Kit Home: Research your needs

In order to end up with the kit home best suited to your needs, you have to clearly understand what you are looking for and what options are available to you. This is done by researching in two areas.

Firstly, you research the market to find out what kinds of kit homes are available, familiarizing yourself with the different features, styles and price ranges etc. Secondly, you examine your own unique requirements in a kit home.

Researching the market: Kit Home essentials

Kit homes are available using a variety of build technologies. Most manufacturers provide a good choice of designs as well as a tailor-made service and you will also have to consider fitting out. Different power, water, drainage, heating, ventilating and air conditioning options will require specific preparation work and need to be considered early in the planning process.

The first part of the research step is to investigate just what's available in the kit home market. The range of options can seem overwhelming, but you can make a good start by understanding the following major features:

Type: Timber framed, log cabin, modular, steel and glass, concrete and even straw bale kit houses are available. Some require more construction than others and special planning consent may be required for the more outlandish designs.

Size and configuration: Manufacturers generally have a range of styles available and you will find more choice in smaller homes. Their catalogue designs are configured in what they believe to be the best format, however for an extra cost you can make modifications to the layout, add a bathroom, or change the room sizes and other features around to better suit your needs.

Services: You may opt for convention and link into the mains water, power and drainage or, depending on your environmental concerns or the remote location of your plot, you may decide on solar heating, wind power, well-water and reed-bed sewage filtration.

Cost: Building your own house can work out at half to three-quarters of the cost of buying a ready built structure depending on how much labour you intend to put into the build. Straw bale houses are very low cost and highly energy efficient. They can be built for about half of the cost of a timber-frame house of a similar size but requires more skill in finishing. A steel-frame and glass house can cost five times as much as the equivalent timber framed building but you're paying for the “wow” factor.

Researching your needs: Questions to ask yourself

Now it's time to determine what your requirements are in a kit home. For example, will you use the kit home only for a holiday home?

You can start this process by considering the following questions - as well as any others you think of yourself - and recording your answers.

Have I bought a kit home before?
	If you have bought a kit home, work out what you did or didn't like about the kit home. You may be looking for one exactly like it, hoping to upgrade, or even trying to avoid any particular features that you found inconvenient.

What is the main purpose of this house?
	Perhaps it is to be your principal home, a holiday home or maybe a rental income property or a resale investment.

How long will I keep this house?
	You might want it to see you into your old age or perhaps it should adapt to a growing or a shrinking family. You may want it to accommodate aging parents when they become too frail to care for themselves.

How many bedrooms will I need?
	Concentrate on the amount of comfortable accommodation necessary at holiday and celebration times. You know your extended family better than anyone and remember that children grow and take up more space before they leave home altogether. Try to work out room sizes based on what you have found comfortable in the past.

How many bathrooms do I need?
	You might have teenage daughters or entertain frequently with friends staying overnight. There may be elderly people in the house.

What should the public rooms consist of?
	Your lifestyle may demand sit-down meals or you might entertain large numbers of people on a frequent basis. You may like to have a separate quiet lounge and leisure area.

Do I work from home?
	You might need one or perhaps two offices or practice rooms. Will you need storage rooms? You could also need a separate entrance for your business with a reception area.

What size kitchen will I need?
	You might be a talented chef who requires extensive facilities or perhaps you are a take-out connoisseur only needing a microwave and a dishwasher. Will you eat in the kitchen? The kitchen may need to accommodate a monster refrigerator.

What laundry facilities do I need?
	You might need washing, drying and internal airing space for a large family.

Do I have pets?
	Often overlooked, dogs especially take up quite a bit of space. Do you need a pet room where they sleep and have access to the garden? You may even have horses which require stables and feed storage.

How many cars am I likely to have?
	You may want to use a garage or perhaps your boys need somewhere to work on cars. It is usually a good idea to have some covered parking.

How much storage would be enough?
	Perhaps you are a hoarder who keeps everything or you might need storage for wine racks or other special items. If in doubt add more storage than less.

Is a workshop or hobby room necessary?
	Maybe the kids need somewhere to make a mess where it doesn't matter. You could be a hobby machinist or carpenter who needs a properly equipped workshop.

Who will build the house?
	You might want to build this house with your own hands or you may prefer to contract out the major construction work. Try to be realistic as house-building is a full-time occupation and can take months to complete the fitting out.

How much am I willing to spend?
	Don't forget, of course, that the kit house is only part of the overall project cost.

Understanding your needs is the key to a successful purchase and you can revisit your list of needs at any time during the buying process.

Once you complete this Research step, having informed yourself about the essentials of kit homes and identified your needs, you are ready to move on to the next step: Evaluation.

Video Links

Oz Kit Homes Construction Photos (Gallery 2) - Promo
Promotional video from Oz Kit Homes showing pictures of the construction of kit homes. (0m 42s)