With government's new quality mark scheme now underway in most parts of country, getting a reputable builder should be easy.

Unfortunately some homeowners are finding out too late that while they are happy with quality mark members work, they are certainly paying extra for a standard of work a reasonable person would expect from any builder.

So what is quality mark scheme?

It is designed to help homeowner find a reputable builder to carry out repairs and improvements to their home. It also provides reputable builders/tradesmen with a scheme which allows them to demonstrate their commitment to quality by becoming members of scheme.

While government are to be commended for tackling cowboy builder there are rumblings of misgivings from within industry.

Here are a few of these worries.

At moment it is free to join for companies with a turnover of less than £1 million. This is obviously to encourage membership but what happens when majority have joined and they then demand a large annual fee to remain a member? Once you leave this or any other federation you become conspicuous by your absence. Because of this members will be loath to leave which means cost will be passed to you customer.

I for one am excited to see latest versions of modern prefabs emerging globally. They're well thought out, beautiful, and energy-efficient.

And to anyone who has any doubts about quality of today's prefab homes, I'd ask, would you rather buy a house whose parts have all been crafted outdoors exposed to elements -- by hand. Or, would you rather buy a house built in a factory setting to tight specs exceeding that of site-built homes. I say exceeding, because a normal site-built home doesn't have to endure rigors of transportation.

For your review, here are quick descriptions of 10 of many categories of prefab homes available for exploring at http://PrefabExpo.com - in no particular order:

1. Manufactured

Single-family residential dwellings consisting of one, two or more sectional units and constructed to Federal HUD code. Zoning regulations and ordinances of local Municipality or County might not permit use of mobile and manufactured homes in all areas of their jurisdiction.

2. Modular

Modular refers to a method of building a home, rather than a type of home. A modular home can be built in a factory from a stock modular home plan or from a customized plan, to state, local or regional codes of where home will be set up. Modular homes have not typically experienced zoning restrictions and discriminative ordinances applicable to manufactured and mobile homes.

3. Panelized

Panelized homes are factory-built homes in which panels — whole walls with windows, doors, wiring, and outside siding — are transported to site and assembled. Panels are made from insulating foam sandwiched between two layers of structural material. The panels are lightweight and might already be filled with insulation when they arrive on site. The homes must meet state or local building codes of where they are sited.

4. Steel-frame

Steel framing is an equivalent to conventional stick frame or post & beam home design where structural lumber is replaced by steel studs and trusses or steel posts and beams. Light-Gauge Framing System features screw-together, galvanized stud-and-truss, grid-type construction system built on 4-foot center.Red-Iron Metal Post & Beam Systems features bolt-together, pre-engineered post-and-beam-type framing system that uses red-iron steel "C" beams on 8-foot center. The prefabricated home built with this method can be single-story, two-story, and even tri-level home.

Unlike conventional wood framed home that requires interior walls to support roof, higher strength-to-weight ratio of steel house allows to span greater distances with less material and fewer supports. The result is higher floor layout and interior design flexibility.

Unlike wood, steel won't shrink, rot, warp, buckle, split, or be attacked by insects. This results in greater durability, lower long-term maintenance, higher energy efficiency and overall greater quality of this prefabricated home.

5. Precut

This category includes wood-framed factory-built houses or cabins where building materials are factory-cut to design specifications and transported to site to be assembled. PrefabExpo.com presents prefab building kits designed as wood-framed (also known as balloon-frame, 2 x 4, 2 x 6 or stick-built construction) as well as prefabricated home kit/cabin kit using post-frame method. The homes or cabins must meet local or state building codes of area where they will be sited.

6. Cedar

According to Katahdin Cedar Log Homes, “Cedar is aromatic to people, and problematic to insects: The heartwood of northern white cedar produces organic compounds called thujaplicins – which create that fresh, pleasant cedar aroma. But to insect pests, such as moths and termites, cedar just plain stinks. They’ll avoid cedar homes and instead search out inviting, tasty pine structures.“