All you need to know about building a modular home in Ireland
An interior of one of the three-bed Pod Factory modular homes.
The word prefab may bring to mind the freezing cold classrooms of your childhood, but leave that memory in the past — the prefabricated homes of today are customisable, exceptionally high quality, and built to last.
With soaring labour costs showing no signs of falling back down to reasonable levels, it has become increasingly difficult to build a home in Ireland. Even if you can afford it, the chances of finding contractors to carry out the work within a reasonable timeline are next to impossible. It’s a problem with no easy answer, and in the meantime, it’s worth exploring alternative solutions.
One of which is buying a prefabricated home.
The attraction here is that the bulk of the building works are carried out offsite in large factories. Centralising works in this way increases efficiency and precision. Once ready to be installed, building timelines are shorter and there are fewer moving parts to cause delays and let-downs.
Prefabricated homes are not common yet in Ireland, but they are nothing new on the continent and in the States. They are not necessarily cheaper than custom new builds, but the shorter timelines could save you money on additional rent and save you the overall headache of managing a build. There’s a wide range available both within Ireland and across the continent (though beware of delivery costs if ordering from abroad). I spoke with some of the more popular suppliers to find out how feasible it is to buy a prefabricated home in Ireland.
Huf Haus is touted as the crème de la crème of prefabricated homes, and while the price tag reflects its iconic status, Huf Haus owners resoundingly report them to be worth every penny. I’ve been a fan for years and if I had the money, this is what I would buy. Huf Haus is a German company, founded in 1912, which has given it a lot of time to perfect its designs. Its award-winning homes are timber-framed glass-clad marvels (in my opinion). You can choose from a range of styles of varying sizes, all highly energy efficient, and can even opt to have the interior fully kitted out.
I spoke with Denis Byrne, the Irish architect chosen to be the main partner for Huf Haus in Ireland, who explained the installation process. First, you need to enlist a local contractor to lay the groundwork and get things like drainage and utilities in place, then they will need to lay a concrete slab foundation. That’s where your reliance on local contractors ends — from this point on, the team at Huf Haus takes care of everything.
Huf sends workers from its main factory in Germany to come over and install everything, from the walls to the final lightbulb should you so choose, and they typically do it within six months. That is an attractive timeline to get a premium home hassle-free, and while the price is not cheap, the quality and style you get in return is something to seriously consider should you have the means.
Closer to home, Modular Homes Ireland (also known as Big Red Barn) has been providing Irish customers with prefabricated homes for over ten years. Everything is manufactured at its site in Mayo and all materials are carefully chosen to withstand our Irish climate — so much so that Big Red Barn homes come with a 25-year structural guarantee.
The process is similar to Huf Haus — you get the groundwork ready and the Big Red Barn/Modular Homes Ireland team takes it from there — although for an additional cost, it can provide its own groundworks team to deliver the entire project for you from start to finish.
I spoke to founder Donal Byrne who said that customers can expect to save roughly 20% on costs compared to a standard new-build, and will receive greater quality and energy efficiency in return. According to Donal, the biggest blocker to installing a prefabricated home in Ireland is planning permission — there is a lack of consistency across planning offices in Ireland with some counties (he cited Clare as an example) typically offering an efficient and straightforward application process, where others can be drawn out and complicated.
Big Red Barn homes are fully customisable and also come fitted with kitchens and bathrooms, so once you have designed your home with the team all that’s left for you to buy is furnishings and accessories. The fact that they are made in Ireland dramatically reduces transport costs, and once designs are complete fabrication and installation are typically done in three-four months. Take a virtual tour of its range at Modularhomesireland or explore its showrooms in Swinford, Co Mayo.
Based in Meath, the Pod Factory provides modular prefabricated pods from small garden rooms up to full-sized three-bed homes. With a robust steel frame and air-tight membrane, the pods are well-built to withstand the Irish climate and are highly energy-efficient. Timelines average 12 weeks from production to installation, and according to the team, its most basic pod could save you up to 50% against the cost of a regular build.
I spoke with Barry Alder who confirmed the website's claim that a Pod Factory modular home is completely turnkey — the team does everything from groundworks to installation, and can even support with utilities supply.
Every pod is fully customisable, and in fact the team welcome a challenge — customers are encouraged to “bring their creativity” and the company's in-house draughtsman will bring all ideas to life. Check out its range of modular homes at thepodfactory or visit the showrooms in Lismullin, Co Meath.
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