Remember when prefab was frankly considered pretty awful?

Thankfully gone are the days when prefab carried the baggage of cookie-cutter design, poor construction, and the inferiority complex of not being built on site.

Now a prefab home can mean a truly preFABULOUS home - elegant, spacious, customized, built precisely to exact specifications, and complete with many positive "green" benefits, because prefab can be both kind to the environment and your budget.

This unique new book takes you inside all kinds of sensational prefab homes across the country - big and small, city, country and suburb...gives you the insights to decide if prefab is right for you and guides you on to the next step. Here is a book that will inspire you to make your dream home a reality in ways you might never have dreamed possible.

How Prefabulous will help you think "outside the box":

The advantages of prefab - strength, accuracy, big savings in time, money, the environment

The pros and cons of different prefab styles - modular, panelized, log, timber frame, concrete, steel, and hybrid construction - which are right for you?

Striking full-color photos and floor plans take you inside, outside, and all around dozens of prefab homes - a panelized California contemporary (page 68), a South Carolina modular traditional home (page 46), a cozy Idaho log chalet (page 142)... even a stunning prefab from the architect who designed Bill Gates' 40-000-sq.ft. Xanadu home (page 128)

Building lingo translated into plain English...SIPs, ICFs and CNCs spelled out, Airfloor systems explained, wood terms defined

Resource list of architects, builders, manufacturers, suppliers

Written by Sheri Koones, columnist for Home Resource and Design Magazine and author of three books, including Mainstreet Modular

"Prefab is definitely an idea whose time has come, and this is the book that tells us how to make it happen." Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House

Introduction
MODULAR
PANELIZED
SIPs
POST & BEAM/TIMBERFRAME
LOG
CONCRETE
STEEL

Customer Reviews from Amazon

Sheri Koones gets it right in this book by showcasing great homes that are factory built. So many authors would just as soon assume that manufactured "double-wides" represent factory built homes when in fact they are a small portion geared at a small demographic. Many of us have been building super homes in factories for years and it is nice to see some of us recognized. Sheri really does her homework; the chapters are full of fabulous photos and information on material and design choices and they represent a wide range of styles and sizes. The book is beautifully bound and published with a hard cover and one you will go to for inspiration whether you are building a prefab house or just renovating your kitchen or porch. This book is a must for anyone considering a prefab house and a must for anyone not! Thanks Sheri.
Holly Kelton, COO, Connor Homes.

This is one of those rare occaisons when the vast minoroty of reviewers get it right! For some reason I missed the two folks who gave it 2 or less stars and may not have taken much notice antway but buyer beware. I regret the purhase which was to a large extent based on Sarah Susanka's foreword. I have most of her books so having read this book I, like anther reviewer, fail to understand where she is coming from. It's a nice fluffy coffee table book it's only contribution to my investigating prefab applications being a clear description of the various forms but not much else.

This is a well written book that is the product of lengthly research. I will begin setting modular homes in 2009 and this was a big help.

In the author's 3/22/07 post in her blog above, she states, "In today's world I believe we are all concerned about preserving our resources and saving energy - prefab construction is an excellent option towards both of those ends." Her book, however, presents huge prefab houses as examples of this perspective. Of the 25 houses in the book, 12 are in the 5000 - 12,000+ sq. ft. range. No matter what construction method is used, excessive materials and space waste natural resources and energy.

Given that the author's previous book was Modular Mansions, it's not surprising that she recommends such wasteful houses. It is highly unfortunate, however, that Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House, chose to write the forward for this book. She said, "Prefab is definitely an idea whose time has come, and this is the book that tells us how to make it happen". Did she even look at the book before writing that recommendation? It is a total contradiction from her own books and apparent philosophy towards building houses that minimize resource use.

Usually, I find books like this very disappointing. I actually checked this one out of the library to make sure it was worth the money before I bought it. All I can say is YES, it's worth purchasing, and I cannot wait to receive my copy.

This book is a really good introduction to prefab housing options and building materials, with photos spanning the basic models to very VERY high-end examples of the houses that can be built using this approach. (I have to agree with the reviewer who said that, if you want a really in-depth look at the technical side of the process, this is not the best choice for you.) "Prefabulous" manages to make a potentially-daunting subject accessible to readers without being overly light and fluffy or using that condescending tone that so many of these types of books have. Likewise, it's been very handy to show this book to family members and neighbors who are interested in prefab housing as an idea, but don't know anything (yet!) about the nuts and bolts of the process. This book has been really eye-opening for them because of its beautiful photos and well-written, clear, concise text.

All this being said, I should probably explain that I have a Masters Degree in Urban/City Planning from an "Ivy-league" university. Even with my academic and professional training, I found this book to be very informative and fully anticipate that it will be a fine addition to my personal library.

Buy this Book  Add to Cart

Reviews provided by data from Amazon.com