The Globe and Mail has a story on a new take on prefab housing. A new address, fresh off the line describes the assembly line approach to prefab housing that Mattamy Homes is currently using in Milton, Ontario. The method they use is to build the houses in a “factory” on-site and truck the entire (almost) finished house out to be placed on an awaiting foundation. In 10 days a house is completed and ready to be placed on the foundation. All that remains to be done is to perform final finishing work.
I’m wondering if Mattamy Homes will be using this concept here in the Ottawa area when they start construction of the Half Moon Bay community in Barrhaven. If so, it would be interesting to go and see the process.
There are also some other benefits that the article failed to touched upon. Think about how nice it would be to move into that neighbourhood while it is still under construction. You’d be less likely to have to deal with construction noise during daylight hours as the prefab houses would be dropped in to place. No hammering day in and day out!
Meh…. it’s already been done in Ottawa for years though the name of the build escapes me at the moment.
…found it: http://guildcrest.com/
Guildcrest is a traditional prefab home builder. They build in their factory and ship the house to the site in truck sized pieces. The way Mattamy Homes is doing it is to build the factory on site in the new community and build the *entire* house in one piece. No piecing together the sections on site which means no need for a crane to put the house together.
The in-laws last house was a prefab. Brought in on a couple trucks and a big crane picks the pieces up and drops them in place on the waiting foundation. Very interesting to watch but not quite like what Mattamy Homes is doing.
oops my bad… 1km, 100km.
the difference is nothing anyways. just a couple of xeros.
;)
Like anything being built, you should ensure you have the proper monitoring system in place that will decrease any problems. Mattamy Homes sold a house that had no electrical power and the furnace was wired illegally (code) to the house next door. A Town of Oakville inspecter passed this as well.. In additiion to this, Mattamy began construction on land that had been recently fertilized with bio-solids (human waste) without waiting the required time. An unsafe practice. I believe both of these incidents should concern potential buyers and I certainly recommend that a home inspecter be hired to monitor any new home construction by any builder. Traditional or pre-fab, doesn’t matter. And, any problems up front, get your lawyer involved early, otherwise, it is too late to really fix anything. Problem with pre-fab, you can’t tell if mistakes are made until it is up and maybe too late.