Kit Homes Can Grow With You
One of the best features of a custom kit home is the fact that as your space needs grow, so can your home with no adverse impact on the look of your home. Internal walls and windows positioning can be taken into consideration for later extensions. Discuss your needs with your chosen kit home company at inception and the necessary plans can be worked out.
Cost effective
The ability to easily add on later while maintaining the integrity of the look of your home makes home ownership a lot more affordable. A couple can start with a well priced two bedroom house with provisions to add on extra bedrooms when they want to start a family.
A family with two small children might want the option of a teenager’s retreat as the children grow. An older couple might need the ability to add on a self contained are for an elderly relative or an extra room for the grandchildren to visit.
Anyone might need a home office extension to focus on working from home, or an art studio, or even a photography darkroom. You can save for these extra extensions, learn enough on the original build to put up the extension without assistance, and not spoil the style or outside look of your home.
Kit Homes – Dispelling The Myths
There are still a few preconceived ideas surrounding kit homes. Some are positive and some are negative. As with everything kit homes have advantages and disadvantages but it is important to understand that this industry has come a long way.
Yes, a kit home can save time and money in many instances, but that is not the only focus for companies today. People are choosing these homes for convenience, flexibility, and suitability to Australian conditions.
It’s not always about doing it for less money, it’s about value for money, and getting everything provided on one package, for a set price, and you can see exactly how it will look. This type of time saving aspects are a strong draw card for kit homes. You get to see a good picture of the home you will get and you can tailor that to your individual personality.
Kit Homes Are Not Prefabricated Homes
It’s important not to lump prefabricated homes in with kit homes. Prefabricated homes are pre-built and trucked to the site. You are responsible for the footings and organizing tradesmen to connect water, power and sewerage, and then the already constructed building arrives and is situated on your footings and made secure. Larger buildings come in sections. There are some excellent quality prefabricated homes.
Owner-Builder of Kit Home – Responsibilities and Preparation
If you haven’t had experience in a new home build, being owner-builder of a kit home may seem a little daunting. This is by no means an easy job, and you must consider if the savings will outweigh the learning curve you will need according to your experience.
Being as prepared as possible is a key factor, the better organised you are, the easier you will deal with situations that may arise. Apart from the co-coordinating the actual build, there are professional tradesmen to book, council guidelines to be taken into consideration, and site preparation to get done.
There are a number of things to put in place to ensure the smoothest run possible, and to see you are protected both physically and legally during your build.
Please remember that each state and even each local government area will have their own guidelines so do check this out in your local council area, as well as the state.
Kit Homes for the Physically Disabled
Kit homes can suit many purposes because of their versatility. When you have a physical disability, this versatility can be important. Though kit homes may not be suitable for everyone with disabilities, they should be on your list of considerations for a new home. Many times the existing floor plans can be easily modified to accommodate the need for bigger rooms or easier access throughout the house. When that is possible, it means you can get the style of home you need at a cheaper price than would be possible in an architecturally designed home.
There are two important facts to know about disability in Australia. First is the fact that the term “disability” is inclusive and refers to people with physical, mental, and sensory limitations that can be short or long-term. The second fact to remember is that the physical disability group is the largest segment of the total disability population in Australia.
According to a 2003 Australian Bureau of Statistics survey, there are 3,350,600 million Australians with a physical disability of different severities. There is increasing focus in various industries to accommodate this significant portion of the country’s population with much of the focus on structuring public buildings so they are accessible by the disabled. But everyone must live somewhere, and when a person is disabled, finding an affordable home sometimes turn into one of the biggest challenges faced.
Soil Considerations When Choosing Kit Home Structural Materials
When you decide it’s time to buy a kit home, you will discover there are two types of floor systems, framing and trusses – steel or wood. There are several conditions which impact your choice of materials.
- Climate
- Slope
- Soil Conditions
Australia is a dry continent. It is abnormally dry under the best of conditions, and it has been worse than normal due to ocean currents leading to changes in the weather. Australia is one of the driest parcels of land in the world and this has implications when talking about soil conditions. Drought is hard on everything and that includes the earth itself.
When soil is dry due to drought conditions, its ability to carry a load is impacted. Dry soil is less able to sustain a heavy load which can lead to house shifting unless accommodations are made. One of those accommodations is the use of steel floor systems, and steel frames and trusses in the kit home construction.
Consistently Strong
How to Begin Buying a Kit Home
Buying a house is major decision no matter what style of home you have decided to purchase. As the price of materials and labour continue to rise, deciding to own your own home is a decision that must be made with great care. It’s a financial and time commitment while also being your castle and shelter for your family.
Choosing to buy a kit home is a good decision. They are affordable while maintaining high quality. They are also stylish and have many features which make them perfectly suited for families of all sizes. But once you decide to actually purchase a kit home, the real work begins. There are a lot of things to consider and to understand so you make sure you purchase the right house for your needs.
Location, Location, Location…and Location
Where you want to locate your kit home has a direct bearing on the kit home design you choose. A long narrow lot in the middle of a neighbourhood can accommodate a much different design than rural property with plenty of space for the house.
When you begin buying a kit home, your choice of design will be greatly influenced by the property location and configuration.
Preventing House Gaps and Cracks in Extreme Australian Climate
Australia is a land of weather extremes. Recent news reports are talking about the fact Australia is experiencing one of the worst heat waves the country has seen in the last century with 45.5oC temperatures being recorded.
This is hard on people, but it’s also hard on the environment. Australia has a national identity that incorporates extreme droughts and periods of flooding rains that test the soul. But it’s not just the soul being tested, because extreme temperatures, drought and monsoon-like rains can create a lot of soil and house construction problems too.
Stability and Endurance
When you build a house, you expect it to be stable and enduring. You don’t want it shifting which can lead to gaps and cracks around windows, doors, and even where walls meet walls or where walls meet the roof. The house needs to remain steady and not shift along with the ground on which it stands.
The Many Stylish Features of Kit Homes
The days of drab and mundane kit homes are a thing of a past. If you still think of kit homes as looking like a box with cladding then you are in for a very nice surprise. Kit homes today are as stylish as their more expensive traditional construction counterparts.
In fact, in many instances the kit home can be even more stylish because you have plenty of opportunity to choose the kind of flooring, appliances, and plumbing fixtures after the house is completed. Though not included in the kit itself, having an opportunity to decorate as you desire without being forced to accept whatever comes with a completed stick home is a real pleasure for many new owners of kit homes.
Elegance to Easy Living
There is a large variety of kit home floor plans and styles to suit different needs. Some homes are designed to fit easy carefree beach living and others fit upscale neighbourhoods. There are kit homes that are perfectly suited to a rural setting and others which can nestle right into the moderately priced subdivision.
It doesn’t matter if you are buying a kit home as a primary residence or for a vacation home, you will find the house comes with many stylish features both inside and out. In fact, kit homes were designed for convenient living with flair. Most of the features people demand today in their homes can be found in the new breed of kit homes. Click Here to Read More »
Steel Kit Homes Reduce Australian Termite Problems
Australia has a termite problem, but that doesn’t mean it has to be your problem too. There are over 350 types of termites in Australia and at least 30 of them are labelled as damaging pests. And termites can certainly do a lot of damage for such a small insect. These hungry pests can eat a room floor in less than 3 months. They can also be sneaky, because they often are busy eating wood underneath coverings such as brick or siding and you don’t discover it until something literally falls off the house!
Each year in Australia, over 30,000 new termite problems are reported by homeowners. There are at least 20% of the Australian homes damaged by termites and this represents a higher loss than that recorded by fire or storms. That is amazing in a country well known for its damaging brush fires and cyclones. When you look at it this way, you can understand the real danger termites present to Australian homeowners.
Well Kept Secret
Almost 70% of the damage by termites in Australia is caused by the termite called the Coptotermes Acinaciformis. This termite is a subterranean termite which loves moisture and dark places but is happy to accommodate a dry climate area too. They are secretive and try to stay hidden as much as possible. A colony can build a nest with millions of termites underneath a single concrete floor or within a wall. When these pests get busy, they can cause thousands of dollars of damage to a home.
The First Kit Home Was Built in Australia!
Did you know the first kit home was built in Australia? The home was called the “Manning Portable Colonial Cottage for Emigrants”. It was designed in the 1830s by doting father H. Manning who was a London carpenter. His son had decided to immigrate to Australia and his father wanted him to have a house when he arrived. The first kit home was pre-cut in London and then stored on a ship for delivery to Australia. Upon arrival the pieces were assembled into a house.
The kit home proved to be immediately popular. The son Manning sold many of them to Australians in the years after his arrival. From that point on the kit home has played a significant role in providing affordable housing to people around the world. Homes like those sold at OzKit Homes in Australia represent state-of-the-art design and construction techniques that have evolved over the last 179 years.
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