I would like to know if anyone has used them, and if so, how satisfied were you. We are going to be building a house, and they are close by. Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

-- Lobo (kdavis3@pdq.net), February 10, 2002

Answers

I didn't think they were still in biz anymore. They sorta do a owner sweat equity deal. Had a good friend who dealt with them a couple of times, but they never completed a home they started. That was in FL & TX. Last I heard, parts of company went bankrupt.

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), February 10, 2002.

A friend had Walters build a house for them. The blockwork supporting the house settled resulting in cracks.

After a heavy snow, the roof sagged so much they were worried about it collapsing. Turns out the contractor skimped on some of the bracing. Walters wouldn't so anything about it.

Unless you understand good construction practice, can read architectural drawings, and can be there when critical work is going on such as foundation pours, etc., don't take a chance with Walters.

-- Darren (df1@infi.net), February 10, 2002.

Have you given any consideration to a manufactured house vs. a stick-built house?

It seems the "Manufactured Home Industry" has really made great strides in their quality of materials, design, and craftsmanship during the last few years. I found out that many meet (or exceed) the same standardized building codes set forth by NEA, SBCCI, and others that regular stick-built homes must meet. They can be ordered with 5/12 & 7/12 pitch roofs now (vs. the old 3/12 pitch that gave it away as a mobile home) and you can also get them to add in extra lumber, and siding & shingles if you want to build an attached porch or a garage when you receive it. With the tall outside rooflines, the inside had cathedral ceilings too.

I don't live in a manufactured home, nor am I involved in that industry but we recently toured a factory where I was totally impressed at the craftsmanship that was being done. When I found out they can build a home for a cost of 60- 65 percent of what the same home would be if it was on-site built by a local contractor, I was just amazed. This comes from me being a former building inspector who felt mobile homes were tornado magnets! [grin]

When I asked them how they could be so-oo much cheaper (you get what you pay for) they told me it was the volume in which they could do it. Efficiency was their biggie. All of their lumber usage has been designed so there is virtually no waste and the walls were built in jigs. All leftover scraps are used in the next home they build. All materials are stored inside and the homes are built inside a HUGE building too. Weather does not damage materials or cause delays in construction.

Second was their ability to buy materials at great prices. They told me they built 8 double wide modular homes a week. Figure if they used Moen faucets in the kitchen, they would use over 400 of those in a years time. Heck I bet my local "Home Debit" don't sell that many kitchen faucets in two years! That basically means they can buy direct in quantities. Same thing for lumber. They told us they went through a train load (not a train car ... a full train) of lumber every 3-4 weeks and it came straight from mill ... no middleman. The train tracks came right up to the edge of the building where they unloaded it.

I hope this helps some and the only reason I even commented is because we had just seen everything first hand and the experience was pretty awesome. I have told you about everything I know and so if you have any specific questions and I will try to answer it if I can. Maybe someone out there knows something that I don't about these homes but from what we saw, I would never go through the pain and agony of doing a custom site-built home.

Ohh and BTW; they can do as much or as little as you want on the interior. If you just want the drywall hung and you do the taping and floating yourself, or maybe the wallpapering and painting, you can order it that way too.

-- BRENT in 10-uh-C (bt@nospam.com), February 11, 2002.

A Jim Walter home of comparable size to a doublewide manufactured home is more expensive especially when you consider that you are getting a shell that YOU have to complete (You can pay them to do so and I am sure they hope you do since then the home is no longer affordable). But why would anyone even consder either of these options? A block home can be built for the same money! Not only will the block home last longer, it will appreciate where the manufactured will depreciate. Another thing to take into consideration is financing. A motgage on a site built home is on average around 7% where the manufactured is running 11%. The going price on the three is around $70,000. Say you finance 65,000. At 7% the finace charges will run about 90,000 versus at 11% the charges will run 158,000. BIG DAMN DIFFERANCE!!!!!

Diana

-- Diana (dvance4@juno.com), February 11, 2002.

If you're thinking about doing a block home, you should consider ICF's or Insulated Concrete Forms. Blue Poly, Blue Maxx and Poly Steel are all about the same product. Here are additional sites:http://www.polysteel.com/whyuseit.htm http://www.cdsnet.net/Business/Polysteel/photos.htm

Stuff has been around for a long time, under various names. Why use it? Well for one reason, sound deadening...you can't hear the freeway next door or the airport down the road. And, how about it having a fire retardant put in during the mfg process. All very good reasons. I'm sure there are many more.

What do I do? The family has been building foundations in the midwest for about 75-yrs. and I do a little bit of that in WY, but also build alternative homes (straw bale) for those who are unable to afford other types. Also do septic systems. Not advertising my services. Only to inform.

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.

My dad used to work in a Jim Walters Coal mine for 15 years. One day they just closed the mines. No warning no nothing. They learned about the closing from the local news. In my opinion I would not buy a stick of wood from Jim Walters much less have them build a home. They don't have a good reputation. But that is just my opinion. You can only do what you can do.

-- Jeff (jeff@jeff.com), February 11, 2002.

I saw this house and if it's still the same company, it's a disgrace. http://www.nternet.com/~donlee/jim.html

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.

As a builder I am familiar with Jim Walter homes. They use materials that I would never use. They are over priced for the quality that they offer. I wouldn't even consider them. Period.

David Constantin

-- David Constantin (cajundavid@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.

Call the Better Business Bureau which covers your area and ask if they have a file on Jim Walters Homes. National is something like www.bbb.org. Seems like locals are something like www.bbb.(city).org.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 11, 2002.

Thanks for your answers. I don't think I will be using Jim Walters. I will go back to more research. Thanks again.

Lobo

-- Lobo (kdavis3@pdq.net), February 11, 2002.

I applied for a job as a receptionist once at a Jim Walters Homes place that was local . . . . many years ago. What I heard while sitting there in their front lobby will affect my opinions about Jim Walter's for the rest of my life!!!

Among other things the two "employees" were joking and laughing about the fact that a person had paid for one type of material to be used in the framing/building of the home and that they were switching to "this type" of material without telling them and how the person was "too dumb" to notice the difference, etc.

I decided then and there that if this was the business practice of this company I would not only never purchase a building from them, I also did not want to work for them . . . . and informed them that I had changed my mind about applying for the job. . . thanks anyway.

-- quinn wolfe (wolfiequinn@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.

Also look into UNIBUILT homes. They are built in a factory and brought on site on a trailer. A large crane sets the sections on a slab or basement. They come with the roofs hinged on the side. They are then jacked up and connected to their opposite section. A friend used them and is very pleased with the results. It was flexible enough to where a local builder added a garage and three-story tower. If you would like to talk about it directly with him, contact me and I'll forward your request. He can then contact you directly.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 15, 2002.

Since you live in Tornado Alley, I would think you'd want something that holds up well in those storms. You should consider building with ICF's http://www.insulatingconcretehomes.com/thermasteel.html

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), February 16, 2002.