What does it take to build a bespoke, off-site manufactured luxurious eco home?
After a detailed design briefing about the location of your plot, the local planning requirements, your favourite architectural style, your requirements for layout, space and your target budget, your bespoke home will be designed by experienced architects at Stommel Haus.
After the planning permission was obtained with the help of a local planning consultant, an exciting three-day fitting meeting in Germany will be held, where you make all your detailed selections of fittings – from the colours to the interior doors, the floorings, bathrooms suites and decorations to the tailor made stair case.
With a slab plan provided after the fitting meeting, you can get your slab built by a local builder.
In Germany, the architectural design will now be translated into production plans; a typical house needs about 350 to 400 plans which are then turned by skilled carpenters and joiners into precision made elements in the factory.
This meticulous preparation takes several weeks; however, the production in the factory takes only about 5 days.
The wall panels with their high quality triple glazing windows and exterior doors as well as all roof truss, guttering and other materials are loaded on 38 ton trucks which will be shipped on site just in time.
In the meantime scaffolding is set up and the site is prepared.
Shell Assembly: Lorry by lorry is unloaded and directly assembled, the ground floor is up on day 1, the second floor on day 2. The house is wind- and water tight typically after 5 days and after a few days of fine tuning and clearing up, a shell acceptance protocol is drawn up by the site manager and yourself.
Kitting out: If you ordered the fully fitted house, the kitting out will start with the first fix electrics and heating/plumbing. Qualified master electricians, plumbers and heating engineers come from Germany with their materials to install electrics, plumbing, under-floor heating on all storeys, and the heating. Typically a state-of-the-art air- or ground source heat pump is installed. After that the screed will be installed on all storeys.
Once the screed was tested to be dry, the flooring will be installed, decoration is done and bathrooms are fitted.
When all this is done, the Stommel Haus project manager comes in to do a final meticulous acceptance and prepares a written protocol which is signed by both parties.
The house is no handed over and ready for you to move in.