Modular/prefab extension?

[SpidersAreShitheads]

There has been lots of threads on here recently about rising costs of extensions/building materials.

We've been caught by this too, but we have other complications (DM isn't very well and might struggle with 6 months+ building work).

Just browsing the renovations group on FB and the idea of modular extensions caught my eye. Delving further into it, there seems to be lots of people who have had it done who are really pleased with the result.

Most of the work is done off-site and it's about two weeks work at your house. Brick-clad exterior to match main house and rated A for energy efficiency - which given the soaring energy costs could be really helpful!

We won't be selling for years - probably two decades or more - so I'm not too fussed about whether it could put buyers off.

Has anyone here had a modular/prefabricated extension - if so, what was your experience? And do you have any companies to recommend/avoid? Vita Modular and EazyBase are two that seem pretty good....?

I have just looked at those websites and the prices are amazing! Are they too good to be true?

It's definitely the thing now - look at any of the renovation programmes, just do your homework and try to get plenty of references plus I suspect the ground work is very important, don't forget that cost. Also reliable contractors used to using it

It is no cheaper than traditional construction around here. I have looked into it. Also here they weren't interested unless you were getting plenty of extras done.

I looked at the Vita Modular website and it gives a price which included foundations, VAT and various other items. The price is size dependent, but it seems a lot cheaper than we have been quoted, certainly for an extension by a builder, and even for a bespoke Orangery.

@CheltenhamLady If your user name is accurate we are literally only a few miles apart from each other :)

I've been in contact with Eazybase and Vita Modular. I spoke to Eazybase on the phone and they're sending me a full quote tomorrow. My only hesitation with them is that they can't do some of the building work that would be required to go alongside it - such as putting in the steels to open up the back so that would be a bit of a faff.

I've had a full quote through from Vita Modular and I have to say I'm REALLY impressed by how thorough and professional they are. They handle all the building regs - and they were very clear about needing to ensure all that was properly compliant and signed off. I've had a lot of the planning etc done by an architect already but they want their architect to do a little bit of tweaking to make sure the plans fit a modular concept.

Our total extension area is 56 sq metres and they've quoted us £110k but that includes VAT, and it also includes flooring, electrics, lighting paint, switches and a standard heater. So basically to a finish. If we want them to knock through as well, it will be an extra £5k. Rooflights can be added too (price depending on size but about £2k for decent-sized one). So we're talking £115k plus roof lights.

By comparison a quote we've had from a builder is £147k. Another builder quoted £137k but that didn't include any of the finishing - so no flooring, lights etc.

@Jenjenn - I'm really surprised it's the same price where you are. Are you somewhere where building is still pretty cheap? We're looking at around a 22% saving - which is what they say is standard (20-30%). The other thing is that the cost of these modular extensions is fixed - whereas building projects tend to go over budget. So for a job that's being quoted as £147k I've been told to allow a further 10% but people on here said it's usually more like 20%!! If that's the case, a £147k build becomes between £161k-£175k - which is enormously more expensive than the £115-120k modular.

The other thing is the time - they're saying 2-3 weeks on site compared to 6 months for the traditional build. I've got autistic DC and my mum has cerebral palsy so a quicker build would be bloody amazing tbh.

Thank you, that's really good advice. I hadn't realised that the renovation shows were using these modular builds when I posted but I've seen some since.

I've contacted a few different modular firms but so far, Vita Modular have really impressed me. They seem really thorough and aren't skimping on anything. I suspect they won't be the cheapest but I think they're going to take some beating. I'm leaning towards them at the moment.

@SpidersAreShitheads , that sounds interesting, please keep us posted. I’ve seen a lot of SIP constructions, but I don’t think I’ve seen modular extensions on tv design shows, so I’m very curious to know what they look like. I looked at modular extensions for my own house but couldn’t find anything suitable (we are building on three floors) and I also didn’t want a non standard construction (which can’t be mortgaged - though I understand this isn’t a concern for you).

@Yellownotblue Yes, I can understand that a non-standard construction might not suit everyone. I have read some chatter on some property forums that it IS possible to get a mortgage from some lenders for properties with these extensions but I don't know if that's genuinely true. I'm proceeding on the basis that it wouldn't be possible - better to assume the worst I think!

I'm waiting for a few more estimates to come in so I'll update when I know more.

The property becoming unmortgageable would be a worry for me. I have no current plans to move, but if in the future we want to downsize, or if the family need to sell when we are gone, then leaving them saddled with an unmortgageable 600k house isn't appealing.

What makes them unmortgageable if they are built to all the required standards? Is it the construction materials?

@SpidersAreShitheads we are not in that area any longer!

You might find a trip to the National Self Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon useful. They have lots of good resources there.

@SpidersAreShitheads - Hello! Did you ever progress things with Vita Modular? I’m just looking into an extension with them now. Finding it hard to find much about them online & I’m hoping to find some references. Thank you :)

Hey @CWoW - we still haven't started anything yet!!! Our planning permission was massively delayed due to a backlog in the Planning office, and it only got approved a week ago.

Due to the delays, the price with Vita Modular has increased by quite a bit. Still a lot cheaper than a traditional build. Can't remember the exact figures for the increase but think it was a bit over £10k more.

There was another firm that I'd messaged, bigger and been trading longer than Vita Modular. Their quote was less than Vita Modular originally - and the only real difference was that they don't provide flooring. Originally the difference in price was only a few thousand and when everything was costed out with flooring etc, there was barely any difference so I was going to stick with Vita. Their price is now about £16,000 less than Vita Modular but the spec is pretty much the same bar the flooring. They're supposed to be coming out next week to do a survey and if all goes well, we're going to place an order with them.

I still think Vita Modular are a really good company and I would have used them. Just the increase in price really pushed our budget and when there's another company offering more or less the same, I can't justify the higher cost. I noticed that Vita Modular have done quite a few interviews etc in magazines and seem to be trying to raise their profile. From what I've seen, they're quite a new company and have only been going for a year or so. According to my last email with them, they're insanely busy - think there's about an 8 week lead time now for production, so they're obviously doing well.

The other company I think I'm now going to use invited me to visit the site they're working on next week and seem very transparent, so I feel comfortable choosing them.

Feel free to pm me if you want more info 🙂

@SpidersAreShitheads Hi I’m also looking into using Vita Modular but interested in other companies too. Could you please PM the other company details. Thanks 👍

Hi @SpidersAreShitheads @TonyDo , Can you share the name of the other modular company you are speaking to? How is it going so far?

thanks

Hi @Dizzlewizzle - @TonyDo I’m so sorry I didn’t see your previous message!!

The alternative company I was considering using gave me bad vibes and their admin responses were just a bit brusque. Maybe shallow of me but I worried about how helpful they would be if there was a problem if they were being offhand at a time when they were trying to court my business!!

Long story short, I used someone else. The build actually starts in a week’s time with the digging/prep - steel being delivered on 6/2. Very excited now!

The company I used is OffPOD. They had good reviews on Google, and there were photos so I could see reviews were legit, One of the directors is a structural engineer. They’ve exhibited at the big shows and featured in large magazines like Grand Designs etc.

Honestly flipping delighted with them. Part of our build is complicated (the annexe half) and involves trying to sort out old building work. Tom and Chris (the directors) are both lovely and Tom (the engineer) has made several site visits and made recommendations about how to tackle certain issues. He also gave advice about the existing build.

They didn’t take the cheapest/quickest route - and they’ve actually added on some freebies to make the build more structurally sound.

I can update when it’s being built if anyone is interested?

We’ve already had building control out - as luck happens our local building control guy has worked with OffPOD before so he’s very familiar with their system and how it works. Can’t foresee any problems.

As far as I can see OffPOD have been really thorough. They came out with devices to test the soil and to insert probes etc to see how long the ground screws need to be. On the last visit Tom brought out the head of the installers, the guy who’s going to be hands on and overseeing things day to day.

Happy to answer any questions if you have them?

I can update when it’s being built if anyone is interested?

It would be beyond rude not to do this imo 😂

Lots of pics and updates please!

Thanks for this. Updates as you go would be appreciated. I have sent an email to Offpod to get a quote. I am also continuing with Vita modular. Is there any reason why you didn't proceed with them?

thanks

@Dizzlewizzle - Vita Modular seemed really lovely, and I'm sure it would have been fine if I'd continued with them.

The reason why I didn't go with them was a few things really. Firstly, the price suddenly jumped up by about £10k. This was after the summer and last year the cost of everything was going up so it may well have been reasonable. What annoyed me slightly was that we'd been having ongoing discussions and it was only when I asked to get a price for changing the size very slightly did they mention that actually the prices had all gone up. So I wasn't impressed that it hadn't been mentioned at any point - when were they going to tell me?

So, that was the real catalyst. A couple of other things was that their customer service noticeably dropped off. Their emails got quite brief and questions were only half-answered/not answered. I suspect this is because they were maybe getting quite busy?

I did have a couple of concerns about Vita originally - mainly that they haven't been trading long and although they seem to have lots of photos of finished work, most of them are the same project from different angles. I looked up the directors on Companies House and I noticed they had a variety of companies (some closed down). I know that it's not unusual but just all of the factors together did make me slightly nervous. Oh yes, and no reviews anywhere to verify their work.

I'm a bit of a worrier, and Nick did seem very lovely over email - although he never suggested any phone calls which maybe would have changed my mind?

I was still dithering over what to do, found OffPOD and was really impressed by their reviews and press coverage. After just a couple of emails, they arranged a phone call (bear in mind I normally hate phone calls!) but they were just brilliant. They worked to meet our very tight budget and have just been absolutely amazing. They are very busy, but I'd honestly say they're worth the wait. If the price is too high you can opt to chop and change bits out to reduce it down (for example we switched out brick slip to render and we're going to do the painting ourselves inside).

Sorry for the long answer!!

@Dizzlewizzle - sorry, forgot to NC for the last post again 🤦🏻‍♀️😅

@CellophaneFlower I will take photos and updates and post them. I'll be honest, I'm so excited about the whole thing that it will give me an excuse just to talk about it some more 😅

Haha @SpidersAreShitheads I bet you are. I remember when you posted originally, costing an extension and contemplating a modular due to affordability.

I'm really interested in how it all goes, as it's actually something I might consider. You sound just like me, with all your research and worrying - I can't even get an electrician out without first checking companies house 😆

Watching with interest - looking forward to the updates, OP!

I was just about to look for this thread to reply to you as didn't want to derail the other one! Luckily it popped up!

I've looked at the website. Only thing that worries me is it said they last longer than concrete/timber - 10 years +. Now I know many concrete pre fabs from the 50s are still going strong, but the 10 years and it might start failing has panicked me 😂

Hi @CellophaneFlower and @TFMinx

Sorry for the delay in updating, it's been a bit bonkers here!!

We're two days in and the steels are arriving on Monday. Apparently by next week the frame should all be up and I THINK he said the doors as well?!

Before, Day 1 and Day 2 photos so far. I am going to bore the pants off everyone with this. Sadly I'm not at the house today so won't have Day 3 photos. Sad times 😭😅

Thank you! Please feel free to bore away! Get the builders to send pics... I'm sure they're not busy enough already 😂

@CellophaneFlower - thank you for commenting on this thread, I couldn't remember which username I'd posted under and there are about a million I created last year because the house move was such a fiasco 🤦🏻‍♀️

So, yes, the 10 year thing is misleading. The 10 years just relates to the warranty/guarantee. And that's the same as the standard 10-year warranty on a traditional new build.

My modular build is made from galvanised steel, with timber and insulated panels, plus insulation. It should actually last longer than a traditional build because there's no concrete to crumble. It won't corrode and it's not at risk from mildew and mould. In North America and Europe, this is a really common way to build whole houses, and it's gradually starting to increase in popularity over here.

There are different types of modular builds so it's always really important to make sure you're comparing like with like.

I'm having some work done internally by traditional builders. I had them round yesterday to start planning. They've never come across a modular build before, and they had a really good chat with the installation team before I got there, and then later chatted to the head guy, the structural engineer who obviously designed it all.

Worth mentioning that I originally got these builders to quote for doing the whole extension, in the traditional way.....so did feel a bit awkward haha! But the guys were absolutely blown away by the modular build. They told me later that the level of insulation was really, really impressive. They were joking that we'd have to walk around in just our pants in the winter 😅 They were also impressed with the level of detail, and how the flooring is properly levelled with screed. Basically no corners being cut.

The head builder guy rang me back later and said that being honest, he thinks I made the right decision for the extension build and he said he can't compete with what they're offering. (He's a lovely builder - really upfront and honest, which I value).

So the fact that traditional builders (who really know their stuff and are very experienced) were seriously impressed with the modular build has given me even more confidence that I've made a good choice.

Probably also worth pointing out again that there are modular builders out there who maybe don't have this same attention to detail. Our traditional builder said he was really impressed that the whole installation team seemed to really know their stuff, it wasn't just a bunch of guys digging up the ground with no idea of the technicalities.

Early days, but so far I'm really happy. The fact that a traditional builder has said how knowledgeable they are and was impressed with the quality of the end build - against his own interests - really has just confirmed in my own mind that I picked the right firm.

I promise I'll write a shorter reply next time 😅