Get a DIY Flat-Pack Home Delivered and Have an Attractive Cabin in Two Days
May 26, 2008 · Print This Article
So you want to build your own home, but aren’t exactly a contractor. Maybe you don’t have the first clue how to go about doing it, and are in a hurry and strapped for cash. Until now, you would have had no choice but to give up your DIY dream. Lucky for you, a company called Argos has become the first major retailer to offer an attractive and affordable cabin that supposedly takes two people only two days to build.
From Springwise:
The British retailer’s basic five-room cabin, measuring roughly 32×17 feet or 8×5 meters, costs GBP 10,999. An upgraded model, with amenities such as laminate floors with in-floor heating, costs GBP 13,099. Both models are suitable for year-round living and are made by Finnish forestry company Finnforest using wood from sustainable forests.
Argos’ cabins open up several new-business opportunities. For starters, there’s likely a much larger market for ready-to-move-in cabins than for cabins that must first be put together, however easy their assembly might be. Thus, one option would be to buy the kits, assemble them and then resell the homes. The cabins’ low price coupled with their short assembly time would make the potential profit margin a lot greater than would be the case with conventionally built homes that require weeks to build.
Why stop at IKEA flat-pack furniture when you can have a flat-pack home? This is pure awesome. Just get yourself some land and you can have a nice, modest cabin that you won’t be paying off for decades to come. The entire thing (not counting land, utility hookups, surveys and permits) costs little more than the average down payment on a traditional home. This would be a great starting point for a compact homestead complete with solar panels and other energy-saving utilities.
Link [Springwise]
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I would love to see the interior, but even more important– how much is shipping?
I think it’s a great idea. Cost effective and minimizes waste. There are larger issues (shipping, materials used, etc) that I have questions about. Ikea has been offering the BoKlok flatpack home in Great Britain. The goal is to provide affordable housing to low income families in a market with extremely high housing prices.
Sears Roebuck used to sell pre-fab houses. They were sold from 1908 to 1940 and some are still standing today.
http://www.flicklives.com/Glossary/sears_house/gl_prefab.htm
Budget Living Magazine, when in production, had a great article on purchasing pre-fab homes in the US and the architects responsible for their design. I need to dig that article up….
A great idea. Are there any companies like Argos in the U.S selling homes like these? I would love to create an artists’ compound here in Vermont using such kits.