Sandy Victims Watch New Modular Home Come Together In One Day

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Many who were affected by Hurricane Sandy are still recovering, but for one Island Park family a major step in that recovery happened on Tuesday when their new modular home arrived.

Mike and Gabrielle Fehlig were on hand to watch their new home get put together piece by piece. Their old home, which was built in the 1920s, was destroyed during the storm.

"All of the boats lifted up and smashed into the back of the house and took the whole back of the house," Mike Fehlig told CBS 2's John Slattery.

In April, what remained of their old home was torn down. They've rented since then, and worked hard to keep their kayak business afloat.

The couple's new home is built on pilings that make it seven to eight feet higher than the old one.

"The greatest thing is we're up high, don't have to worry about the storm," Mike Fehlig explained.

The new two-story, three-bedroom home was built in Pennsylvania. It needs siding as well as water, gas, and electric service. The interior walls are already painted, and some rooms come complete with carpet.

The house takes a day to erect and plumbing and electric are already in the walls.

"It's factory built, controlled environment for mold. It starts dry, ends dry, you never see water," contractor Jim Kilinowski explained.

The pop-up home only needs connections and appliances and will be ready for occupancy in about a month. The home costs about $400,000 and took far less time to put together than a home built on-site.

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