Take Building Your Home Into Your Own Hands
Take Building Your Home Into Your Own Hands With A Cottage Kit Home
In October 2016, the UK government announced its plan to build 100,000 modular homes during this Parliament. The idea behind building modular homes is to find a quick and cheaper way to build more affordable housing to help alleviate the pressure on the housing industry.
For over a decade now, the government has been falling short of its target to build 220,000 to 250,000 homes a year. There are many reasons attributed to this. Britain lacks the right materials to build enough homes. There’s a brick shortage, a lack of smaller building companies and not enough skilled people coming into the industry – so bad in fact the industry needs to fill some 182,000 jobs by 2018. All these reasons add up to not hitting the house building target.
Modular Homes
The government has turned to modular housing to help plug the gap. A modular home is constructed offsite, usually in a factory setting. Once manufactured, it is transported and assembled on site. It’s a cost-effective way to build high-quality housing, something which isn’t always associated with pre-constructed housing.
After the Second World War, many homes which were built offsite were used as a temporary way to relieve the housing crisis. In many cases they were poorly constructed properties, that didn’t feel like home for many residents and didn’t have a long life-span either. But this was a long time ago and modern day offsite constructed homes are nothing like the post-war prefabs.
Now, owning a home which has been constructed offsite usually means you are living in a high-quality, carefully constructed home. You can get an amazing house that has been pre-constructed, delivered direct to site and then assembled in a short space of time. It offers the same insulation, security, style and feel of a normal onsite built home.
Other parts of Europe lead by example when it comes to offsite construction. There are companies across Scandinavia who have been constructing homes offsite for years and have vast amounts of experience with building affordable, comfortable, stylish homes, that people love living in. The UK needs to follow suit.
Build it Yourself
With the government’s announcement, there is more awareness in the housing industry of offsite construction. More people are seeing it is a viable option to find their new home.
Many people want to build their own home and look at self-build but because of the shortage of skills; labour is a big chunk of the cost and can put people off.
Going for a home which is constructed offsite, minimises the number of skilled workers needed, putting you in control of your project. It means you’re far more likely to keep within budget. With housing that is constructed offsite, self-builders have a way of putting their own stamp on their home and it removes many of the stresses of a full self-build.
Cottage Kit Homes has been building kit homes since 1984. Like modular homes, kit homes are made offsite. Then the kit is transported to site where it is put together.
Our cottages are designed for people looking for a cosy, comfortable home in the countryside, that takes away many of the hassles of a full self-build project. Cottage Kit Homes are complete timber frame homes which include internal and external door sets, windows, insulation, plasterboard, skirting, architraves, storage, built in wardrobes and more.
The great thing about Cottage Kit Homes is that every design is completely tailored to you. They just give you the inspiration to build your ideal home. Each of our 37 different, one to four bedrooms, designs can be tailored to suit your vision for how you see your home.
Whether you want to add an extra room or change the windows and doors, our designs are completely flexible when it comes to fueling your imagination. They’re a really affordable way to build a great home you can relax in at the end of the day. And they are all single-storey homes, which makes the process of obtaining planning permission easier.
Take it into your own hands
Homes constructed offsite are appearing more around the country. In December an offsite construction for 96 families in Lewisham in London was completed to help families get back on their feet. This site was constructed in just 8 months, so it shows how quickly high quality offsite manufactured homes can be built.
If you’re thinking about self-building and want to build a quality, cosy rural home, affordably, then get in touch with us to take your home into your own hands. Give Cottage Kit Homes a call on 01955 641431.
Alternatively, you can download our ‘Choose Your Cottage Kit Home’ brochure for free from the Cottage Kit Homes download pages to help inspire you.