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Marmol Radziner Prefab

Amid the industrial expanse of Vernon, California, Marmol Radziner Prefab’s factory-built homes are pieced together in a process akin to the assembly lines made famous by Henry Ford.

marmol radziner prefab exterior finished

Marmol Radziner Prefab

Amid the industrial expanse of Vernon, California, Marmol Radziner Prefab’s factory-built homes are pieced together in a process akin to the assembly lines made famous by Henry Ford.

marmol radziner prefab weld

Structural Steel

The first workstation sits just outside the factory’s rear entrance, where deliveries of recycled steel are deposited. Here, the steel is cut to length and constructed into each module’s basic structural skeleton. Since completed homes are transported directly to the sites, sizes are strictly dictated by trucking regulations. The result lends the structure a kind of pleasing railcar feel—long, lean boxes that can be
fit together in various configurations. “Our modules are typically two different widths and can be varying lengths,” explains Todd Jerry, Marmol Radziner Prefab’s chief operating officer. “Twelve feet is the widest module that you can fit on a truck without getting a special permit. The other width of module is eight feet, which we use typically if the house is going somewhere difficult to navigate—a tight access road or a hill site.”

Once the frame is fabricated, it is then placed on a cart that rolls on tracks set into the factory floor. With the help of these ingenious tracks, the units glide easily through each workstation. The first stop for a completed steel frame is paint and prep, where the skeletons are cleaned of dirt and grease and given an application of water-based paint.

marmol radziner prefab factory siding

Finish Construction

Finish surfacing comes next—windows, drywall, cabinetry, ornamental metalwork, tiling, appliances, and fixtures are put into place. As the module makes its way to the finish line, the workstations focus on small details and refinements. “We actually bend a lot of our own sheet metal to do the details around the windows, the flashing and trim,” says Jerry. Because such a large portion of the modules’ walls are glazed, great care is paid to creating a perfect edge on the windows and doors. Roofing comes next. Hydraulic lifts raise the roof modules and set them into place. “We start setting the parapet cap down and bring the detail around that,” explains Jerry. “We use a membrane roof, so it’s just a thick sheet of rubber.” Later, at the homesite, this membrane will be fully attached to the frame’s roof, then sealed and seamed. The final step of the process is the exterior cladding, which includes exterior siding, insulation, and doors. “We do built-in cabinetry, paneling, metal handrails, and also furniture,” says Jerry. “In that way, we’re vertically integrated and have the capability of doing everything ourselves. That’s really driven by the need to deliver the high quality of finish.”

marmol radziner prefab install

Homesite Delivery

After completion at the factory, each home is shrink-wrapped and loaded onto a truck for direct site delivery. A crane drops the modules into their foundations, and the homes are ready for final detailing within a few days. “One huge advantage of prefab is you can also do your site work in parallel, so while the house is being fabricated you can prepare your site,” says Jerry. The result is not only ease of construction, but quick, start-to-finish scheduling. This means less impact on the environment, less harassment for the neighbors, and most importantly, less stress for the homeowner. Marmol Radziner has found this to be particularly beneficial on sites where land is pricey or the neighborhood dense. “Depending on permitting and customization,” says Jerry, “you can have the entire process done in less than a year.” In building terms, this amounts to nearly instant gratification.

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