Modular and Green in the Northeast

Comfort, quality and convenience are the cornerstones of Preferred Building Systems, which prides itself on its energy efficiency.

Preferred Building Systems offers modular homes that can be summed up in three words: comfort, quality, and convenience.
Energy efficiency is the cornerstone of the company’s offerings, with homes that incorporate the Energy Star program and its Home Energy Rating System, a third party agency that rates how much energy a home will use. The system breaks the results down into tangible operating costs for the homeowner.
“We provide a home that uses less energy but doesn’t have to compromise on comfort,” said vice president Bryon Huot. “It’s the convenience of knowing that the operating costs of a home are going to be manageable that attracts homeowners.”
Huot says the Energy Star rating us largely dependent on how well they build and what methods are applied in the factory. Thermal envelope comprised of the wall and ceiling to exterior are critical to the energy savings.
“Our homes’ wall assembly is tight,” Huot said, adding that his company’s homes don’t have the drafts found in conventional homes. “We’re building in a controlled environment. We make the wall and ceiling so that it’s tighter and there’s not as much drafts and leaks.”
The company, based in Claremont, N.H., makes many different styles and sizes of modular homes ranging from an 800 sq. ft. ranch to a luxury modular mansion. Preferred Building also does expandable capes, two–story houses, and multi–family apartment complexes.
Custom designs are primarily used but the company does use a stock plan for ranches, capes, colonials, and duplexes.
The company sells to and works with a builder to facilitate the process with
the client.
There are benefits to the builder to go with a modular home. The building materials are not sitting out in the elements while the rest of the building is being worked on. It also allows the builder to have parallel scheduling.
“While the builder is digging the foundation, we’re at the plant building the pieces to the house,” Huot said. “When the foundation is poured there’s less time before the pieces show up to
be assembled.”
The company enables the builder to have an easier time putting up a house. Once the pieces are on the foundation, the builder’s work load is not as extensive.
“We are basically the builder’s subcontractor. We’re supplying a piece of the puzzle, he said. “The builder has less costly overruns on the job.”
 LaValley Building Supply is the largest independently owned building materials supplier in Vermont and New Hampshire. The company also serves Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The company owns one sawmill and  ten lumberyard locations. Huot’s grandfather founded LaValley Building Supply in 1962. Bryan Huot’s father, Larry Huot, is currently president. Bryan Huot’s grandfather started building roof trusses and wall panels, and his business acted as a full–service lumberyard. During the years to follow, his grandfather developed a door shop assembling door units and he also established operations in several other locations, including Vermont and New Hampshire.
In 2006 the company purchased a facility in Claremont, N.H., and retooled it to manufacture modular homes and into the company it is today. Bryan Huot worked his way up through the company having worked in sales, assembly, and drafting and design.
“It was the next logical step for our company,” Huot said, adding that he sees the future of modular homes as being strong. “It’s gaining popularity as far as a method to build,” he said.
The company’s dedication to energy efficiency helps out the builders as well as the clients.
The company manufactures homes that are 30 to 35 points towards LEED certification.
“That’s significant,” Huot said. “We’ve made his (builder’s) life a little bit easier because we’ve gotten thehimm closer to the bronze, silver, and gold type ratings.”
Particular attention is given to insulation, windows, ventilation, doors and how the walls are made. Sub flooring is made of materials that are low VOC.
“When we put products together we take care to pay attention to the small details,” Huot said.
The type of heating and cooling system is up to the builders, as is the type of appliances to the customers.
The company’s drafts people work with architects and builders on a daily basis. Every building that is built is third party approved.
“The drafts people do the calculations of the home and send them off to a third party agency where they inspect details of the plans to make sure it conforms to building codes,” Huot said. “We also have an inspector who inspects our production line. It’s a highly documented way to build.”
Huot said they have certain builders they work with, but that they also attend trade shows for builders and homeowners, architectural shows, and residential design shows.
The company has 45 employees and some have been with the company for quite a while.
“We reward our employees. And we’re a family company so in many ways we are able to have a closer relationship,” Huot said. “We’re still building our business but we have staff who have been in the industry for over twenty years.”
Huot believes the modular home industry as a whole is continuing to improve since its high point in 2005–06. He noted that in those years 2 million homes were being built in the country and last year that number fell to
half a million.
“That’s affected anybody and everybody. It takes a nation to build a home if you look at the supply chains,” he said.
“Because of the product involved, the future is bright in home building. There’s a lot of good people in the industry,” he said adding that modular homes particularly have a bright future because of the benefits they provide to homebuilders.
In five years, Huot said he sees the company remaining as the leading modular home company in the northeast.
“We produce practical, energy–efficient homes,” he said.
And with an offering like that, customers are certain to flock to the company in years to come. CLT