start looking seriously, you realize they aren’t actually realistic.

Most small houses you see are not actually modular homes. They are park model homes or mobile homes.

Park models are not considered houses. They are campers. They don’t meet residential building code. Our land is not zoned for a park model cabin.

Other small modular homes are actually mobile homes. An “on-frame modular home” is built on a metal frame. I found some that were really reasonably priced. Some of them are adorable. But they count as a single-wide trailer and we are not zoned for a trailer or mobile home.

We looked at modular homes. There are some very reasonably priced options, considering how much space you get. But we aren’t looking for that much space. None of the large modular home companies will build a small, single module modular home in our area. The initial price does not include the cost of transporting two or three sections to our land. The foundation costs more. They are assembled using a crane, which doesn’t come cheap. It adds up and adds up.

We found a few companies that make prefab cottages or cabins that are a single complete unit. We got pricing on a Deer Run. They make pre-fab log cabins and log cabin kits, but they can also make things that are less rustic. We’re not going to spend this much money without seeing them in real life first. They are five and a half hours away.

In the mean time, I found Westwood Cabins. They for sure make modular homes. Small, but modular.

This is a modular home that comes complete with engineered drawings and paperwork showing home inspections have been completed. This documentation will be accepted by your local inspector.

They are built in South Carolina. The factory is not even 2 hours away, so we decided to drive down and see how they build their cabins.

We’d love to meet you and give you a factory tour of our production facility located in Due West, South Carolina. It’s where all the magic happens when we build your Westwood modular cabin!

Westwood Homes Prefab Cabin Factory Tour

This is what we saw.

This is the offices. The gentleman who showed us around was ready and waiting, even though we were early. (It was really easy to find and there was no traffic to slow us down.)

There are two huge warehouses. This is the one where the cabins are built.

A house is being built behind each of these doors.

The doors are high enough to move the cabin out when it’s finished.

This is a wall being framed. Once the wall is finished, they insulate it before the cabin is assembled.

The houses are built just like you would build on your own land, but inside a building instead of out in the weather.

They use the same materials. The cabin shells we looked at were built more like a shed. These are not at all built like a shed.

They are framing the interior walls. The power is run.

These cabins are built to the same residential building code as a house you might build on your own land.

The modular home plans are reviewed and approved by the state the house is going to, not the state where the house is being built.
At each stage of construction, the house is inspected. They can’t cover up the framing and electric until an inspector has signed off.

That’s one of the problems with the modular homes I see on Facebook Marketplace. They were built without being inspected. They often have issues that would have prevented the plans from being approved in the first place. Even if they build everything to code, once it’s all hidden behind walls, there is no way for an inspector to see it.

The walls, ceiling and floor are insulated.

You can get single-hung or double-hung vinyl windows.

What is the difference between single-hung and double-hung windows? If the bottom pane goes up, but the top pane doesn’t move, that’s a single-hung window. Double-hung windows can open either direction. The bottom window pane can slide up or the top window can slide down. In some cases you can even tilt the window panes and open the whole window. To lock a double-hung window you have to squeeze the top pane up and the bottom pane down enough to get the lock to lock.

Power is run to meet the building code for the state where the cabin will be delivered, in our case, North Carolina.

The house comes with plenty of recessed LED lighting.

This was the first thing that REALLY impressed me. The exterior siding.

The siding is BEAUTIFULLY put together. Once it’s painted, you might never notice. But it is just beautifully finished.

The interior walls and ceiling are wood. I love the nice pitch of the roof.  I love so many things about these cabins!

Next we walked over to look at some of the completed cabins that are waiting to be delivered.

It was good to be able to see so many different homes. Because each person designs what they want, they really help you to see what is possible.

This is one of the bedrooms. I love the shaker style doors. They are nice and solid. I like the double doors to the closet, too.

This is a bathroom in one of the smallest pre-fab cabins. It was hard to get a photo. The bathroom is small, but has room for a shower and a stacked washer and dryer.

The bathroom and kitchen cabinets are not particle board. They are real wood and put together beautifully. I know, I keep saying that, but really, I am so impressed by the craftsmanship.

If you’ve read this blog, you notice I’m not terribly critical. But, I’m usually not impressed. I am impressed.

This is the tankless water heater. In this model they put it in the back of the bedroom closet.

This is the inside part of the mini split. They also can put in a version that has an air handler with ducts and vents.

This is the outside part of the heat pump.

I took almost 200 photos, so there is more to come. See more photos and floor plans at www.westwoodcabins.com and www.facebook.com/westwoodcabins.