Discussion on:

In Portland, IKEA launches line of prefab homes

Ikea's really aiming high. They've received positive media attention after they started making their facilities more energy efficient, and I applaud them for that. This prefab looks great! Simple and stylish, it definitely has Ikea sensibilities. Cheers!

Juan Miguel Ruiz
GreenJoyment.com

If you really start searching the Web, you'll find that tiny living space Companies are popping up all over the place. As the culture moves away from large nuclear families to more singles and couples, people are discovering they CAN be comfortable in less square feet. Add lower initial cost, lower maintenance, as well as low utilities, it's an idea whose time has come, anyway. Having IKEA weigh in with a model may help push the concept more mainstream.

Switch the living room and the kitchen and you have my daughters mobile home at almost half the cost!

Swedish mobile homes at twice the cost per foot of American mobile homes. Still, it is great when a competitor comes in and shakes things up design wise. I think that mobile homes are vastly under-rated as living spaces but this will help move things along.

Good for you. Good clear thinking on your part

Build quality is going to be far higher than some sub-par American mobile home. You really can't get much lower quality than an American mobile home without living in a tent.

Pre-fab is a rapidly up-and-coming trend that is providing higher quality housing at lower prices than single-builds. It is a higher cost than a mobile home, but again, you barely exist in a mobile home, but you can actually live in these.

I do believe my tent is LARGER than 700 sq ft. In this state, Washington where I reside currently (plan on moving soon), there is a problem with excessive amounts of cars, and the state is asking WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP THIS PROBLEM!!! Its funny they are screaming it since they passed building code which allowed for large homes on small footprints. When you fit 8-10 families per city block then everyone has a driveway and enough room to live because you force some people to live elsewhere. Here where Ikea is building these chicken houses (northwest) there are 20-50 families per city block with everyone having an auto, and not a single drive because the blocks are smaller, are the cause of the emotional and pyshological issues that plague this side of the world. This are the same earth savers, and tree huggers that scream HELP SAVE THE PLANET. I like the idea, but see no savings in said idea, of placing more people (pollution) per block. This concept just makes you have social strains which the northwest has. Please respect my personal space, but lets live within 2" of each other. I cant understand the reasoning behind this, but have some idea that THESE PEOPLE ARE CRAZY!!! Just my 2 cents, because the store wouldnt break this 20 and I needed change.

Dont tell me how I did it wrong unless you can't read sarcasm.

This is yet another side of this 'prefab' thinking...GREED

You're way off base. They're both 'pre-fab' and the difference is simply dictated by design; I'm gonna guess you're not in the AEC industry

There is a disconnect between design, manufacturing and marketing and it lies right smack between the similar systems...mobile and 'prefab'. I should know.

Among the many offerings of small prefab homes, especially for the DIY owner builder,
you might find this concept of interest
http://kwickset.net/bungalowphotos.html
It is a kind of flat pack concept requiring virtually no tools, except those supplied,
to assemble.the whole structure in a matter of 3 days.

I would put the bathroom between the living room and bedroom. Then guests won't have to walk through the bedroom to use the bathroom.

I agree with you. But not much of prefab homes are have such design. Only you can tell the manufacturer beforehand about it.

Cheers,
Frenks
http://callmum.com.au/

It's a matter of design...good, bad, indifferent and there's a dirth of bad

The homes you could buy from the Sears catalog for decades were much nicer designs. With a few modern updates they could be even easier to build it yourself than they were in 1950.

Were sold by catalog in early 1900s. 2 on ranch, both still standing and useable. Sunset had feature on nearly identical facade that also swiveled master suite for view, sun or because it could, a few years back. Portlandians are imaginative, yep.

There a lots of everywhere; you just have only to seek and you shall find

Ikea's product with Ideabox is in an okay design for a house at an affordable price. In my research I found other prefab companies using Ikea furnishings as options for smart living. I found a company with a similar build methodology as Ikea and a similar approach to value with a ready to assemble package and a well designed home solution @ www.cabinfever.us.com

they put the bathroom on the wrong side of the bedroom - we don't really want to live in a trailer do we?

That's a state of mind. Nothing trails anymore except RVs and an occasional mobile home transported to its permanent site. It's a matter of design; what one does with the materials is everything!

Bath should be between living room and bed room . To far to walk from kitchen.

Put kitchen and bath back to back in the center of the house willsave on plumbing.

I see all the comments on too far to walk in this tiny space to get to the bathroom but your comment is most cost effective. The plumbing costs can get "costly"

You should also check out Karmod prefab homes:
http://www.karmod.eu/prefab-houses

They're on the right track and their designs are pretty clean for the most part

There are so many of them I couldn't begin to address them here; and what's good for the goose isn't necessarily good for the gander. One man's mansion is another man's folly. There are so many options, one could find themselves babbling in hours. But bad 'contractors' exacerbate the problem and building permits with exorbitant fees can blur the advantages. There's no one single answer...one size does not fit all. Be aware and consider all your options as far as you can. So many new materials, most of them more expensive with unknowns. Then there's value as appraisers and lenders see it, and everybody involved can easily be in conflict. It boils down to you...how bad do you want it to work for you? Do all your "home"work!

The prefabricated buildings are generally considered to be energy-efficient because it is made with special care. The chances of unwanted openings or gaps in the walls is very small, just because the walls are nailed or glued or for more durability.
The prefabricated homes need very little heating and air conditioning units, than those required for traditional homes.
http://www.kofinas.gr/en/testimonials/