Prefab Houses -- question about Sweden

[DanS]

I suggest that we not support the evil Inter IKEA Systems B.V. empire further, but the 'splosions sound like good fun.

CI: Yes, those are the type that was discussed. It need not be shipped in one piece. Could be several.

Do you see those types of houses "all the time" or is it more of an occasional thing?

[DanS]

Here are some example pics of the modern style...

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/prefab.html

[DanS]

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[Bosh]

Well there probably would be a lot of prefab houses here if anyone built a lot of houses. This must be the most apartment-ridded country in the world, you get high-rises towering above the rice fields out in the boonies sometimes

[Combat Ingrid]

Originally posted by DanS
CI: Yes, those are the type that was discussed. It need not be shipped in one piece. Could be several.

Do you see those types of houses "all the time" or is it more of an occasional thing?

Almost all new houses around here are of that type. It has been the standard for quite some time now.

Interesting houses you posted by the way

[Chemical Ollie]

My neighbour is marketing manager for one the major prefab housing companies. The parts are built in the factory in my home town, then shipped by truck and assembled on the spot where you want them. It's not comparable to trailers at all, as the houses are too big to be transported in full assembly. And I've never heard of anyone moving a prefab house, that would be something really desperate. Sizes range from 120-200 m2.

Here are some houses:

[Chemical Ollie]

Duh, pics don't show, let's try this

[Kontiki]

Don't know about the picture CI posted, but the ones Dan and CO posted are nicer than 99% of the houses in Canada and the US.

[DanS]

Probably a lot more expensive per ft^2, however. Not so sure I prefer the houses I posted either. CO's pic looks nice, though it would need to be modified to fit the American taste (change car port to 2 - 3 car garage for big ass SUVs, more square footage, bigger lawn contemplated, etc.). Compare to Flubber's house, which seems pretty typical for a biggish, but not quite McMansion-type house.

CO: How much does that cost per m^2?

[Verto]

Originally posted by DanS
Here are some example pics of the modern style...

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/prefab.html

The house that LEGOs built.

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by DanS
Probably a lot more expensive per ft^2, however. Not so sure I prefer the houses I posted either. CO's pic looks nice, though it would need to be modified to fit the American taste (change car port to 2 - 3 car garage for big ass SUVs, more square footage, bigger lawn contemplated, etc.). Compare to Flubber's house, which seems pretty typical for a biggish, but not quite McMansion-type house.

CO: How much does that cost per m^2?

Garage is optional, you can get anything you need (if you pay for it, naturally).

The company where my neigbour works do a lot of export to Japan, but I'm not sure if they use the same models there. He is the "Senior vice president" named on this link.

http://www.lbhus.se/Templates/LBHUS_FirstPageInternational.asp?Page_ID=868

The size of the lawn depends on where you build your house. But I've noticed the city planners have made the gardens smaller in recent years, while the houses are rarely built with a basement any longer, which means that they make a larger footprint for the same living area. So not much room for a lawn. My garden is 2500 m2, but gardens for new houses nowadays are much smaller.


I haven't checked prices for new houses recently, but I would guess they are in the 1000-1500 €/m2 range. 10 years ago, I made a calculation for building a small house on land I already owned, and concluded I could get my mother's old 400 m2 house for about the same price as a new 150 m2. Building a new house has become ridicilously expensive compared to buying an old one.

[:) Smiley]

Another reason for slow adoptance of prefab in the US, besides the trailer image, is a wide difference in lot sizes, zoning, and building codes in different parts of the country. With each site being different, its hard to get a prefab that sits on the lot in an optimal way. The country itself is pretty big also, adding to transport costs.

What is gaining popularity are SIPs - structural insulated panels, essentially premade sections of wall in standard dimensions.

[DanS]

Lot sizes really do vary quite a bit in the US.

(1) My sis bought a house in a development near Chicago with a plot size of a little more than 1/4 acre (1,000 m^2).

(2) Two years later she bought a house in a development near New Orleans with a plot size of about 1/2 acre (2,000 m^2).

(3) Plot sizes near where I grew up in exurbia, Ohio routinely are 1 to 2 acres (4,000 m^2 to 8,000 m^2) apiece.

(4) The house in which I grew up had a 3 acre (12,000 m^2) lot plus about 10 acres in farmland.

[DanS]

Originally posted by Chemical Ollie
...while the houses are rarely built with a basement any longer...

Any particular reason for this? In the US, there are parts where they don't build basements (New Orleans, etc.), but basements are very often built. It depends on the development or whether you are building custom.

Building a new house has become ridicilously expensive compared to buying an old one.

This decidedly isn't the case in most of the US. The prices are roughly comparable.

[Japher]

The house that LEGOs built.

my thoughts exactly. Sweden is one big Legoland.