New Zealand's largest construction company, Fletcher, is planning to disrupt the building industry with a fast new building technique.
The company says it can erect a house in just one day.
The test case was a two-storey duplex where the walls and roof had been pre-fabricated in a factory.
It took four days to build and another 6 weeks to finish.
Each house is 185sqm, with four bedrooms and a tandem double garage.
"The finishes are exactly the same as any other house that is built conventionally," Fletcher Living's Steve Evans said.
Fletcher's trick is to panellise the process.
Each wall and floor panel has the plumbing, electrical work, insulation, and gib board factory fitted.
The quality is then signed off by the council, and up it goes.
At that point it's weather-tight, and finishing only takes another five to eight weeks.
That's six houses a year for one building crew, which currently only builds one and a half houses a year.
The second duplex has just been built.
"It's accepted that Auckland needs 14,000 new homes built each year. In the 12 months to June, Auckland Council figures show 10,000 were consented but only 6,800 were actually completed that's half of what's needed," Mr Evans said.
Fletcher will test a terraced house built with panels and then decide whether to build a factory to start mass production.
Mr Evans said "eventually" the cost will be cheaper, but not yet.
These two duplexes sold as quickly as they were built at $935,000 each.
Newshub.
