The craft of home building has transformed drastically throughout recent times. With homes either being pre-designed and pre-made, to modular homes that are made on site (traditionally built) with technological improvements.

Brian Best, highly skilled Australian builder and owner of IdeasWood, discusses both pre-made home and modular home building, identifying both the pros and cons of each building speciality.

Both styles of home-building are great, and provide a great deal of advantages and disadvantages. “It is important, however, to mention that recently, homeowners have been awarded the privilege of imagining and re-imagining how their spaces should look,” says Best. With floor to ceiling windows, vaulted ceilings, and much more, the infusion of modern technology has definitely helped in the development of both pre-made and modular home building.

Pre-made homes arrive pre built, which means that these homes are built in a factory before they are assembled on a construction site. “They arrive in several varieties, both standard and bespoke, depending on the customer’s preferences,” says Best.

Pre-made homes have attained major popularity in countries like Canada, The United States and Australia, among other countries. An advantage of pre-made homes is that their building methods, along with their technological improvements, allow for designs to become innovative.

“Pre-made homes have been noted as cost-efficient, environmentally friendly and convenient for many homeowners when the process of construction is considered,” says Best. Additionally, the construction is faster, thus they can be more affordable and home-buyers can build these homes themselves, should they take on the construction.

“In terms of disadvantages, land costs can be a factor that home-buyers will need to consider. Utilities such as water, sewerage and electricity may need to be in place before the foundation is laid,” says Best.

Bottom line costs are possibly the biggest disadvantage one might encounter. The cost of pre-made homes will vary, depending on how much will be done by the home-owner, and how much will be outsourced to builders. Therefore, understanding how much one can complete, and how much one needs a professional trades person, can affect the final costings.

Modular homes, on the other hand, have an immovable foundation, as they are permanently attached. “Like pre-made homes, they are also able to be personalised,” says Best. Modular homes are delivered to the site, then are assembled to the specifications of the customer.

An advantage of modular homes includes flexible specifications, meaning they can be built the way you like it. Another advantage is that modular home construction is an eco-friendly process, that reduces all waste, material, transportation etc. The time taken to build a modular home is shorter, as they are factory made and assembled on site, allowing less chances for weather to interfere. The quality and control standards of modular homes allow for better construction.

As with pre-made homes, a disadvantage of a modular home is that there will be additional costs for electrical, water, plumbing etc. “The land that one’s modular home is being built on will also require a cost, if that has not been seen to,” says Best. “There are customisation limitations when modular homes are created in factories. However, IdeasWood can support homeowners to work with these limitations,” adds Best.

IdeasWood specialises in the construction, financing and licensing of kit home materials and options. Browse through their wide range of standard and bespoke affordable kit home designs and services. IdeasWood specialists are keen to work with you and incorporate any kit home ideas you have in order to design the perfect kit home for you. IdeasWood- Simple living made easy!

Written and syndicated by YDMA News