Westbury Homes
Westbury has invested more than £13m in its Space4 timber frame manufacturing operation. Its new factory in the West Midlands is the biggest of its kind in Europe and will be capable of producing 5000 units a year. Westbury aims to build 80% of its housing using the system and it is already marketing its homes to self-builders and other developers. The shell of an average Space4 house can be assembled on site in a day and Westbury says total build time per house has been reduced from 16-20 weeks to 6-8 weeks. This is in part due to external bricklaying no longer being on the critical path. The manufacturing process means that more tasks can be taken off site into a controlled factory environment. For example, doors and windows are fitted in the factory and conduits for plumbing and electrics are built into the panels. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the manufacturing process is the insulation system. Phenolic foam is pumped into the panels using a system patented by Westbury.
Second
Black Country Housing Association
Black Country HA opted for prefabrication to build new homes on its Bryce Road phase 2 site in Dudley after a shortage of bricklayers caused another of its projects to run 14 weeks late. It used a precast concrete composite wall panel system, precast concrete floor slabs and fully fitted factory-made kitchen and bathroom pods. A three-storey house was erected in less than a week and Black Country saved £25 000 in total on preliminaries such as site compound and staff. This more than offset the premium paid for the composite panel system. Other benefits included reduced off-cuts and factory build quality. Shorter time on site also meant more rental income for the housing association.
They have a logical long-term strategy that’s been fully tested and is being methodically implemented, and have taken their investors along with them
Source
Building Homes
