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I have been researching housing kits - the type where a company designs your house (or you choose a design from their brochure) and makes it in a factory, then deliver it to site and put it together for you.
There seem to be two main options - either they get the house watertight and then hand it over to you for interior and exterior finishing, or they do they entire job and just hand you the keys when they are done.
I've found lots of companies offering this, but what I haven't found is any good write-ups from people who have had it done.
Anyone here got any stories to share?
Yes, an amazing house that was.
But Huf Haus are very much the Rolls Royce of kit houses (or at least the BMW), coming in at over £2k per sq meter I believe.
Most kit houses are very affordable and can be half the cost of a Huf Haus, and that's more the sort I am interested in.
tick
Very common up in Scotland, in fact I'd go as far as to say pretty much everything I've seen being built up here is a kit - wooden frame then block work round the outside.
Very common up in Scotland, in fact I'd go as far as to say pretty much everything I've seen being built up here is a kit - wooden frame then block work round the outside.
There are different degrees of 'kit'. What you're describing could well be bespoke timber frame, put together by a timber frame company for a one-off house. Choosing a house from a brochure or pattern book is at the other end of the scale.
The most obvious, huge flaw with the brochure option is that you're not going to get a house tailored to context or to your personal requirements. I'm biased as an architect but I'm not a fan! Timber frame yes, pre-fab yes - but not copy-paste brochure houses.
Thanks for the replies.
What you're describing could well be bespoke timber frame, put together by a timber frame company for a one-off house. Choosing a house from a brochure or pattern book is at the other end of the scale.
I understand the distinction, and I'd obviously much prefer the former (budget allowing).
Is this something you do yourself, or can provide more info on?
Is interested...
I understand the distinction, and I'd obviously much prefer the former (budget allowing).
Is this something you do yourself, or can provide more info on?
It's unlikely to be as cheap as a brochure house, simply because they've got the economics of scale etc for mass production.
Not sure where you are in the country but I'd recommend you have a chat with a local builder or architect about the various options. Something to note is that timber frame isn't always cheaper than traditional masonry for a one-off house - the main advantage is the time saved on site.
My Grandparents had a Skandia Huus built a few years ago - lovely bit of kit. All triple glazed, and the 'planning process' really is like minecraft - add a room here, lengthen a room there...!
Not cheap, mind!
DrP
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Guy up the road had a bespoke one built, made in Gloucester i believe, assembled on site.
May pick up some leads, info here: http://www.nsbrc.co.uk/
Kingspan Tek Haus is a sort of middle ground:
The frame comprises SIPS (structurally insulated panels) which are made off site, and go together very quickly on site, you can have a watertight structure in 2 days, easily. The SIPS are normally used for all the wall panels, and the roof, usually with posi or similar floor cassettes. They literally assemble it all, wrap it in membrane, windows and doors in, fist phase complete.
Panels are already insulated, reducing waste, and saving someone the god awful job of cutting insulation. Best option is to clad them in my opinion (planners seem to be divided on this), but you can brick around them I believe.
Edit 1: I'm a building inspector by the way, and would have a SIPS house, but probably wouldn't have a modern timber frame, or most masonry houses I see built, for myself. Not only on quality/long term maintenance, but also performance. Meeting minimum standards is one thing.........
Edit 2: With a specialist system, you get specialist labour, which may be expensive, but is worthwhile, a lot of skills are being lost from the construction industry, not saying houses now are bad, but traditional construction and a lot of the detailing required to meet current energy efficiency requirements leave a lot to be desired.
Thanks for the replies.
I've still not had any luck finding any first hand reports of projects like this online, so I'm going to start talking to some of the companies instead.
Isn't there like a "theme park" in Germany where a bunch of these houses are built in a show village? Would be worth a Ryanair flight if you really were interested.
I don't know but that sounds great if true - I will look into it. Thx
There's a Huf-Hause show home near Cobham - it's pretty much next door to Brooklands Museum/Mercedes Benz World.
Nick
Core. Have you any experience of a SIPS room built on to the back of a traditional (brick) house? Have toyed with the idea in the past based on an article I saw some time back. It wouldn't be an extension per se, more a garden room but attached, so garden room cum conservatory.
One solid wall with maybe high level windows (as it's side on to the fence to next door. One end wall with a decent sized window looking onto the garden. The third wall looking onto the other half of our patio would be a tri or 4 fold door so it can be opened up in summer so we don't lose all the space of the patio, and the 4th 'wall' would of course be our existing external wall and patio door.
Feasible? What sort of planning would it need?
Sounds fab. Please update us on your progress.
[url= https://www.vipp.com/en/shelter/the-vipp-shelter/ ]Vipp Shelter[/url] Delivered finished to your [s]door[/s] site
I've started enquiring with suppliers about this. I will post a summary of my findings for those who are interested next week, once they have all got back to me.
Why did you link to the Vipp Shelters?
The price for the Vipp shelter is 485,000 Euro or 585,000 USD. Including above listed interior.
I had the perfect location for it and everything (sad face). Mind you, Euro is at a low right now....
Okay ,apologies, it seems I was wrong. There's not one big show village - it's just that each manufacturer has some houses at their site.
One of them is Hof Haus - which seems to have a UK site anyway judging from the more helpful comment than mine above!: http://www.huf-haus.com/en/deutschland/the-huf-village/welcome.html
Baufritz also seems to have it - although my German is minimal so I might be misreading: http://www.baufritz.com/de/kontakt-und-beratung/veranstaltungen/443-jeden-samstag-ist-baufritz-tag-in-87746-erkheim-mit-besonderem-programm-von-10-bis-18-uhr/#read
Update on this. So far I have received replies from three of the companies I contacted. Here's the summary:
[b]WeberHaus[/b] - they are expensive. It's gonna be over £360k all in for a 200sqm house (£1,800+ per m2), which is the smallest they do. And that does not include ground works.
[b]Huf Haus[/b] - they are really expensive. Gonna be over £450k for a 170sqm house (approx £2,600 per sq meter), which is the smallest they will do.
These prices are pretty crazy, but I think it's worth pointing out that these two companies are at the top end of the market in terms of design and quality, and the size of house I am looking at is tiny for them - I think they are better value if you are building something a lot bigger.
[b]Svenskhomes[/b] - this is more what I had in mind. Approx £260k for a 160sq meter house (£1,500 per sq meter). This is for an off-the-shelf design such as [url= http://www.svenskhomes.co.uk/september ]this[/url] or [url= http://www.svenskhomes.co.uk/strmma ]this[/url]. They will also work with architects to build whatever you want, which will of course alter the price depending on what you want.
No replies form the other 5 or 6 suppliers yet...
Have you tried Heb Homes?
[url= http://www.hebrideanhomes.com ]Clicky linky[/url]
Were toying with the idea of one.
Was the main reason for looking at those houses the cost? Just wondering as I'm surprised by the cost/m2 of those particular companies. For a typical traditional masonry build you'd normally expect between £1100-1500/m2 depending on spec and level of finish. Obviously ground conditions can make a huge difference and are often one of the biggest unknowns.
Thanks for the Heb Homes link - had not heard of them.
Was the main reason for looking at those houses the cost?
No - the main reasons I'm looking at going this route are (in order of importance): speed of build, fixed up-front cost, and no need to project manage or worry about the build when it's happening (i.e. low effort and stress for me).
It is a shame that it doesn't appear to be as cheap as i'd hoped though. However I think I'd end up with a much nicer design of house (IMHO) for the money than a "standard" masonry build in this price range.
Have a look at Balehaus/Modcell - I've been in one and it's lovely!
Do you live somethwere quiet? If you go the SIPS route they have got good thermal insulation but zilch in terms of sound insulation.
[b]Heb Homes[/b] look like they are coming in around £300k all inclusive for a 200 sq meter house (aprox £1,500 per sq meter).
That's at the cheaper end of the spectrum so far.
Packer / Flatfish
HH supply / design SIP kits not a complete house. If you do go down this route make sure you get independent advice regarding the total build cost before you commit.
If you go the SIPS route they have got good thermal insulation but zilch in terms of sound insulation.
Thanks, thats good to know.
Definitely want good sound insulation.
HH supply / design SIP kits not a complete house. If you do go down this route make sure you get independent advice regarding the total build cost before you commit.
Thanks, but according to their website they also offer a "turnkey build" package where they arrange contractors to complete the build. Thats what the price I gave above includes.
They openly state that you could save 30% of this cost (approx 15% of total build cost) by organising it all yourself, but ideally I don't want to do that.
Packer
I believed that too, stress free, cost effective, fast etc.
btbb - are you saying that you did it and it wasn't stress free, cost effective, and fast ??
Packer
I started it and pulled out for those reasons. I feel much better now!
Oh dear. That's not very encouraging!