The 17 Best Modular Prefab Builders in California

Are you planning to buy a house in California? A custom-built home in the Golden State might be a dream come true for many, but you will need to spend a great deal of time, effort, and money to turn this dream into reality.

If you want to enjoy the benefits of your own custom-built home, but would rather not have to deal with a team of engineers, architects, and construction workers, then a modular or prefabricated home might be the best option for you.

Why Opt for a Modular Home?

Modular homes (often also referred to as prefab homes) offer a wide variety of benefits, including enhanced labor productivity, onsite efficiency, and worker safety. Furthermore, prefab buildings have lower construction costs, and are therefore more affordable than traditional homes.

The high cost of traditional construction in California, compared to other states, has made prefab homes particularly attractive to buyers. This is because modular homes are built in off-site factories, before being assembled at the final construction site. The home is fabricated in small units known as modules, with the help of the latest construction technology and assembly-line systems.

Once the modules have been designed and built in a factory, they are then transported to the building site, installed onto a pre-set foundation, and assembled with cranes, in accordance with a predetermined blueprint.

Due to this efficient, streamlined system, modular homes can typically be constructed twice as fast as traditional, site-built homes. Another advantage is that the construction of a modular home will not have to be delayed (or put on hold) due to poor weather conditions.

Modular prefab homes are equally good for the planet. The construction of a modular home generates less waste, since numerous modules are constructed simultaneously. Excess material – which would have been discarded during a traditional construction process – can simply be reused on a different module being fabricated within the same factory.

Since a modular home can be constructed much faster than a traditional one, it also minimizes on-site energy expenditure. Lastly, modular prefab homes can be easily disassembled once they are no longer in use, so that the individual parts or ‘modules’ can then be reused or recycled for new residential projects.

Considering that traditional construction activities generate over 56 million tons of waste every year, modular homes are by far the more sustainable option.

Choosing a Modular Prefab Builder

While modular homes certainly have some distinct advantages, the benefits will depend largely on the quality of your home. Not all prefab home builders are alike, so you have to be careful to choose a company that offers high-quality materials and excellent service at a reasonable price.

Here’s a list of the best modular prefab builders in California, along with some of their distinctive features and benefits.

Cover

A renowned manufacturer of modular prefab homes, Cover makes use of a component-based, panelized building system and a special, proprietary software to design and build homes that are tailored to the needs of each buyer.

Their homes are functional, environmentally sustainable, and designed to take advantage of the natural light and winds in the chosen area.

Cover takes care of the entire home-building process for its clients, including design, construction, engineering, permitting, and more. This company will provide you with a beautiful, durable, affordable, and eco-friendly home, while taking up very little of your time and energy during the construction process. 

Method Homes

This company manufactures customized, precision-engineered, modular prefab homes on a budget. All their homes are designed to be sustainable and have net-zero features, which allows them to meet ENERGY STAR, Passive House, LEED, and other certification standards.

They achieve their environmental sustainability goals by focusing on energy-efficient appliances and systems, tight building envelopes, and waste reduction through reusing and recycling building materials. Method can also build your custom, ecofriendly home 60 percent faster than a traditional, on-site builder. 

Clever Homes Prefab

Clever Homes specializes in the construction of unique, efficient, and sustainable prefab homes. They will guide you through the entire home building process – starting from home design and cost analysis, to dealing with suppliers, obtaining permits, and installing appliances. 

Courtesy of Clever Homes

This company has several in-house planners and architects, capable of designing and building a customized modular home that is perfect for your needs. With more than two decades of experience in the design and construction of modular prefab homes, Clever Homes is one of the most reputed firms in the prefab construction industry.

Connect Homes

This California-based modular prefab builder aims to push the boundaries of modern, functional home design by emphasizing open concept plans, natural light, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Connect Homes prioritizes transparent pricing, and helps clients deal with the stress of constructing a house.

With rising real-estate prices and construction costs, their modular prefab homes can be designed, constructed, and installed at the building site at a fraction of the cost of a traditionally-built home. Their transparent pricing system ensures that, even before the order is placed, you will know exactly how much your finished home will cost. 

Ecosteel

If a sustainable and durable home is your priority, then you cannot go wrong with Ecosteel. They partner with reputed developers and architects to build unique, pre-engineered steel structures that can be used for both residential and commercial purposes.

Each Ecosteel home is built on a base of steel-insulated panels wrapped around one or more commercial-grade steel frames. This system ensures that each building is extremely durable, strong, versatile, and energy-efficient. Before the construction begins, the Ecosteel team will create a 3D model of your future prefab home, for your approval. 

House Port

The House Port offers a unique, prefabricated wall and roof system that helps minimize the cost of home construction. It also ships all the components or modules, flat-packed for easy transport, from factories close to the construction site, whenever possible. This reduces fuel costs, generates less waste, and keeps CO₂ emissions to a minimum.

The modular prefab homes designed and built by the House Port are typically open plan, stylish, sustainable, and easy to customize according to your personal taste. The homes built by this company have substantial interior space and are built from non-toxic, recyclable materials.

SageModern

The architects and designers at SageModern take a sustainable, efficient, and aesthetic approach to building modular prefabricated homes. All the modules for homebuilding are fabricated in a quality-controlled factory setting, before being delivered to the construction site for assembly.

The company focuses mainly on the efficient use of space and materials – to reduce waste and make the most of every penny spent on the project. To this end, SageModern homes are constructed using innovative designs, systems, and appliances to reduce resource consumption and enhance the comfort and beauty of the house.

Meka Modular

Since its inception in 2009, Meka Modular has been creating durable, comfortable, and ecofriendly prefab homes. Each building is designed to make the best use of all the available space, as well as the natural resources like sunlight and wind.

The prefab homes constructed by Meka Modular also meet all local building codes and are designed to withstand floods, earthquakes, strong winds, and other climatic factors. The company offers a wide array of prefab models for you to choose from.

Avava Dwellings

The modular prefab homes manufactured by Avava Dwellings can be easily and rapidly assembled at the construction site. Each residential project is designed to be durable, sustainable, and energy efficient. The company aims to simplify the process of home construction and reduce the amount of time spent between design and installation.

Each module manufactured by Avava Dwellings is exceptionally adaptable, meaning that all the elements of the home can be serviced, repaired, or upgraded over the years, as technology evolves, materials change, and new appliances are installed. This adds to the longevity of the house as a whole.

Ma Williams

With a focus on providing clients with affordable living spaces, Ma Williams offers a wide range of standard floor plans for their modular prefab homes. However, they also allow for customized floor plans for some of their projects.

If you’re looking for a modular prefab builder in California that is competent, environmentally conscious, and incredibly affordable, then Ma Williams is exactly right for you.

Additionally, the architects and designers at Ma Williams are very customer-friendly, and will try their best to understand and deliver exactly what you’re looking for in your dream home.

All American Modular

This company handles the design, assembly, financing, foundation work, and construction of modular prefab homes in California. Each element of a modular home is sourced from the best suppliers around the country, ensuring durability and comfort. All American Modular will also provide you with custom floor plans and specification sheets that meet your exact requirements.

Time-tested craftsmanship is combined with cutting-edge technology at their factories, to design, engineer, and assemble world-class living spaces. Ecofriendly construction materials and energy-efficient appliances also make their modular prefab homes environmentally sustainable.

Cutting Edge Homes

This is a vertically integrated company that oversees the design, engineering, permit application, and construction of modular prefab homes. CuttingEdge does not outsource any of its functions, so you can be sure that each element of your new home will be designed and fabricated in a quality-controlled environment at their own factory.

Some of the services that this company provides include land acquisition, financing, home construction, project management, and home setup. They employ a comprehensive team of engineers and consultants to oversee the entire process to your satisfaction.

Factory OS

This company aims to revolutionize home construction and fix America’s housing crisis, one prefab home at a time. To this end, they combine tried-and-tested manufacturing techniques with pioneering technology to build multifamily modular homes that are highly functional and affordable.

The multifamily buildings constructed by Factory OS are tech-ready, energy-efficient, and extremely well-designed. They can be built 50 percent faster – and cost approximately 40 percent less – than traditional site-built homes. The bulk of the construction is done offsite, and the various elements or modules need only be assembled quickly at the construction site.

Plant Prefab

Custom construction, healthy and sustainable building materials, efficient fabrication process, world-class design, and extreme longevity are some of the major benefits of a Plant Prefab home. The company offers some standard home designs, as well as architectural design services for those who want a more customized living space.

Each modular prefab home manufactured by this company is optimized for maximum airflow, natural daylight, and above-average insulation. Many of their homes are designed to meet the LEED Platinum standards of energy efficiency and sustainability.

US Modular Inc.

This is a second-generation developer and manufacturer of prefabricated buildings in Point Loma, California. They build both single- and multi-family units that are affordable, sustainable, and extremely well-designed.

US Modular uses both the volumetric modular construction and panelized construction methods to build prefabricated homes of all shapes and sizes.

In the former, entire sections of the house – including the floors, walls, and ceilings – are built in a factory before being transported to the construction site. In panelized construction, however, only the interior and exterior wall panels are built in a factory, with the rest of the building constructed on-site.

Dvele

Dvele offers a wide array of cutting-edge, customizable, prefab homes that exceed all standards of efficiency, sustainability, and quality. On their website, you will find a readily available selection of modular homes with customizable interior and exterior options, to help you get started on your home-building journey.

You will also get the option to create a custom ‘lookbook’ containing your favorite exterior and interior finishes and designs. The home design – and the budget for the entire process – will be finalized before the first day of construction.

kitHaus

This company designs and delivers state-of-the-art prefab homes that are functional as well as aesthetically appealing. Each kitHaus construction is custom-configured, assembled on-site from modules pre-engineered in a factory. Their patented lightweight construction system ensures that kitHaus can transport its prefabricated modules to even the most remote construction sites.

Furthermore, these prefab homes can be customized with some special kitHaus finishes and accessories, like beautiful hardwood decks, vanity shower fixtures, and wooden canopies. Apart from homes, kitHaus has also designed prefab studios, pop-up kiosks, and weekend retreats in California.

Conclusion

If you want to build a custom, eco-friendly, and affordable home in California, then you should definitely check out the modular builders we have discussed in this article. Among them, you will certainly find a builder that is perfect for your needs, and will help you construct the modular home of your dreams!

Also, be sure to check out our list of modular home builders in neighboring states like Oregon, and our post on the top sustainable green builders in the California, as many of the companies featured also construct modular homes, and may service your area of the Golden State.

Best of luck!