Montana
Modular homes for Montana projects
Wolf reviews select Montana projects. We build the home in our Washington factory and deliver it, and a local contractor does the foundation, utilities, and finish work. Our designs don’t have Montana plan approval yet, so the first step is getting that approval, and properties in areas with simple local permitting are the easiest to move forward. Montana isn’t part of our turn-key service, so we quote each project after we look at the property, the local permit rules, and the delivery route.
How a Montana project gets approved
State factory-built approval
Montana's Department of Labor & Industry runs a factory-built buildings program. The state approves the plans for each design, the plant works under an approved quality-control manual, and every unit carries a Montana insignia. Plan approvals expire each December 31 and have to be renewed. Our designs don't have Montana approval yet, so a Montana project starts with getting the plans approved. That adds time and cost to the first home.
Montana factory-built buildings program ↗Local permits
A home with the Montana insignia is accepted statewide without another inspection of the factory-built part. You still need zoning approval, utility connections, and a foundation permit wherever the city or county requires one. Much of rural Montana has no local building department, and the state doesn't permit single-family homes there. Lots in those areas, or in towns that only need zoning and a foundation permit, are the easiest Montana projects to move forward. Ask your lender early what foundation paperwork they'll want.
Montana certified local jurisdictions ↗Snow loads and delivery
Roof snow loads in much of Montana are far higher than in Clark County, and they climb with elevation. We size the roof to the load your county sets. Missoula is about 550 miles from the factory and Bozeman about 760, and the I-90 route crosses Lookout Pass and Homestake Pass, so winter deliveries are scheduled around the weather.
Local site work
Our crews don't do site work in Montana, so the foundation, utilities, and finish work go to a local contractor you hire. Pick one who has set modular homes before and can work to the foundation plan that ships with the house. We still handle the home, the state approval, and delivery, and final pricing follows a review of the property.
Missoula and Bonner
Missoula and Bonner are the two Montana places we get asked about most. They are not the same permit counter. An ADU (accessory dwelling unit) inside Missoula city limits uses the city code below. Bonner is unincorporated Missoula County, so the city code does not apply there.
Missoula
Inside the city, MMC 20.45.060 allows one ADU per parcel, and only on a parcel that already has a single detached house or a lot-line house. ADUs are not allowed on townhome-exemption ownership units, and they are not allowed in special districts or planned unit developments unless that district says so. Internal, detached, and internal-addition ADUs are allowed in the residential districts and in the B, C, and M1R districts.
Both the house and the ADU have to be on city sewer. The code does not require an extra parking space. A new detached ADU is limited to 1,200 square feet of interior habitable space, and the same 1,200-square-foot cap applies to an internal ADU and to an addition that grows the house. Floor area for this count is the habitable space that belongs to the ADU, including its entry, stairs, and access.
A detached ADU has to sit at least 10 feet from the house. That gap stays open from the ground to the sky, except for walkways, patios, and decks that are 30 inches or less above finished grade. Height cannot exceed the base zoning district. The ADU’s building coverage cannot exceed the house’s, and all detached accessory buildings together cannot cover more than half the rear yard. Side and rear setbacks follow the accessory-building table in MMC 20.45.020: 50 feet in R215 and OP2, 5 feet in R80, R40, R20, and RT10, and 3 feet in the denser residential districts such as R8 and R5.4. In R215, R80, R40, R20, RT10, R8, and R5.4, the application needs a notarized statement that the project complies with private covenants adopted before June 5, 2013, or that no such covenant restricts the use. The fire department assigns the address.
One conversion sentence in the published section still says “adoption date of these amendments” instead of a date. Confirm that clause with the city before you count on an unlimited conversion of an older garage. Missoula is about 550 miles from the factory, on I-90 over Lookout Pass, so the snow load for the site and the season of the haul both go into the quote.
Bonner
Bonner sits east of Missoula along the Clark Fork. It is not inside Missoula city limits, so MMC 20.45.060 does not apply. Permits go to Missoula County: zoning, a building permit when the county requires one for that parcel, utility plans, inspections, and a certificate of occupancy or the county’s equivalent when the work is done.
Ask the county whether your parcel is zoned and whether a building permit is required. A lot of rural Montana has no local building department, and the state does not permit single-family homes there. Bonner is close enough to Missoula that the county may still review the lot. The Montana factory-built insignia, the December 31 plan expiration, and a local contractor for the foundation and utilities still apply. The haul is the same I-90 route as Missoula, and the roof is sized to the snow load the county sets for the site.
Tell us the Montana address
Send the property address. We'll check the local permit requirements, the snow load for your site, and the delivery route, then give you the expected schedule and cost before recommending a floor plan.
Prefer a Washington or Oregon lot instead?
Wolf provides turn-key service in Washington and Oregon, where our own crews handle the site work.
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