A kit house is a building erected on site (like a conventional timber-frame structure), but all its components have been pre-cut in the factory and shipped in batches (usually flat-packed, to reduce transport costs).

Kit houses can generally be adapted to the customer's specifications (room sizes can be changed, windows can be moved, etc.).

Kit house construction offers great flexibility and simplicity at a relatively moderate cost.

What to plan for when buying a timber kit house

Building a kit house has a number of advantages, the most significant of which are:

Shorter project time.
A kit house includes all the components needed for construction. The manufacturer pre-cuts all parts, and the delivered package includes complete assembly instructions.
Compared with conventional construction (where parts are measured and cut on site), using a kit significantly reduces the time spent on site assembling the structure (by several weeks).
Less waste produced.
The workforce does not need to be highly skilled.
As the design and cutting are done in the factory, on-site construction workers do not need to be experienced carpenters.
Locally sourced goods and services.
The kit includes most of the components needed to make the structure weathertight. However, to save on transport costs, some materials are not included in the kit and must be bought locally (insulation, for example).
These components can be bought at a lower price, which can lead to significant savings.
Sourcing materials and services locally reduces the cost of interior finishes and technical installations.

Common misconceptions about kit houses

A kit house is a structure that must be fully built on site and is delivered in containers of pre-cut materials.

Although the building may have a modular architecture (based on a repeating geometric pattern, such as the triangular A-frame structure), this does not automatically make it a modular building.

A "modular" house is a prefabricated structure that arrives on site as factory-built boxes. The boxes are fully finished (even inside), and all that remains is to place them on the foundations and connect them.

This construction method is faster but much more expensive (it saves time but can lead to unnecessary or unexpected costs).

This is not the case with kit houses. The purpose of using a kit is to save money.

A kit house requires some investment of time (either during construction or in the design phase), but this is offset by a more economical construction process.

Of all prefabricated systems, kit houses are the simplest and most cost-effective, as they allow you to use your time during the different construction phases to adjust many aspects and achieve the desired result.

Timber frame house kits - Page 5