Kit Houses Kit Homes: Past And Present

Date Published:

09/07/2008

A hands on or hands off choice, it's the ultimate model kit for enthusiasts or it's the way to get exactly what you want without necessarily having to do it yourself.

In reality, the kit home is just another example of prefabrication, but without some of the more negative connotations. While timber frame versions still dominate in consumer consciousness (accounting for 90% of all self build) there are also interesting developments in metal structures, even including using former freight containers, that may well yet become a common sight in the UK.

While the concept of producing the components for a home off-site is nothing new, kit homes enjoyed their heyday in the early decades of the 20th century in America.

From around 1910-1920 there were around seven nationally respected companies selling homes in kit form. The most well-known was probably Sears Roebuck, a mail order company synonymous with mass retail in the USA. Between 1908 and 1940 selling from a yearly produced catalogue the company would provide purchasers with building plans, materials and the house in kit form which were then delivered along the country's extensive rail network.

One of the most popular house styles with purchases was the bungalow. The USA, having none of the land restrictions suffered in the UK (USA very big, UK quite small), has maintained a love affair with single floor or low-rise dwellings to this day.

The Sears Roebuck houses were quick and easy off the peg answers to housing needs, and while in some instances still being of considerable charm and appeal to their owners, offered less in terms of flexibility and bespoke styling.Today the kit house has evolved to incorporate these people-pleasing measures, to include homes seemingly of breathtaking flexibility and beauty, while at the same time offering quick and low impact builds.

Today

By the present, the kit house has evolved to incorporate these people-pleasing measures, to include homes seemingly of breathtaking flexibility and beauty, while at the same time offering quick and low impact builds.

Yankee Barn

Barn architecture has long given aficionados the sense of space, textural warmth and open plan freedom that they crave. However, the UK’s stock of truly beautiful barns ripe for conversion is already drying up. In the USA barn fans get past this by taking the principles of barn living and adapting it to new build.

Yankee Barn Homes has been designing and building post and beam homes across the USA since 1969. While over a thousand Yankee Barns have been built, the company is proud of the fact that no two are exactly alike, and that each hand-crafted home has been created to be a personal statement by its owner.

To create that unique look, homeowners work with a company designer to create a home to fit their lifestyle. Then the post and beam wall floor and roof panels along with any speciality millwork are constructed in the controlled environment of the company workshop to protect the integrity of the timber. The Yankee Barn will then be packaged and shipped ready for erection on site – a process taking between eleven to thirteen days. Once weathertight, the home can then be finished at the owner's leisure.

Yankee Barn is based in Grantham, New Hampshire, but already is beginning to extend its aesthetic appeal overseas. A Yankee Barn is coming soon to Ireland, and after that, perhaps to a vacant plot very near you.

If it's a more home grown aesthetic you're after then Benfield ATT offer numerous variations on a theme. All Benfield ATT's self build houses are available in 'kit' form in so far as they deliver the timber frame panels and beams, but do not erect them, leaving the self builder to do it themselves if they so desire. Typically, however, the company will erect most of the buildings at the homeowner's request due to the technical complexities of getting it just right.

Benfield ATT are wholly committed to timber frame construction, which they consider a dry method of construction in comparison with brick and block wet build which may utilise thousands of litres of water. Benfield ATT are also the only company in the UK with FSC certification, which means that they are authorised to build timber frame structures from timber which is endorsed by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and WWF.

Again, Benfield ATT offer a much reduced build time in comparison with other methods of building, and off-site quality control. Prefabricated wall sections incorporate vapour check membranes and can include factory fitted insulation and service duct systems as standard. They also offer a bespoke service to give as little or as much help as needed from individual tailoring to complete turn key project management packages.

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