Modular house – what is it and how much does it cost?

Once we have decided to build a house, the dream of every family is to complete the investment as soon as possible, and preferably with the lowest possible construction costs. At least in the first area, modern technology in construction, which offers the so-called modular house, meets the expectations of future investors. But what is it exactly? Will we really move to a new house faster? Finally, how much does it cost to build a modular house? Before we decide on such a solution, it is worth deepening the commonly available knowledge on this subject.

Table of contents

• Modular houses – what is it?
• How long does it take to build a modular house?
• How much does a modular house cost?

Modular houses – what is it?

Single-family housing in our country has been characterized for years by attachment to traditional construction technology, i.e. brick construction. Brick houses have many advantages, but it certainly takes a long time to build such a house. That is why civil engineers around the world have been trying to create new ways of building houses for years, which is appreciated by investors. This trend has been maintained in Poland for several years and we are more and more willing to use technologies that allow us to gain time. This is what modular construction is all about. Modular house – what does it mean in concrete terms? Such a building (up to 90%!) is made of ready-made elements – the so-called prefabricated elements, which are previously prepared in the factory (usually from ecological materials) . Such modules make it easy to quickly connect them to each other on the construction site, which greatly reduces the time needed to erect a building. Initially, modular construction was wrongly associated with containers, but the development of technology already allows the construction of modern, ecological and functional houses.

How long does it take to build a modular house?

The mere joining of prefabricated elements on the construction site can take only a few days, including the installation of the roof. However, it should not be forgotten that the entire construction process is much longer. The following should also be taken into account:

• choosing a design that is properly tailored to our needs (e.g. the decision to have a basement for the building will result in longer earthworks and construction works);
• the waiting time for a building permit (excluding the so-called houses on notification);
• execution of modules by a previously selected specialist construction company (the waiting time will depend on the complexity of the building or the company’s processing capacity);
• installation and finishing works.

Thus, the construction of a turnkey modular house alone can take only 12 weeks with an efficient team. Although the whole process may take us more time, its savings compared to building brick houses are considerable.

How much does a modular house cost?

The costs of building a house always arouse a lot of emotions. When deciding on a modular house, in the context of the price of its construction, it is worth considering:

• the size of the future house;
• material solutions and their quality (from light wooden elements, through more solid so-called Scandinavian modules – made of specially treated spruces, to very solid and durable expanded clay concrete modules with excellent thermal insulation properties);
• the need to rent specialized assembly cranes.

It must be admitted that these are not the cheapest solutions, but they do not have to be more expensive than other technologies. The open shell state can be achieved from approx. PLN 1500 per m2 upwards, especially if you want to use the highest quality materials.

The main advantage of modular houses over other construction technologies is the time of investment implementation, which, apart from the building permit, can take only a few months. In relation to the price, which can be comparable to traditional solutions, this time gains twice as much value.

We also encourage you to check out an interesting blog article: frame or brick house – what are the differences and what is worth choosing?