Thursday, April 19, 2007

You know that prefab housing has gone upscale and stylish when a New York builder erects an 8,000-square-foot, modular, Mediterranean mansion in the Hamptons and an Annapolis family commissions an energy-efficient, shingle-style home with enormous windows overlooking a scenic creek.

These very different dwellings are among 25 homes featured in "Prefabulous: The House of Your Dreams Delivered Fresh From the Factory," by Sherri Koones (Taunton Press, $25). She clearly explains eight types of prefab components and how they can be used to create custom log homes, traditional bungalows, timber-frame barns and concrete- or steel-frame contemporaries. All are welcome improvements over their often-ugly predecessors.

Prefab construction saves time, money and materials because everything is made to precise specs indoors. Bad weather is simply not a delaying factor. Once the foundation is set, the rest of the house -- walls, floors, dormers and roofing -- can go up in a matter of weeks or months.

How prefabulous.

Annie Groer