With the price of power continuing to rise, everyone is looking for ways to reduce their energy bills – and when you build a new modular home, there are some key features that help you do exactly that. With the right design, energy-smart inclusions, and thoughtful appliance choices, you can cut the power usage in your new home and enjoy long-term savings.

The good news is, you don’t have to break the bank or add extra time and stress to your project to achieve this. With some early planning and the help of your builder, you can incorporate simple and effective features that will make a big difference to your household’s overall energy usage. Here are three important considerations when building a modular home that will help you save money on your power bill.

Our latest Project Focus article features this stunning coastal home in Frankston, Victoria, which is ideally located between Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula.

Our clients have created a 182m² home that is spacious, modern and has a strong emphasis on outdoor living. With four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two centrally located living spaces, there is plenty of room for the whole family to get together or to enjoy their own space.

If you’ve decided to build your own modular home, and have a shortlist of your favourite house designs, the next step is to find a block that’s the perfect fit for your family and lifestyle. While this may seem as simple as finding affordable land in a town or suburb you like, there are many things you’ll need to consider beyond the location.

From site topography and proximity to services, to bushfire risk and access, there are some non-negotiable items that your block will need before you are ready to build. If your land lacks some (or all) of these, you can end up spending many thousands of dollars on top of the purchase price, and your block can quickly go from bargain buy to expensive mistake. To avoid falling into this trap, it’s essential see the whole picture – so here are 3 important features to look for when you buy land.

If you’re considering building your dream house by the sea, a modular home can be a great choice. We have completed many beautiful beach house projects over the years and thought we’d share three of our favourites here. So, read on for some inspiration – who knows, maybe 2018 will be the year you make it happen!

2017 saw us publish many popular blog articles with all manner of helpful information about building a modular home, as well as our popular Design Focus and Project Focus series.

We thought you might like to check out our list of the 10 most popular posts from 2017, in order of popularity:

With summer well and truly here, it’s time to get outside and enjoy the long sunny days and balmy nights. An outdoor space that is stylish, practical and comfortable, and designed to suit your family’s lifestyle is a worthwhile investment, and provides the perfect setting for relaxed entertaining for many years to come.

When you’re building a modular home, there are lots of ways you can make small and large adjustment and additions to maximise your family and friend’s enjoyment of your outdoor space. Here are our top tips to help you create an outdoor area that is perfect for entertaining.

When you’re building a new modular home, your design should suit your property, lifestyle and budget.

For example, if you’re working with a smaller block, you’ll need a home that maximises space, both inside and out. This is where a two-storey modular home can be the ideal fit.

Building a two-storey modular home has many benefits, including great flexibility with your design, increased floor space and a bigger yard.

In this article, we take a closer look at these features and discuss why two-storey modular homes are becoming an increasingly popular option.

When you’re building a new modular home, your choice of flooring has a big impact on the end result. Not only does it play a role in the look and atmosphere of every room, it also affects the comfort of you and your family for many years to come.

With the huge range of flooring materials, styles and colours that are now available, it can be hard to know where to start. To help simplify the process, we’ll explain how to narrow down the choices to find the right match for you, and give you an overview of our most popular flooring for each room of the house.

Whether you’re planning a permanent sea change, or building your dream holiday house on the coast, finding the right design is key to getting maximum enjoyment from your new home. Externally, it should blend with the surroundings and showcase your personal style, while on the inside, you need a design that suits your family’s lifestyle and includes beach-friendly features like no carpet for easy sand clean up.

Modular homes are a great choice for your beach house project. Their flexible and contemporary designs suit families of all sizes, and look right at home in coastal locations. Plus, the off-site modular building process means less site disruption and faster construction times compared to a conventional build, so you can enjoy your beach retreat sooner. Here we’ve handpicked three of our favourite modular homes for seaside living.

If you’ve outgrown your home, or it’s in need of some serious work, you essentially have three choices: sell, renovate, or knockdown and rebuild. Traditionally, selling or renovating have been the preferred options, however, there has recently been a strong trend towards knockdowns, especially when using modular construction methods for the rebuild.

So, if you’re keen to avoid the expense and stress of selling and buying, and the headaches of renovating and extending, then a knockdown rebuild might be the way to go. Plus, if faster construction times, less site impact and more design flexibility appeals, then building a new modular home may be the answer. Here are 10 reasons why.

While there is no simple answer to the complex problem of housing affordability, many experts in the construction industry are putting modular homes forward as part of the solution. And with good reason – modular homes are currently grossly under-utilised in Australia. Of the $150 billion construction sector, modular buildings currently contribute just 3 percent, or $4.6 billion. But this looks set to change over the next decade, with experts predicting that by 2027, one in ten new homes built here will be modular.

Other countries around the world have embraced modular construction to meet the demand for housing needs to great effect. In Japan, housing manufacturers mass produce customisable modular homes that make up around 15% of their sizable residential market. While in Sweden, modular housing accounts for a whopping 70% of the market share.

The foundation is probably not the first thing that springs to mind when you picture your new home, but it is a critical component of a strong and long-lasting house. When it comes to foundations, there are several options to consider. Each have their own benefits, and are particularly suited to certain site or design requirements.

If you’re like most people who are considering building a new modular home, you’re probably hugely excited - and if it’s your first time, maybe a little apprehensive too. Building a house is a big project, with many decisions to be made along the way. But the good news is that with careful planning and some tips from the experts, you can pull it off in as little time and with as little stress as possible.

We’ve built hundreds of modular homes and have learnt a lot along the way. Today we’re sharing our top five considerations when building your new home to ensure a smooth and successful project from start to finish.

If you’re building a new home, it makes sense to research your options carefully – especially when it comes to your hot water service.

After all, water heating is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from the average Australian home and can account for 25% of your household’s energy usage.

For your hot water system, there are four main choices: electric, gas, heat pump and solar. When building a new modular home, both gas instantaneous and electric storage systems are available as a standard inclusion. Both are good options, but if you’re serious about long-term benefits you can’t go past solar. 

The final article in our Process Focus series looks at the work of our on-site team. This stage of your project includes site preparation, delivery and installation, and all the finishing touches to complete your home so it’s ready for handover.

On average, the site work phase takes four weeks to complete, however, like the construction phase, the time it takes varies depending on the individual requirements of the project, and external factors such as weather. We keep it short by beginning our site preparation while your home is being constructed, which is another way modular homes can be built faster. 

Here’s an overview of the site work process, week-by-week so you know what to expect.

Your kitchen is the heart of your home. It’s where you and your family gather to create meals, share a snack, or grab a quiet moment with a cuppa and a magazine. So, when you’re planning and designing your new modular home, it’s important to get it right.

The first step is to choose a layout that matches your lifestyle and makes the most of your available space. But an equally important element of a beautiful and functional kitchen is your choice of appliances. The size, location, and type of appliance are all key considerations – here’s a few tips to help you find the right fit.

When you build a new modular home, the level of standard inclusions plays a big part in the overall value of your home.

Within our standard inclusions range, there are a variety of high level fittings and features to choose from to suit your personal style and complement your chosen design.

On top of this, we also offer a huge range of upgrades. This gives you the option to add a little luxury to your home, or to include an additional feature that enhances your lifestyle. But when choosing your upgrades, it’s important to get the balance right.

Here’s our top 10 upgrades that will bring style, comfort and value to your new home.

So, you’ve finalised your design, organised the required preliminary reports and planning applications, and your contract and building permit are signed off and ready to go... it’s now time to build!

The construction phase is where modular homes really excel, as typically, this part of the process only takes around 8 weeks, which is generally much faster than a standard conventional build.

This 8-week timeframe, from factory commencement to delivery on site, is based on an average-size standard home – but every project is unique, and so it can vary. For example, smaller homes can be built even faster, while larger or custom designed homes can take longer.

Here we’ll take a closer look at what’s happening with your home during those 8 weeks, so you can see how it comes together.

There’s a lot to consider when you build a new home - from the floorplan and colour scheme, to the exterior and façade.

The decisions you make along the way will come together to create your dream home - and when designing the interior, one of the most critical elements is your lighting.

While your electrical plan may not be something you’ve thought too much about, the right lighting not only has important practical benefits, it also has a huge impact on the style and mood of your home.

Here we’ll share some handy tips to help make choosing the right lighting for your new modular home simple.

If you’re lucky enough to own a block of land in a beautiful location, you’ll want to take full advantage of the surrounding views.

Whether your outlook is the beach, bush, valleys, or mountains, finding a house design that makes the most of the scenery is a must.

But building a home that captures your view doesn’t happen by chance – it’s all about a well-chosen design. The best design will showcase your views from the areas you frequent the most, like your living area, kitchen and bedrooms, and should also include spaces both inside and out where you can enjoy it. Here, we’ve picked four of our best modular homes that do exactly that.