Clayton Homes Goes Mod with New i-House Pods

Reminiscent in shape of old-style mobile homes, the i-house’s contemporary styling and high-end, energy-efficient components bring it well into the 21st Century.

Credit: Clayton Homes

The architect added a fourth--different--and the i-house was born.

With its slanted “butterfly” roof and contemporary finishes, it looks nothing like anything else in the company’s current stable of traditional modular and manufactured homes. Those houses work hard to look like on-site-built homes.

This home’s narrow, rectangular form and tight, bare-bones floor plan harks back to its trailer park roots, despite its strong contemporary elements. Even the separate “flex” unit addition to the home, which provides the “dot” to create the i-shaped footprint for which the house is named, is a retro-chic nod to outbuildings commonly found in mobile home parks.

“We wanted to use a non-traditional home form just so people would understand that this is really something different than they have seen before,” said Wes Boyd, the Maryville, Tenn.-based company’s first architect. Boyd worked with student architect Andy Hutsell to design the home.

Clayton, which built 32,000 homes last year, has seen a bit of a drop off in business, and is looking to tap into a new buyer segment – the young and hip or older and hip, environmentally conscious buyer.

 “We wanted to appeal to a market that we haven’t considered before,” said Boyd. “This house makes a statement about being green.”

The i-house officially became available May 1, but early unveilings were met with enthusiasm. “We took it to our Knoxville show in October and the response was outstanding,” said Boyd. “The traffic was amazing and, for the most part, the feedback was really, really good, and East Tennessee is not known for being that progressive architecturally, they are more of a traditional audience.”

The prototype house was trucked all the way from Tennessee to Omaha, Neb. to attend Berkshire Hathaway’s famous annual shareholder weekend May 2 and 3 where it was displayed along with products from Berkshire Hathaway's other companies.

Consumer interest was high enough for Clayton to start offering the home from four of its 38 manufacturing sites: Hermiston, Ore., Sacramento, Cal., Albuquerque, N.M., and Knoxville, Tenn. Prospective customers can visit those plants to see an i-house model before buying. If demand climbs, the company will start building the home from its other plants as well.

Buyers can select their i-home components and configurations and determine the cost, including delivery charges by zip code, online at claytonihouse.com

The i-house has an optional modular flex unit that has a bathroom as well as living space. Buyers can have the flex unit attached parallel to the house or off center to form an l-shape with the deck made of recycled plastic.

Credit: Clayton Homes

While many of Clayton’s homes are already energy efficient since factory construction, because it cuts down on material waste, tends to be greener than on-site construction, Clayton decided to add an ultra-green house to its product line because of his daughter.

“My 5 yr old daughter insists that I recycle at home,” Clayton wrote in response to e-mail questions. “Through her, I have learned to be more sensitive to our environment. The more I learn, the more committed I become in delivering a home as green and energy efficient as possible. “

He’s certain there’s a demand for it as well. “Early indications are that there are likely to be few boundaries to those interested in green, energy-efficient living,” Clayton wrote. “Local schools are bringing students through the home with much enthusiasm. Homeowners appear to be ready for more efficient use of space and a more modern design.”

They probably need to be ready to shed themselves of a lot of belongings as well. The main piece of an i-house has 723 square feet. The “flex” option, which is a square separate module with a bathroom, adds another 268 square feet, bringing the original i-house to 991 square feet. The company is now offering a stretch version of the i-house with a second bedroom and larger closet and a flex unit large enough to hold two bedrooms for those who absolutely need more space. But the designer points out that using less space is a component of a green lifestyle.

“The people who want to live in these spaces are not pack rats,” said Boyd. “To be successful in life it used to be you would end up in this huge mansion to live in but today there are people who no longer have that goal. They want to live in a very comfortable, nice space. They want to do more with their money.”

The home itself, at about $100,000 for the basic i-house and flex room joined by a deck, is not cheap. It has some high-end components that would cost considerably more in a stick built house, said Clayton.

“With all the green building components and the Energy Star enclosure, the home buyers examining the home are surprised at the affordability at $100-120 a square foot.” said Clayton. “Similarly equipped homes will typically cost $200-300 a square foot.”

The i-house is built like a sturdy modular home on energy-stingy steroids. Standard are Andersen low-e windows and doors, 2-by-6 exterior wall studs, wooden floor and ceiling trusses, concrete fiber and corrugated steel trim, R-21 insulation in the walls and R-30 in the ceiling and floor, and Hunter ceiling fans. 

Options, such as solar panels for the “wings” of the butterfly roof, bamboo flooring, and a tankless water heater, can make the house even greener and shrink energy use to $1 a day in many markets, its designers say.

Other components that bolster the home’s green factor are the recycled plastic deck, and paint with no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Designing the home and getting the first prototype built was a blitz, said Boyd. “He (Clayton) turned us loose about July 1 of last year and that home was substantially complete by Labor Day,” he said. “We literally went from July 1 having nothing to having a conceptual drawing in a week and a half, to having it 100 percent complete by the end of September.”

The i-house kitchen with its Energy Start appliances blends into the home’s open floor plan.

Credit: Clayton Homes

The models are furnished with Ikea furniture as well. “Because that is exactly the look we are looking for,” said Boyd. And there’s been some talk about collaborating with Ikea to sell the i-house through the retailer as well as through the company’s traditional outlets.

One reason the product development went swiftly is that Clayton backed out of the process early.

“I found myself too intimately involved and slowing down the design process,” Clayton said.

“He is telling the truth,” Boyd said. “As an architect that (carte blanche) is a rare thing. He let go and things that are normally hurdles or roadblocks just weren’t.”