From foundations to watertight in just 13 hours
From bare foundations to a watertight structure in 11⁄2 working days, a Wellington company believes it has come up with a ‘‘radical’’ solution to help fix the housing crisis.
The walls, floor and roof of Flexi House’s first project – a onebedroom, two-bathroom workers’ quarters with an open-plan kitchen and living area – went up in just 13 hours at a Central Otago orchard.
The system is based on standardised floor, wall and roof units, which are pre-made off-site. Exterior wall units come clad, glazed and insulated. Designing a house is a matter of figuring out how many units are needed to build a structure of the desired size.
Founder Andre´ Heller said the repeatable component-based system was much more efficient than traditional on-site builds.
Allowing the owner to configure their home room by room was a ‘‘radical change’’, he said.
Heller said building at scale was the biggest problem, with traditional methods being too slow.
‘‘Traditionally, we’ve built house by house. A product approach with interchangeable components allows the opportunity for mass production – it strips out the need for an architect and engineer at every stage.
‘‘Weathertightness has to be a focus if we want to scale up housing. Once a house is sealed, then you can call in the plumbers and electricians to fit it out.’’
The pre-made components meant the building process was less wasteful and the structures were designed to be efficient to heat, Heller said.
The components can be disassembled as easily as they can be put together and houses can be modified as owners’ needs change.
The units sent to Cromwell on the build at Forest Lodge Orchard were constructed at Makers Fabrication at Gracefield, Lower Hutt, which worked closely with Flexi House. The process could be contracted out to other workshops to increase production and create local supplies, Heller said.