Blog – Why Steel is the Modular choice

Timber Build Vs Steel Build Homes

When choosing a place to live we all need to weigh up the pros and cons of all aspects of our new homes. Many people are looking at options away from the traditional bricks and mortar and find the idea of prefabricated cabins very appealing. These affordable units have been available in timber for a long time, but now there are steel built modular units on the market too. We’re looking at the advantages steel brings to customers and how this durable material could be the option for you.

Assembly

The term Log Cabin is often used by timber home retailers. This is a bit of a misnomer as they are often built using thin, flat timber boards rather than thick, round logs. The structures of the homes are measured and pre-cut en masse in the joinery and packed for easy assembly when it arrives on site. Like flat-pack furniture it is designed to all click into place. However, you need many skilled tradesmen, power tools, experience, and know-how to erect the home as exactly stated in the instruction manual.

Steel, modular units are entirely constructed as advertised – using steel. The frame is entirely made from reinforced beams and the interior and exterior walls are made from rolled steel panels. The clever part of modular design is, as well as being pre-fabricated, it also arrives pre-assembled and simply folded into a self-containing box. Because the ceiling, walls and floors are hinged together, the home can be simply lowered onto the site and erected without any fuss in less than an hour.

This feature means you could be walking around the interior of your steel home in comparison to the timber home, which could still be being removed from its packing. No need for hammering, drilling or saws – some manpower and secure bolts gets your modular upright and rock solid in no time at all.

To get you completely weathertight, the double-glazed windows and doors are designed to slot quickly into place and once sealed the unit is completely airtight. The pitched roof takes a little longer to assemble, but once complete, your unit is then totally water and wind resistant.

Another huge time and money saving feature is the fact that the steel modular home does not require a concrete slab to sit on. It can rest securely on levelled blocks placed on four inches of compact stone. This also means that the structure can be easily folded back away and moved to another site if the need ever arises.

Insulation

We’re all trying to reduce our environmental footprint and keep heating costs to a minimum, but timber units fall short in providing this solution for their customers. Although their prices may look attractive when you’re browsing the options on their sites, once you dig deeper, you’ll find that these are for very basic units with the minimum of insulation. You’ll see the cost starts to rocket when you click ‘extras’ like better insulation, cladding and roof shingles – options that really ought to come as standard.

Designers of steel, modular homes have gone to every effort to cover these basic insulation essentials for you. As standard, every modular unit comes its ceilings, walls and floors fully insulated with high performance, 80mm and 120mm, PIR insulation. As an added measure, each unit is clad in a decorative, wood-effect panels that also provide an extra 10mm layer of insulation. This means, that once your unit is up – its insulated! Modular units achieve an automatic B3 BER rating, a feature that provides a cosy, year-round temperature can be achieved with minimum use of a heating system.

Power And Water

All homes require water and power supplies, and once again the steel built, modular option trumps the timber cabins – by miles.

Timber homes arrive on site as just that – timber. All electrical and plumbing considerations remain the responsibility of the buyer to organise and pay for. This factor means the house is just a shell after its constructed, which puts a burden to source tradesmen on the homeowner and can cause delays to moving in.

Steel built, modular homes have thought of all this in advance and designed their homes to relieve their customers of all of these issues. The walls and ceilings in every unit comes pre-wired and pre-fitted with multiple power points, light switches, led lights and fuse boards. Effectively the unit just needs to be ‘plugged-in’ to the mains and you’re ready to switch on your appliances.

The same consideration has been given to the water supply. Pipes, hoses and waste outlets come pre-installed in all modular units, so a connection to the mains water supply is all that needed to provide running water.

Kitchen And Bathroom Essentials

As previously stated, timber cabins don’t come with many, if any, extras. Once constructed, you’ll have a basic structure with rooms, doors and windows. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to cook a dinner and take a shower while you’re planning where to put your furniture?

Other great features brought to you as standard with modular homes are the fitted kitchens with sink and the fitted bathroom – with WC, sink and rainfall shower. The designers have gone through every aspect to make your steel home as turnkey as possible, and with a new fitted kitchen and bathroom you’re only concern is where to place the couch and TV when you move in.

Maintenance

Once of the biggest drawbacks to timber living is the maintenance required in its upkeep. Although the wood used is treated to withstand the elements, it needs continuous care to prevent premature deterioration. As often as every two years timber homes needs to be treated with several coats of wood preservative to keep out moisture. Even with great attention, wood eventually rots which leads to all sorts of structural problems.

On the other hand, the galvanised steel used in modular homes is treated with a permanent, weather and rust resistant topcoat, meaning that it never needs to be treated or suffers detrimental corrosion. This material preserve the integrity of your home for decades, leaving you maintenance-free and worry-free of it falling into disrepair.

Vermin

Many timber home customers complain of vermin shortly after they’ve moved in. Timber provides a natural habitat for insects and if assembled incorrectly can leave access points for birds and rodents to make their homes.

Steel, however, is a less attractive prospect for wildlife. The homes are designed so that the joints and edges all come together flush so there is no chance of gaps or entry points. Also, the material cannot be gnawed upon nor will it rot and create any access for unwanted vermin.

Safety

We’re all aware of the fire risks associated with flammable materials such as timber. For timber home owners, not only would you have to be extra careful using a naked flame, candles and stoves but also insurance premiums become a serious cost concern and may not even cover certain timber structures.

In contrast to timber, the steel-built unit presents no risk of catching fire at all. Even if an item of furniture was to catch fire, the structure itself is fireproof – right down to the insulation, which is designed to be fire resistant. Buying such a home provides peace of mind and will have zero impact on home insurance premiums.

Resale Value

When we invest in our homes, we like to think we are securing an asset that we may one day use to finance our future property plans. If you’re still considering buying a timber frame home you may wish to consider how well this investment may pay off in 5 – 10 years.

Timber homes are fixed to the foundations and assembled using nails and screws. Disassembling such a structure in a manner that would make it easy to easily re-pack, move and reassemble would be almost impossible. It is likely that much of the material would get damaged or have already been subject to some rot. If you were lucky enough to find a buyer, you would get very little return on your initial payment.

Alternatively, steel built homes are not fixed to the ground and are designed in such a way that they can be unbolted and folded back into the very mobile, container-like shape that they first arrived in. As the steel material suffers little over time, the integrity of the unit is maintained over time, making it a very appealing option for buyers. Modular units hold incredible value and should be seen as a prudent investment as well as a very practical and comfortable lifestyle option for astute property owners.