A year ago, I had clients who got fed up with bad designs in expensive new construction. Instead, they set out to find land to put a modular home on. When they looked at what modular homes had to offer, they were pleasantly surprised. Since then, two of my clients have chosen the modular route to a new home. Both, as it turns out, ended up with the same builder.

A lot of my old opinions were replaced by moderate curiosity and later a favorable opinion. Today, I am a true fan. Last Thursday, I attended my first “house setting.” It was really fun. My clients were there, cameras in hand. Neighbors came to watch. A week before, the land was a pile of dirt! Now a new house has joined the neighborhood.

The house came down on two trucks from New Hampshire. A crane put the first half on the foundation. (I’ve never seen a half a house swing around on a crane before; it looked like a doll house because the cabinets and plate rail were already installed.) Then they nailed plastic on the marriage wall of the second half and swung it into place. A little ratcheting to tighten them together and voila! The house is set. The roof was flat for transport, but it folded up to a peak. By early afternoon, both halves were set and connected. The roof was up. By the middle of the afternoon, the house was ready for our rainy summer.