If you’re in the business of building dream homes, you might be bogged down by months of bureaucracy, delays, and unpredictable costs. Traditional construction is plagued by uncontrollable factors that repeatedly extend the timeline to completion. But what if there was a better way?
Offsite construction is an alternative home construction method that offers speed, efficiency, lower costs, and quality control. Unlike traditional projects, most work is performed away from the final building site. This allows home builders to avoid many complications and problems common with on site construction.
What Is Offsite Construction?
Offsite construction involves the planning, design, fabrication, manufacture, transport, and assembly of components or structures in a location separate from the building’s intended destination. Most of the process occurs in a controlled factory setting. When the offsite building and assembly are completed, the remaining components are transported and joined on site.
This innovative building method can be applied to residential and commercial buildings. When your company chooses to build houses offssite, people can move in and enjoy their new home sooner.
Types of Building Systems
There are many ways to implement offsite construction, each offering various advantages to the discerning homeowner. Here are the most common types of building systems available for residential construction.
- Modular: Modular construction is one of the fastest and most efficient methods. Several modular subassemblies are built in a controlled environment and put together to create a larger module. Nearly all construction is done offsite, from the exterior sheathing and interior walls to the plumbing and wiring.
When the final modules are delivered, they are joined at the construction site to produce the finished product. Modular buildings save home builders and owners time and money.
- Concrete: Concrete has long been an essential component of home construction, used in foundations, driveways, and sidewalks. Today, it is becoming an increasingly popular primary building material. It is highly durable, low maintenance, and weather resistant. In residential construction, concrete panels are precast at a manufacturing facility and shipped to the construction site for installation.
- Log & Timber: Log homes are a niche interest for homeowners seeking a more natural or rustic aesthetic. However, traditional construction methods are time-consuming, and the finished product is generally less energy efficient. Modular solutions allow builders to emulate the historical log cabin appearance with the energy efficiency, customization, and luxury of a modern home.
- Panelized: This building system splits the home into roof and wall panels. Skilled craftsmen guide these sections from raw materials to completed panels in a controlled factory setting. Transportation is simple, as the panels are loaded flat. The panels are then pieced together like a puzzle at the final building site.
Panelized building systems are further divided into subgroups, the most popular of which is structural insulated panels (SIPs). SIPs are high-performance building systems that offer superior insulation and an air-tight finish. They are made from an insulated foam core encased between two structural faces. Some of the construction must be completed onsite, including the plumbing, wiring, and interior surface.
Benefits of Off Site Construction
Offsite construction is often considered the future of building, and for a good reason. Here’s how offering home buyers the option to build offsite can improve their (and your) experience.
- Easier planning: At Agorus®, our proprietary construction software simplifies the home planning phase. We digitize every piece of your custom plans and utilize automation for the drafting and structural engineering stage. You’ll have access to a full 3D model with a virtual walkthrough, installation guides, real-time price estimates, and more. When the plans and materials are locked, we give you a detailed plan that accelerates the process.
- Shorter turnaround: Home builders run into countless constraints when constructing onsite. Extreme weather, worker availability, inadequate planning, equipment failures, and other issues can set back the initial project schedule.
Offsite construction addresses many of these problems and eliminates common causes of delays. For example, the process requires fewer laborers and primarily occurs indoors, away from inclement weather. Materials can also be stored at the factories where construction takes place, so you won’t need to wait for deliveries.
Additionally, steps like panel fabrication and foundation laying can be completed simultaneously rather than in sequence. This improves efficiency and shortens the project duration significantly.
- Improved safety: With offsite construction, your workers will not be onsite for long. That means they won’t spend nearly as much time working at dangerous heights, using heavy equipment, handling deliveries, and dealing with other common construction hazards. Better safety conditions minimize the risk of accidents.
- Enhanced quality: When it comes to onsite working conditions, it is impossible to control environmental factors like temperature and humidity. If the weather is unfavorable, this can either lead to delays, increase the risk of injuries, or compromise the quality of certain materials and structures.
Completing a substantial amount of the construction offsite gives you greater control over the environment you build in. Building components are assembled in temperature-controlled settings, which protects the materials and allows for more precise framing.
Like any construction project, offsite building must meet local and state regulations. The efficiency and control of the process make it easier to accommodate these requirements and focus on producing superior-quality homes.
We achieve unprecedented levels of precision in our custom builds using robotics guided by our cutting-edge software. Agorus products use only the highest quality materials, and our facilities are clean and climate controlled.
- More eco-friendly: Typical construction methods have a significant impact on the environment. From the manufacturing of parts to transportation and building, the entire process produces air pollution, drinking water pollution, and material waste. Many home builders and buyers have concerns about their contribution to climate change, and offsite construction offers a solution.
With less back and forth between the job site, there are fewer carbon emissions from transport. There is also little to no waste since every piece of hardware and material is accounted for. Most of the work is completed in a factory away from the site, so there is a much lower risk of chemical runoff polluting nearby bodies of water.
The Agorus Team Advantage
Offsite construction is nothing new, but the construction industry as a whole has been slow to innovate. With the Agorus advantage, you could be at the forefront of residential off-site building technology. Our advanced software and automation technology empower home builders to complete projects in a shorter time frame without compromising quality.
We streamline the construction process in unprecedented ways, cutting projects that typically take several months to complete down to a few days. When you work with Agorus, you’re guaranteed fixed materials and engineering costs, no unexpected delays, and completed projects precisely as your clients envisioned. Visit our website or give us a call at (866) 556-5326 to learn more about the Agorus advantage.
FAQ
What does off-site mean in construction?
In construction, “offsite” refers to the planning, design, fabrication, manufacturing, transport, and assembly of building components somewhere other than the structure’s final location.
What are off-site construction methods?
Some of the more common offsite construction methods include modular, timber or log, concrete, and panelized building systems.
Modular systems are constructed almost entirely off the building site. Timber or log systems are a modernized, energy-efficient version of historic homes. Concrete homes are made from concrete cast at a manufacturing facility. In the panelized building process, the home is divided into wall and roof sections and assembled onsite.
Is off-site construction cheaper?
Offsite construction is typically more affordable than traditional onsite construction. This is because it offers a shorter and more predictable timeline, significantly reducing labor, material, installation, and other costs.
What are the benefits of off-site construction?
Choosing offsite home construction offers the following advantages:
- Lower costs
- Shorter timeline
- More predictable process
- Fewer safety hazards
- Reduced waste and carbon emissions
- Faster return on investment (ROI)
- Fewer delays due to factors like weather