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| 'Flat-pack' house that's ready in a week The ultimate in 21st century living has been unveiled in the shape of a flat-pack house made of steel and polystyrene. For the same price as a traditional bricks and mortar house, homebuyers can now buy the home of their dreams which can be put up in just five days after arriving from a factory. People can help design their property, which will then be manufactured in a factory, essentially take a week off work and stand back and watch it go up. The concept, developed in Germany at the end of the Second World War, was today unveiled at Bellway's Wynyard Estate on Teesside, home of the region's rich and famous, in the shape of a five bedroom Georgian-style Hamsterley property. The house is a one-off to demonstrate the concept. It will be sold on the open market for about £350,000 because of its plush location but Bellway believe volume building could be the future of British housing. At the heart of the concept is the External Insulation and Finishing System (EIFS) comprising steel and polystyrene which is assembled in a factory. Panels can be configured to form virtually any shape and each panel is based on a light steel frame to which exterior panels are screw attached. The panels are taken complete to the site, fitted in place and bolted together. What estate agents can now add is that repairs can be done with hand tools and it could simply be resprayed a different colour if the owner fancied a change. Any damage to the property can be rectified simply by removing panels and replacing them with new ones saving on building costs. The houses also have a high fire safety rating and in intense heat the internal insulation of polystyrene would shrink back and the external finish would survive the flames. 31st January 2002 |
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