The popularity of flat pack furniture and homes has been on the rise recently. Flat pack houses offer quick, easy, and cheap assembly. Here are our reasons why you should get a flat pack home.
What Actually, Is A Flat Pack House?
Technically, flat pack homes have been around since World War II. Yes, the tents that the soldiers used in WWII were flat pack homes as well. Ever since 1950’s came around flat pack homes have been gaining popularity as a cheap option for a family house. Similar to flat pack furniture, these houses are flat packed in a factory and are assembled once delivered at your site.
Flat pack homes are most famous in Sweden, and are getting huge outreach recently in the UK. Flat pack are usually stylish and on top of that, an cheaper alternative to traditional homes. It’s estimated that every year in the UK alone over 3000 people choose to build a flat pack house.
The Benefits Of a Flat Pack Furniture House
- Rapid assembly compared to a traditionally built house;
- Can be built in weeks rather than months;
- Extremely easy flat pack assembly and fairly cheap flat pack delivery service;
- Eco-friendly, all flat pack houses are energy efficient and made out of renewable timber;
- Although flat pack houses usually employ a standard design, they can be completely customised, see more reasons why flatpacks are great;
- Low cost, as opposed to traditional homes flat pack assembly houses, are usually about 30% less expensive.
Check our DIY guide on flat pack kitchens to get a sharper idea of how tricky the assemblage of complex units can be.
Before You Build Your Flat Pack Home
As with every other building, there are quite a few things you need to get pass when building your new flat pack house. First on the list is naturally, the funding. Providing funding for your house may prove to be pretty challenging but don’t worry, there are some pretty good mortgage payment alternatives that you can use.
Next is the plot of land. You cannot build your house in your neighbours’ yard, right? If you don’t know where to start the hunt, check The Land Registry or use the various plot-finder sites online. You can currently find plots of land starting from £80,000 in the London area.
When you are done with these two, you are most likely going to need to get a building regulation approval and building permit. The application costs around £300. You will have to pay Stamp Duty if your property is worth more than £60,000, if the worth of your property is more than £60,000 stamp duty will be 1%. There are also warranties that are around 1% of the property price, that can cover the materials and workmanship put in your new house. It’s essential to plan in advance what do you want from your flat pack house, because any adjustments or custom work may come pricey.
Where Do I Buy Flat Pack House From?
There really isn’t a shortage of flat pack home companies. The most effective flat pack assembly houses are made in the UK, Germany and Sweden. The most famous UK companies are Potton, and Haus UK. They both offer efficient low energy timber homes with great design. However if you are looking for a solution that has passed the test of the years, you should definitely pick Swedish giant IKEA. They sell more than 800 of their Boklok flat pack homes every year, that must be worth something!
