About five years ago, I was introduced to modular building while touring several of the largest housing factories in Japan. North of Tokyo, I watched a fully finished house assembled by crane from eight modules that were produced in just 45 minutes on a factory assembly line. Since that time, I've had a chance to look at what's available from U.S. manufacturers. While I was developing a 15-unit "for sale" modular housing project for St. Louis this past year, I visited factories and developments across the country to evaluate the "industrialized" approach. I came away impressed with the benefits that modular construction can have for the small builder. The quality
