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Show Notes: Thinking about stick‑built vs modular vs panelized for your new home? This episode breaks down the real‑world differences so you can choose a system that fits your budget, timeline, and long‑term goals. Steve explains how traditional stick‑building works, why modular homes are essentially mass‑produced “car‑like” products with stigma, financing, and customization limits, and how panelized construction combines the advantages of stick‑built quality with factory precision and faster on‑site assembly. You’ll hear why panelized systems are especially powerful for owner‑builders who want full control over design, features, and contractors, and how Landmark wraps design, engineering, energy codes, site planning, and guaranteed material pricing into a one‑stop, highly supported process. From clearing up myths about panelized (“you can’t change anything”) to showing how smart owner‑builders use this approach to gain major equity and even build multi‑million‑dollar homes, this episode is a practical guide to getting the house you really want instead of settling for a generic builder special.
Transcript:
Steve Tuma: Reality is you can go buy a 2×6 anywhere. Are you going to use it right? Is it going to be the right one? Is it going to be put into the right design? Is the end result of how you’re spending your money going to be in the house that you want? That’s the key element.
Interviewer: Hello everybody, and welcome to Episode 75 of the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show.
With me today, as always, is the President and Founder of Landmark Home and Land Company, a company which has been helping people build their new homes where they want, exactly as they want, nationwide and around the globe since 1993. And that’d be Mr. Steve Tuma.
Steve, can you believe this is our 75th episode of this podcast?
Steve Tuma: Yeah, it’s pretty exciting. You know what’s interesting is we still have a lot to talk about. So we might have to get to 175 or 275, and then, you know, the market changes, building conditions change, customers get into more unique building situations or want different designs, so there’s always cool stuff to talk about.
Interviewer: And Landmark’s always growing to meet those needs and desires of every new customer and old customer.
Steve Tuma: Oh, definitely. Yeah, we’re here to help. We’ve had people come to us for all different types of designs:
- More simple, everyday American ranches
- Modern homes
- Mid‑century modern homes
- Very classic‑looking designs
- Or some just plain different — where customers come up with different floor plans or things for their particular lifestyle that make a lot of sense to them, and we’re able to put it together
We have people that need airplane hangars in their house. Some people have car collections. Some people are really into cooking or entertaining, or hobbies, or home theater. So we’re able to work with them to get the house they want — or they’re building on a site that’s just unique, or a location that’s unique — so we’re able to help. It’s pretty amazing.
Interviewer: And today I thought we’d get into specifics. In other words, it sounds simple, but some of the most basic questions are often the most important. So I thought we’d hit upon some real basics today.
For instance, explain, if you will, the difference between — and we hear this terminology all the time — what is the difference between a stick‑built home and a modular home, and where does Landmark fall in that?
Steve Tuma: Well, Landmark’s a panelized home. So I would say the three main building methods — there are always some obscure ones, you know, people doing it with compact dirt or hay bales or whatever — but that’s kind of out there. So the more typical ones are:
- Conventional stick‑built
- Modular
- And then our panelized homes
Stick‑built is kind of the conventional thing where they just call it sticks — a framer would cut the materials properly, make a wall, put it in place, make another wall, put it in place, put the floor system down, stick‑build the roof system.
Panelized is a more efficient method of stick‑building, and then along with Landmark’s design, it ties it together so it’s more uniform — where we can go through, do the design, engineering, and then actually manufacture the exact house that we designed. A huge advantage.
Conventional stick‑building: typically there’s an architect or designer, and then there’s a separate contractor that has to interpret those plans and then work on different details to build it. So chances are, you know, conventional homes — especially older homes — were all stick‑built. It’s good, it’s kind of a standard. It uses materials that are generally available at any lumberyard, and you could have simple homes and you could have more complex homes.
Modular is the one that’s kind of different from both of those. Modular is when you see the two halves going down the street. Now, some of those are HUD homes or modulars — they’re different, but they’re kind of the same for the purpose of this discussion.
They’re made in modules. So if you had a ranch home, it might be two sections — 12 feet wide, 40 feet long, or whatever the dimensions end up. They’re more production line. It’s the concept of a car: you make it on a production line, you cookie‑cutter them, and you get them out. Typically very little ability to customize.
There are the restrictions of the production line, the restrictions of delivery, and then there’s also the restrictions of some places that won’t allow you to build them, or they’re very restrictive about building them. And also modular has issues with stigmas, as well as some financing concerns. A lot of banks won’t finance them, or they’re considered to be a higher risk for some reason — probably resale because of the stigmas. So it might be a little harder to finance them, and it might cost more in the interest rates.
So basically modular is more of a production‑line building where, say, 85% of the home is built off site. It’s standardized. Generally — I don’t know if they are anymore, if there really is a cost advantage. Some people say there is, or it’s not enough to really make a difference. But it is limited in what you get.
Generally, those people that I’ve noticed that buy them — they want big space at some perceived lower cost, and they want it fast. Which to me is like, okay, so you move in three months quicker, and then you end up with a modular home instead of a stick‑built home, which has been considered to be a bigger investment — a stick‑built or a panelized.
So stick — again, let me revisit the stick‑built versus panelized. Panelized is basically the stick‑build process, but we’re making it in a factory in a controlled condition. So things are square, things are put together properly, and then it’s brought out to the site for a quicker assembly.
So if you took the exact same design of a stick‑built home and put one of our panelized homes next to it, very few people — if any — could tell the difference. And really, the difference is going to be where two wall panels come together — you have two studs. Stick‑builders do the same thing, but maybe they make a wall panel a little longer.
We can control the cost. We can control the design. We can make sure that the design is exactly the way you want it to be. We can help with making it easier to get through building departments. We can guarantee our cost, and we can go through and get the details that you want in it.
So if someone looks at panelized homes as being a custom stick‑built home — that’s exactly what it is. And with our service, we tie together the design, the engineering, the energy codes to make sure it’s clear that what you design is what gets built. And also, we can guarantee the cost, which I think is extremely important, because costs can vary — by season, by economic trends, by location — a lot of things.
So the Landmark Panelized Home System gives our customer a lot more control and understanding of the project, and that’s what an owner‑builder needs. They need to understand and control their project.
Interviewer: I mean, you pretty much gave all the pros and cons of all three of those building methods.
When it gets right down to it, is there a “best” home building method?
Steve Tuma: You know what — it’s a different situation. I think there’s potentially a best home building method for different people’s situations.
So the person that says, “Hey, I need as much space, cheap — perceived cheap — less expensive. I don’t really care what I get. I want a standard plan. I want to pick it and I want to put it here.” You know, modular can be quick — if it can get permitted, if your community allows it, if your bank is willing to work with you on it. They can be quick.
So I could understand it. If someone wants to get in there quick and this and that, and doesn’t necessarily have a concern of the long‑term ramifications of the modular designs and the things that happen in financing and the stigmas, it could be a good option for them.
Now, we have a lot more people that will actually come to us and say, “Steve, I want a simple ranch home. I don’t want it to look like a modular.” So we give it a roof pitch, a front entryway, do different details, put a little dormer — do something to add character to it, so when you’re driving down the street it doesn’t just stick out.
So to answer your question, “Is there a best building method?” — I think it depends on what your goals are.
Stick‑building and panelized are very, very similar. Very similar. The difference is the modular versus the panelized.
So generally, I’ve found that the people that want modular don’t understand the long‑term ramifications. They want the perception of cheap, fast, get it taken care of. And in some cases, with specialized financing, they might be able to get into a house that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise, because that industry is working on certain things.
But what I have found is you’re either in or out with that — you either are okay with modulars or you’re not. And a lot of the designs that we work with — more complex and in different parts of the country — the modular homes just can’t do it. Or, if there’s a super specialized modular place, they’re so expensive and so much stuff is involved with it that it defeats the purpose.
So the difference really comes down into the stick‑built versus the panelized, and the end result is very similar.
- If you want a 20‑foot ceiling, we’ll give you a 20‑foot ceiling.
- If you want a 20‑foot ceiling with a bunch of windows overlooking a lake or a mountain range, we can do that.
- If you want a room that’s 11 feet 3‑1/2 inches wide, we can do that.
If you need certain structural concerns, we can do it.
What panelization is adding to it is the production line, where we can control the quality, get things built so that the assembly on site is more controlled and quicker.
And with Landmark’s design of the panelized homes, we’re able to go through to get you the exact design, have the plans detailed to the nth degree so you know exactly what’s going into your home.
So when you combine the design, the customer service, the details we do tying energy efficiency, structural design, green codes, site plans into the process — the one‑stop shop of kind of the architect, the structural engineer, the energy codes, the site planner, the delivery of the panelized home package — it’s just easier and better for customers to go this route. Because an owner‑builder can understand and control their project and make sure they get the house they want, instead of having to settle for a builder special or a design that someone won’t change.
We’ll do complete custom homes and give a guaranteed price. I think that’s exceptionally important for customers wanting to build their homes and have control of it.
Sometimes they want to do changes, or their land comes up, or hey, in the middle of design they end up having a baby, or the in‑law has to move in. So there’s a lot of flexibility that we offer.
And I think that’s why people like it — an owner‑builder wants to build their home, know what they’re getting, and build the house they want. They’re spending their money. They want to get what they want. It’s added value.
Interviewer: Do you think new customers — have you ever had people call you that bring a lot of, I don’t want to say prejudices, but stigmas that they’ve heard about panelized homes? What are the myths of panelized homes that you would like to clear up?
Steve Tuma: You know what’s pretty interesting — we don’t hear a lot. We hear little tales that come from who knows where, especially now with AI coming in. AI can hallucinate a lot and come up with a lot of interesting stuff that isn’t even relevant in a search.
But we’ve had people say, “You can’t change panelized homes.” You can change panelized homes. We can do it in the design process. If it’s important to do on site, you can change it, just like you would a stick‑built home.
Now, there might be points where the change is expensive. If a house is half built and you decide to take your regular two‑car garage and make it an airplane hangar, it can be done. Is it reasonable? Maybe not.
So I’ve heard people say that. I don’t know where they get the idea that they can’t be done. And I think what it is is sometimes people hear a portion of an idea from someplace. And again, the internet’s full of great information — and there’s also a great amount of bad information, or information which isn’t being used in the right context.
So I think sometimes people have different perceptions that, “Hey, they cost more, they cost less,” or they do this and that.
The reality is, you’ve got to look at your individual project for what you’re getting. If you’re comparing a complete custom home and a square‑foot price to a standard box, builder‑special with no features, someone could say, “Hey, that house is cheaper.” Well, it is cheaper because it’s different.
That’s the difference of comparing your dollar hamburger to a $20 steak burger type of thing.
So what I’ve actually learned is that the customer base that we work with — they’re open‑minded and understanding, and understand certain things. They’re not here to get the cheapest house or the quickest or this or that. They’re here to make sure their goals are met.
They want to know the house is designed right. They want to know it’s energy‑efficient. They want to make sure it passes or exceeds codes. They want to make sure it’s built right. And not just code — things make sense. Different situations.
Your code only requires a certain size window, but if you have a big view of a lake, a river, an ocean, a mountain range, a city — you put a bigger window in to take advantage of it. And that’s what we do — we work with the people to get the house.
So just like in any business, there’s always someone that has a story. But in our case I think it’s pretty refined, where we’re able to customize and get the customer what they want in a home, design it the way they want, make sure it’s what they want, make sure it’s structurally sound, make sure it’s built right, and make sure the plans accurately reflect everything that’s required for the customer to build the home that they want.
And it’s also the complete customer service that we have.
Sometimes people say, “Hey, I haven’t heard about panelized homes.” Well, there have been home kits, self‑built homes, a variety of different things around. Sears did them, what — a hundred years ago. There’s a variety of different companies that do things in different ways.
The way Landmark does it is very advantageous to the small builder, the investor, the individual family, and families and friends that want to help each other do it, because we can wrap a lot of details together.
So we look at it as, “Hey, a customer needs to go from point A to point Z.” We’re helping them achieve that whole thing, instead of only, you know, “Click one of the boxes.” We’re trying to click all of them, so the customer:
- Understands their house
- Knows what’s getting built
- And gets the house that they want
So the reality is, I really haven’t heard that many myths. But I think by the time people talk to me, they know the advantages and they’re ready to go.
But we’re always here to answer questions. If someone hears something weird, or has a weird story, maybe the story they heard is weird — but it just doesn’t apply to reality or their life or their actual project.
Interviewer: Sure. So let’s go through the three systems that we talked about — stick‑built, modular, and panelized home building. What are the comparisons as far as costs, the actual speed of projects, and the quality of the builds, in your opinion?
Steve Tuma: Well, it’s kind of interesting, because if you took — first of all, if you did modular, a modular can’t do what panelized does. It just can’t. We can do what they do, but they can’t do what we do.
We can customize it, engineer it, run through energy codes, run varieties of different windows for energy codes, different insulation scenarios. We can do the exact floor plan design that you want on that property.
Now, going through and doing all that, it takes a little bit of time to properly design and engineer the home so it’s exactly the way it is.
If you take a modular, it’s like, “Hey, this,” and maybe you get an option of a porch or a bathroom or master suite. But generally they’re pretty standardized.
So I think if you go through and you look at what you’re getting in customization, the speed of panelization in our process at Landmark is very good.
The quality comparisons is the thing I think where it’s different. Generally, price‑pointed items — which modular homes generally are — they’re there to have the cheapest price, give you the best square foot, some perception of extreme value. I think that’s where you see that the quality difference is there.
Because in our case, a customer can go through and get what they want:
- If they want a certain floor finish, they can do it.
- If they want a certain kitchen cabinet, they can do it.
- If they want a certain roof, they can do it.
So it’s not just in the quality — it’s in the finish of what they want their house to look like.
If someone wants a tile roof, we can design the home to have a tile roof. If someone wants a metal roof of a certain design and certain color, we can design the house to have it. So it’s not just quality — it’s “What are you getting for your money?”
So modular — it’s standardized, kind of like a car. They might have a cool car with six colors. You go ask them for a different color, you’re not going to get it. Or they give you such a credit it doesn’t make sense to do it.
In our case, we can go through and engineer the cost for the price of what someone wants for the house that they want to build. We can work at it speedily to make sure that they get the design they want as fast as possible, but we are going to take time to do it right.
We don’t consider this to be a race of, “Hey, we drew the plans up quickest, and then we’ve got to change them 20 times.” We want to do it right, move it along, and think it through for:
- Architectural
- Structural
- Energy codes
- Energy efficiency
- Green codes
- And other details
So I think when you look at the whole package, the value that someone gets for the house that they choose to build is incredible with us, because they’re getting what they want.
If someone says, “Hey, I want a 10‑car garage,” I’m not going to say, “Hey, that’s unreasonable, you only need three.” Actually, if someone wants a 10‑car, I’d probably tell you to go 12 — you’re always going to get another toy.
So it’s kind of one of these situations — for everyone, it’s different:
- If someone is purely price‑sensitive, they don’t care about quality, they don’t care about resale — there are some building projects for that.
- If someone says, “Hey, I want to build the house I want that’s energy‑efficient on my land where I want it to go and customize it,” our panelized process allows us to design it so they can see exactly what’s being built before it gets built. They can review it and adjust as necessary.
They can control the quality. They’re the general contractor. Owner‑builders control:
- Who’s doing the plumbing
- Who’s doing the wiring
- Who’s putting the roof on
- Who’s putting the windows in
- What windows they’re buying
And in many cases, our customers do it themselves. And there’s a huge equity position that they can get out of it.
So that’s the advantage also — the financial — where someone can do their own home and gain a big equity position, which is pretty nice. That equity position adds to their net worth, but it also lowers the amount they pay to the bank, which is always cool. Pay yourself the interest.
Interviewer: Right.
Steve Tuma: Yeah.
Interviewer: It sounds to me like panelized homes just work really well for owner‑builders and people who — there are a lot of people who probably don’t even look into it. They just figure stick‑built is the way that everybody does it. But it sounds like the panelized system is going to work well for a lot of owner‑builders.
Steve Tuma: Well, a lot of people are coming into it, and I’ll tell you why: they want to. It’s a childhood dream. It makes sense. And a lot of it — it’s just the financial feasibility of it.
If any family is out there and they’re like, “Hey, I want to build this house. I need this space for my kids and the in‑laws or the dog and whatever else is important to them,” and they get a quote for something outside their budget — by doing some work and being the owner‑builder and saving on the general contractor fees, suddenly it becomes affordable.
It’s a great option to still get the home you want, and a quality home at the same time. That’s why a lot of people do it.
And what’s interesting is, some of these people — you’re going to say, “Oh, this is lower‑income stuff.” We’ve had people do multi‑million‑dollar homes and then come back and do another one because they want to save the money just as much. It’s the same need to get the value and the home that someone wants. Make sure they control the design, make sure they understand what’s being built and how their money is being spent.
We have some customers that understand building — kind of just take that, “Hey, we have this much money, we want to build a house.” And we have other people that are investors or people with very sophisticated lives, where in their sense it makes a huge amount of sense for them to go build their own home.
Sounds weird, but a lot of people are doing it. We’re doing more homes in the $700,000, $1 million, $2 million, $5 million range. And that’s the interesting thing about it.
So it’s the desire to spend your money properly and wisely. Whether you have $200,000 or you have $2 million, it’s the same thing: “Let’s get the house,” because it gets to be expensive. And we’re here to help manage that and understand it.
And then, with the customer being able to control the design, the quality, the features of the home, we can work on a budget that makes sense for them.
Interviewer: So let’s narrow this down to just — out of the three — just the panelized home build process. How does Landmark’s system work so well for people? How does it fit into the overall scheme when people are looking to build a new house and looking for a system in which to make that happen?
Steve Tuma: Amazingly, it’s not the actual product of the panelized home. It’s the thought processes and understanding and desire to plan, desire to listen, desire to understand what a customer wants and is saying, so that we can then work together with the customer to make sure the house ends up being that way.
Okay, so let’s just relate it to a steak. Someone may know they want a certain type of food, but they may not know how to procure the ingredients, cook it, and put it on a plate in the same way that a pro — salad bar place, fish house, steakhouse, whatever it is that someone chooses to eat.
So it’s the understanding of, really, what issue are you trying to resolve?
With our knowledge, we’re able to talk to someone and they’ll — you know, a typical customer might say, “Hey, I have this 2,300‑square‑foot home, big ranch, two‑car garage, it’s going to be in a basement in Iowa,” or, “It’s going to be in a desert area in California or Arizona.” But — how do we put it together?
So I think what customers have told me, especially at the end of the process, is: “Steve, the panelization is important. It’s the design and understanding of what the customer is trying to achieve and help push it along — and the support — which is the most important thing.”
Reality is, you can go buy a 2×6 anywhere. Are you going to use it right? Is it going to be the right one? Is it going to be put into the right design? Is the end result of how you’re spending your money going to be in the house where you get the house that you want? That’s the key element.
And that’s what our customers tell us a lot — is the help. I hear frequently, “Steve, without Landmark I wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
That isn’t necessarily just because we have high‑quality wood. It’s because of our understanding and desire to help through the process. We’re here as kind of a partner — a partner to say, “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Customer, what is it you’re looking for? You have this house, what is it?”
Three days ago I spent two and a half hours on the phone with a lady designing a house, and some things — some details — that no one else had ever brought up, but were extremely important to her. And it was on how the closet doors worked and how they were presented, and the height and everything.
We spent two and a half hours working on that and other details, managing it. She worked her life to get this house, is putting it together, and she wants to make sure those details are there. Are the details going to cost her that much more? Probably not in a percentage amount. But the thing is, she’s getting the house she wants.
So I have a simple thing: I’m hoping that when customers build their home, when they drive up to it after a hard day at work, or come back from vacation, or just a trip around town, they go, “I’m proud of this. This is cool.”
That’s the end result. That’s how we know we’re successful — to make sure that they get the house that they want.
So our system of:
- Listening
- Paying attention
- Understanding
- Keeping an open mind for what they need
And then, as we get to know our customer, working with them to make sure the house is built with their priorities in mind, is a very important process to have.
It leads to satisfaction. Customers get the value out of the home, and they get the house they want. That’s what it’s about.
Interviewer: Satisfaction — that’s good. That’s the word of the day.
Steve Tuma: Yeah.
Interviewer: Rolling Stones.
Steve Tuma: Yeah.
Interviewer: Okay, that’s going to be it for today’s edition of the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show.
But again, Steve, before we let you go, let the listeners know how to find out more about Landmark Home and Land Company and all the good stuff you guys are doing over there.
Steve Tuma: Well, I think the best thing to do is check out our website. We’re at LHLC.com — so LHLC.com, kind of the initials Landmark Home and Land Company.
Our podcasts are out there on a variety of platforms. You can listen to those on our website. There’s a bunch of plans. There’s details on what we supply, details of work in different states, pictures. There’s a lot of stuff there. So people can go through and find out how we do it.
And then they can send an email to us directly through the website. They can send an inquiry about a specific plan, or they could just give a call, and Mike will answer the phone at 800‑830‑9788. Again, that’s 800‑830‑9788.
And we enjoy talking to our customers, getting to understand what they need, seeing what we can do to help them, move them along. We’re here to support their project.
We want a good customer just like a customer wants a good supplier. So we’re interested in people that are interested in building a good home, doing it right, saving money, and getting some great value and being proud of their home.
So it’s really cool. A lot of people come back — they’ll help their kid, they’ll help their grandparents, they’ll do a vacation home, you know, whatever it may be. And that’s amazing.
I had a customer today — we helped him with a house 10 years ago. He told me he had $400,000 into it, sold it for $1.2 million. That’s a profit.
Interviewer: That’s pretty sweet.
Steve Tuma: So now guess what — his next house is free. I mean, he’s got to pay for it, but there’s no mortgage. I mean, the appreciation was pretty cool. And he remembered us — he called us, his name was still on my phone. And we were like, “Hey Kevin, what’s happening?” And we caught up for a little while.
He’s going to do a house and he’s going to do a duplex with his friend. So in his case it was a place for his family, but it was also a financial move in the appreciation and his financial plan to get some investments going as well.
Interviewer: Good story. And there it is — Episode 75 is in the can. Thank you again, Steve, and thanks to all of you for listening to the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show.
So for Landmark Home and Land Company President Steve Tuma and myself, have a great week ahead, and we will see you next time.
Thanks, Steve.
Steve Tuma: Yeah, this was pretty cool stuff. Let’s go help some people build some houses. Thanks.
