Building a new home requires a lot of your attention and effort, even when building a kit home there are things to be completed locally which are not part of the manufacturer’s kit and are crucial to the compilation of the house.
Those stages that must be done locally by you when building a prefab or kit home are things like, buying land, getting building permits, preparation work on-site, foundation work, and hiring local workers.
But just to be clear, there are steps to be taken both prior to the prefab house order and others will during and after the kit house arives at your plot.
So for the sake of understanding what you should be doing locally regardless of your chosen kit home supplier, lets divided it into two stages.
Firstly, preparation stages before the kit home arrives at your property, secondly, after the kit home arrives at your property and while building it on-site. Both stages are crucial for the integrity and compilation of the kit house build.
Without farther ado, let’s start with the first stage which happen before the kit home arrival
What to do locally before starting a prefab house build
Get a land for your new kit house
Buying land will be the first stage you would want to complete locally, as it will determine your house budget, house size and type, what utilities will be needed, and many other aspects of the new kit home.
Finding the right plot for your dream house is hard and should not be taken for grunted. If you are not sure about where you would like to build your house tray and figure it out before buying land as it might impact other decisions later during your life.
If there is no limitation and you are looking for cheap land try and find places that are really looking for new people to come and expand their community. In some cases, the land will even cost nothing as long as you come and become part of that community.
As long as the area and lifestyle suits you and your family there shouldn’t be any problems which should prevent you from buying your dream property.
Local Permits for a new house build – called in many different names across the world
It does not matter how permits called in your country or area, what does matter is for you the get the appropriate documents from the local authority to be able to build your new kit home.
In some places, there will be a need for professional help, while in others you might be able to do the process by yourself.
Either way, find out what needs to be done at the local office supplying local building permits.
Hire a local architect to properly place the house on your land
As described in the previous section some places will demand that your house plans will be submitted by a professional. This could be an architect or an engineer, which then, is highly recommended using a local one.
A local architect knows the local requirements to comply with and will dramatically shorten the time for achieving the building permits. This is highly important as in some countries building permits might take a couple of months or even years. As a result, you will find that many local architecture offices offer this service for new home builders.
Additionally, planning the house orientation on the property is done by the architect in accordance with all the local requirements. For example, the proper distance between the home and other homes, proper orientation regarding utilities, and any other requirement.
This could be a crucial step if required by your state or city, make sure to check and comply with it before ordering the kit house.
Hire local engineer – approve kit home connection to utilities
As part of complying with local laws, some places will require an engineer to approve your house connection to local utilities.
Additionally, help with foundation and preparation work by a certified engineer might also be required, this time by you, as most new homeowners don’t have much knowledge on those matters.
When talking about a kit house there is nothing different in the preparation stage than the normal stick-built house or any other prefab home. Essentially an engineer will help determine if any special groundwork is required, furthermore, if there are any hazards to be mitigated, and lastly, approve that all was done properly for the municipality files.
In some places around the world the signature of a certified engineer would also be required before getting a living permit, so make sure to comply with all the requirements.
Clear land for your kit house – trees, rocks, excavation, etc.
While in some countries the government and the local municipality will prepare the land for your new home, in many other places, this will be the responsibility of the new landowner.
Making your land ready for building a kit house might be tough and require heavy machinery use. As many places might be packed with trees, rocks, and many other obstacles you will be required to use heavy machinery for quick results, or work manually if you have the time and lots of willpower.
Anyway you choose make sure to consult an expert engineer or architect to make sure the house would be built on the proper foundation to last years.
House foundation casting, and other preparation
In a direct connection to the preparation of your land, the next step will be to build a proper foundation for your new kit home.
It can be made from a verity of materials and most likely will change from reign to another around the world. Most likely this stage will be performed with whatever local systems available at any given region, from wood to concrete whatever does the job.
Again this should be approached by a professional as this will be the connection between the house and the landscape. Make sure to use the right materials and if needed hire some workers to complete this task in the least amount of time possible.
If you are not sure about the right composition of materials you might be able to assist in your local materials suppliers, materials shop, or the local concrete supplier.
Means of unloading the container or truck
Well if you aren’t a famous Corssfiter (a type of sports activity where heavy weights are moved) then you will probably need a type of machine to help you unload materials from the truck or container.
This can be a simple caterpillar with a forklift or any other type of machine that will do the job according to physical limitations on site.
Storage place on site mainly for kit homes
As the container must be shipped back as soon as possible a dry and shaded place to store and protect the materials is required after the kit home has been delivered.
This can be bought Locally or even rented for the building period, this way you can make sure that all the materials are kept safe and ready for installation.
With that last part covering most of the crucial work that needs to be completed before the kit home arrives on site, let’s jump into what you should be doing while the home arrives and the work have started.
Kit house local things to do while working on site
Local labor to build your kit house and interior
As mentioned above kit homes might be just the shell (structure and exterior) of the house the real work can now start on site, which is actually assembling the kit home to its complete form – A House.
As most of the work is done on-site construction workers are required to build the kit home according to its instructions. This workforce is most likely to be hired locally and could be through a contractor or just a few freelance workers.
The workers that will be required are builders for completing the kit itself, carpenters for interior needs like closets and other furniture, electrical systems applicators, water and water treatment experts, and insolation professionals.
As you build your kit home you might find that more professional help is needed according to your specific needs, the list above shows the majority of local labor most kit homes will require. But make sure to understand what is included when ordering a kit home as this might affect materials and labor costs later on during the project.
Acquire insulation materials on your own locally
In the first place, insulation materials are just too bulky to be shipped overseas, if the supplier and site are on the same continent than there might be an option ordering it from the kit house supplier, yep I would advise comparing prices with local suppliers.
Secondly, as kit homes can be ordered from anywhere on the globe and delivered to any other continent or country the local laws, needs, and weather can determine if a certain insulation material is not suitable for use at a specific location.
With this said, it only makes sense that insulation material should be purchased locally, as than local suppliers know whats working best at the local climate and can offer the best options for your money.
Additionally buying insulation materials locally ensures that the material will be supplied whenever needed and does not sit for a long period on site. This provides two advantages, first, budget, as the buyer pays as the project advances, Second, the quality of the materials is kept as it is stored with the supplier in the right conditions.
Lastly, insulation materials can very cheap or very exclusive, as a result, this can impact the house quality in the long run. As this holds such great importance the kit house manufacturers do not wish to limit the costumer’s ability to improve their homes and will recommend buying from local or state suppliers their favorite insulation material.
Hire local utility experts for installation
As we have discussed above some things are just cant be manufactured in the factory but only be completed on-site and by a professional.
Among those things is the utility connection part of your new home, among those, are electricity, water, gas, heating, and cooling/air conditioning.
In some places those local experts are required by law, while in others hiring their services might be a convenience, anyway, new homeowners will need, if they choose to, hire them locally to complete the house build and comply with local and state laws.
Indoor home appliances are to be locally purchased and installed
Things like kitchen and bathroom cabinets, tables, doors, beds, wall covers, etc. will most likely be easier to purchase locally. This is mainly due to personal preference and different styles across the globe. Kit house suppliers cant hold all types and styles for each client, for the interior part of the house and will probably be very limited if decided to supply those appliances.
It is both not cost efficient nor it is sustainable to supply all the available interior materials with the kit home, especially if those materials are to be shipped great distances.
From this understanding, the kit home manufacturers decided it is best for the costumers to order those things locally, this way there is no limit to what and how the home would look and feel from the inside.
Additionally, every kit home would look different and will have its owner’s signature and preference embedded into it, which might just be what the owner is looking for.
Handle flooring and molding locally
Flooring and molding are again one of those things that can be changed endlessly according to taste, country, religion, and budget, as such kit house suppliers would rather leave this decision in the homeowner’s hands.
Getting flooring and molding locally will open many options according to your budget and taste. This prevents new kit homeowners from paying twice for flooring. When if the kit house suppliers will go with a standard flooring many costumers would change it and will pay for the original flooring and the new one they locally picked.
Again not the best costs wise or sustainable when shipped with the kit.
Conclusion on what should be done locally when getting a kit house
There are many things to be done locally with kit homes, as they can be shipped from anywhere on the globe to any desired location with great convenience as they are shipped in pieces (not as a fully built house).
Kit homes are in most cases just the structure and exterior of the building and as such many of the interior materials are to be purchased locally alongside the local workforce to complete the build. However, pay close attention to what offered because there might be some suppliers that sell the full package including building on-site, interior, and even architectural services.
Yet in most cases, all those things will be purchased locally both as the suppliers do not wish to take part in the build itself rather by guiding the costumers, and it gets complicated to have all a wide range of interior, flooring, and other options. Kit home suppliers like to keep things simple and easy, that way the home you are buying can be less expensive with the best materials for the exterior and the structure.
Additionally, some things as mentioned above are better suited to the house and its environment when purchased and installed locally.
This kit home mindset is what makes them so unique and special as each home would look and feel different but would still have all the advantages of a kit house. Having a low price high-quality home is what makes kit homes such a great option for many of us around the world. Moreover, the possibility of shipping the materials ready for building on the site makes the process much faster and easier than any other type of house building method.
The steps that are done locally are mainly for the benefit of the costumers as it keeps the costs low and gives the ultimate flexibility in designing the interior space.
Overall, this may look like a lot of work and hassle for the customer but when compared with other building methods you will learn that almost all of them require the same amount of work if not more, and without the benefits of the kit house.
I hope this makes things a little bit more clear regarding what you should be doing locally when building your new kit home if there is anything I have learned from my research for this post is that you must check with each supplier what they are offering, what can be added or changed, and lastly what help are they offering if needed.
The secret for a good house build is communication, if you are able to communicate your needs properly and ask the right questions your new kit home will be a great fit for your needs.
Hope to see you on my next posts
Tzachi