Facit Homes design, manufacture and build sustainable homes. A highly specialised group of architects and construction experts, we use the latest digital technology to deliver outstanding homes - with less hassle, less time and less cost. We craft high performance homes using specialised digital systems that enable unlimited design possibilities, construction of the highest quality and cost and timeline certainty throughout.  Our progressive approach and passion for great architecture enables us to realise ambitious design dreams while providing a guaranteed level of quality, sustainability and value in every home. The result is a low energy, modern home that is perfectly tailored for the future.   Why do we exist? The usual way of building your own home with an architect and builder often falls short of the homeowners expectations.  We started Facit Homes in 2009 with a vision to deliver the same level of design ambition that one might find when appointing an independent Architect and hiring a builder, but also to create a process that had less stress, less cost, less time and fewer people to deal with.  We wanted to create homes with more sustainability, to give our customers total confidence in the journey and to deliver the home in less than half the time of a traditional build. The ultimate aim is for our customers to be able to rest easy in the knowledge that the team at Facit Homes are driving the project forward accurately, smoothly and without delay - as well as delivering the best possible home.  What do we do? Full service.  We provide an end-to-end professional service for our customers. Managing every phase and every detail from start to finish, we design and build modern homes for individual customers.  Architectural design . Our digital design system allows us to accurately reconfigure every element in an unlimited number of ways so that there are no design limitations for the project. This gives us the total confidence to guarantee that we can deliver the home that’s right for you.  Modern construction.  Every home we build is unique - and yet always made up of the same components to maximise the value in the process. Our unique construction system and in-depth knowledge of every component (from foundations to doorsets), as well as our digital design modelling and accurate specification model enable us to deliver ambitious designs for every project, at a price that's fixed. We have developed the Facit Home process to deliver the highest level of quality for the best possible value. And rest assured, our process is always evolving so that we can keep lowering costs and improving the quality of every project.  Just as every release of your smartphone is an improvement on the last, each Facit Home is the next generation of complexity neatly packaged into the best possible future home.  How do we do it? Facit Homes is a dedicated team of digital design and construction wizards working incredibly hard behind the scenes to bring every project to life.  A multi-disciplinary team of Architects and Designers, Production Engineers and Construction Management professionals, we are a one-stop shop of experts in each stage and every technicality of a project. As part of our service, we provide the following for our customers:  Everything you need in one company : Every service, part and skill set required for the project all in one place. A dedicated professional team looking after every need.  Ambitious architectural design:  Passionate and talented architects and designers working to create a home that exceeds imagination or expectations  Precise + high quality build : Digital design and manufacturing that guarantees build quality and precision.  Faster delivery:  Digital project management that guarantees construction in less than half the time on site of a traditional project. Procurement professionals that cut the time to design, procure and cost in half.  Cost certainty:  Our digital costing system gives cost certainty (and accuracy) from day one and in real time.  Sustainability: A high performance, high quality home that is built to almost Passivhaus standards at no extra cost to the project.  Thinking about building your own home? If you want less stress, less time and less cost for your project, get in touch with the team today.  Contact the studio on 020 3034 0720 or email us at info@facit-homes.com . Alternatively, if you’re not quite at the stage of getting your project underway, subscribe to our newsletter below and keep up to date with our latest projects and thoughts.

Once you know you want to build a home, getting the project underway can feel like it is ruled by uncertainty and confusion.  Facit Homes often see the result of this confusion during the early stages of a project. Many of our customers come to us with a beautiful design that they can’t afford to build - it's not just one or two projects that end up in this predicament. Which led us to wonder, why does this keep happening? Listening to those same lovely customers, we uncovered some misconceptions that they had about the beginning of the journey.  So, we think it's time to do some myth busting… What are the common misconceptions?  Many choose the architect and builder route because they are unaware of alternatives. But should you trust in tradition?  Let’s take a deeper look at some of the common assumptions we've seen at the start of a project…and what the reality is. Assumption: Hiring an architect “I need to hire an architect to design my home.”  An architect isn't the only option. Design teams can perform the same function as an architect, and if placed within a multi-functional architectural design and construction studio, they may even have a more realistic and applicable understanding of what they should design for your project.  Assumption: Locality is key “The architect needs to be local so that they are familiar with the local planning constraints and the area.” Location used to matter much more for design and build projects. A local team would mean greater experience with the local council and hopefully a smoother project. However, the national planning framework allows any architectural team to learn the constraints to any planning authority so hiring a local isn't necessarily an advantage anymore. Assumption: Project management “My architect will manage my project for me.” This is a common misunderstanding. If you choose to hire an architect, they will design your home as per your direction and requirements, but they don’t typically manage your project for you. You would manage all the different individuals in your project (planning consultant, architect, engineer, builder, quantity surveyor etc.) while also making all the necessary decisions for design without any guarantees of how it will impact the budget. (Terrifying).  Assumption: Project costs “My architect will tell me how much my project will cost me.” This isn’t part of a traditional architect's role. Typically build costs can only be estimated when the building has been designed in detail and the design has been priced by contractors who will provide quotes for the costs. Assumption: Planning application is more important than cost management “I’ll get planning first and then worry about the costs.” Error! Many projects start with this intention (often because they are worried they won’t get planning), but then have to spend much more than intended in design because they have to spend time and money recreating a scheme that actually fits the budget (or also for a planning appeal).  Assumption: Builders “I need to find (and hire) a local builder.” While many choose to hire a local builder, the construction world has evolved and the alternative construction options are now both well documented and proven methods, e.g. prefab companies, such as Huf Haus and Baufritz. Despite the Grand Designs horror stories, many people still see hiring a builder (again often local) as the only option.  Assumption: Project timelines “It won’t take too long to build.” The build phase of a project is often less time than the initial phases. Creating the design, applying for planning permission, building out construction information, going to tender, and finally mobilisation can take years in a project, especially if there is unsuccessful design work and recosting to add to the timeline. However, even though this the case, the build often takes far longer than predicted in a traditional process - and mostly because no single party has full responsibility for the project. Assumption: Sustainability “Building a sustainable home costs more.” The raw materials and elements involved in building a home close to Passivhaus standards, using timber frame construction and adding solar panels do cost more and when integrated into the build during traditional construction, they can cause costs to spiral. However, when integrated into the building from the beginning and built using modern methods of construction, you can build more sustainably for the same cost - mainly because of the time that you save building on site. You can get a high quality home for the same price. Why Facit Homes? Facit Homes exists to take the hassle and risk out of building a home. We want to build beautiful homes better - both in terms of the process and the finished product.  With this in mind, we only design homes that can be built. Homes that fit the budget from the outset and homes that are designed to gain approval from the local planning authority (our 95% success rate with planning applications across England speaks for itself here).  Designing your home is the fun part, a process which led to the creation of our costing system to make sure that excitement doesn’t overtake reality (and end up dooming the design to the shelf of unbuilt homes).  The Facit Homes cost tracking and dynamic estimating system has up-to-date details of every material and construction cost, inc. mains connections and other often forgotten parts of the build. We created it so that we can design a home and know the costs in-real-time. So that any home we design and build ends up costing within 1% of that initial cost estimate. 1%! How do we help our customers? We have perfected our system in a number of ways so that Facit Homes customers never end up in a position where they have a beautiful design that they can’t afford to build. How do we do this.. A single contract An end-to-end service that does what it says on the tin. We organise every part of the project in one centralised process, so our customers don’t need to spend precious time and energy organising architects, architectural technicians, engineers, quantity surveyors, professional consultants (e.g. planning), groundworkers, builders, electricians, plumbers and any other companies / services the project requires.  A single source of truth Our centralised project management process streamlines decision making for our customers. It limits the mental load of a project, provides more certainty in the project and allows us to deliver a project in less time. We crack on and get things done, helping our customers to make the fun choices (cabinet colours, appliances and lighting design) while we also manage the rest. One company, many professionals Our studio has a multitude of experience. We bring architects, designers, technicians and construction professionals together with our manufacturing and construction process so that our customers don’t need to go into contract with an architect or a builder. They just deal with the professionals.  Service guarantees We take 100% responsibility for everything so that nothing can slip through the cracks. Every part of the process is expertly managed by our construction management professionals so that nothing is missed, no blame is shifted and there is never a lack of direction on site. Support We don’t just get the job done, we guide you through the process so you can make the best decisions for your project. Our advice is rooted in our experience of helping customers to bring their project to life and we provide guidance at every stage of your decision making, so that you never make choices that aren’t right for you and your future.

We are very excited to receive approval for a new Facit Home in West Sussex. This 300m2 home will replace an existing dwelling which whilst much loved, has seen better days. Composed of 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths spread over two floors, the home is located on a stunning site that looks out over Chichester Harbour in an Area of Outstanding National Beauty. Having previously had a new house designed by a local architect, only to find out the total build cost was far beyond their stated budget, our customers came to us with cost control top of their mind. We started from scratch, working out what was most important to them and developing a scheme that would still give them everything they needed within their budget. The front door is located centrally on the south side and is approached from the new driveway/ footpath. From here, a generous double-height entrance space gives access to light and a warm welcome before guiding you into the open-plan kitchen, dining and living space. A guest room with ensuite allows private space for visitors. The first floor is accessed from open stairs and contains three generous bedrooms with two bathrooms, a study space and a large master suite that looks out over the harbour. Storage space on both floors has been designed to allow a platform lift to be installed in the future, simply by removing the floor between them. On the south elevation, an overhanging canopy with angled reveals provides solar shading in summer to prevent overheating, articulating and breaking up the overall mass and adding depth and shadow. On the flatter north elevation, the facade has been articulated and subdivided into vertical “bays” of windows framed by deep projecting window pods. These pods serve several functions; they provide solar shading from the late afternoon summer sun, reduce the risk of light spill at night by “shrouding” the windows to comply with the local Dark Skies policy, and provide relief and vertical rhythm, reducing the perceived mass of the overall building as it faces the harbour. The palette has been chosen with a range of natural materials and complementary, muted tones that are sensitive to the area's character and help the building visually integrate with and relate to its immediate setting and the surrounding context of the harbour. The materials include untreated timber cladding, dark grey render and light bronze metal shrouds. Additionally, the windows will be framed in a light bronze aluminium. From the outset, our customers were captivated by our innovative approach to designing and digitally fabricating their forever home. Stay tuned as we prepare to digitally manufacture it into a one-of-a-kind contemporary home tailored precisely to our customer's vision.

We were delighted to win 'Best Turn Key Home' at this years Build It Awards for our project 'The Stables'. The Stables  is a single storey home on a beautiful rural site in Kent, which replaced a pair of old stables on our customers' land. You can read more about it here - https://www.facit-homes.com/the-stables The best thing about the project is how happy our customers are living in their beautiful Facit Home, but it is always nice for the quality of our work to be recognised by others in the industry.

Our latest planning application for this new home in North London has been approved by the local planning authority. This project is one that has been in the works for a while now so we are overjoyed to be able to share this news. After working from the very start of this project and taking it through a detailed pre-app process  before the full planning application, we can’t wait to start on site. Click through the images of this home below by selecting the arrow to the right. As the site was a previously undeveloped amenity space in a conservation area, it was a challenging application and additionally had various tree constraints to factor in. Sited on an unused tennis court, this home will be accessed by a narrow driveway that runs alongside the existing property. Our design and construction methodology means that we can propose and support beautiful, contemporary, energy efficient and sustainable schemes within challenging conditions, working with design and planning officers from the beginning to deliver a fully compliant design. "The Council’s Design Officer has been consulted on the application and considers that there are no design concerns with the proposals as the site is completely secluded and hidden away from public vantage points. The Officer points out that there are no design quality concerns as the proposals are for a large, generously proportioned house, in an elegant contemporary design and in materials appropriate to a landscaped garden setting." The renders created by our team in the studio showcase how great this design really is - from the textured timber cladding and zinc roof to the first floor balcony and glass balustrade. We’re really excited to move to the next stage of this project - the technical design, CNC manufacture and construction of this unique 320m2 family home. We’re hoping to be on site later in the year. Stay tuned for project developments and updates! Learn more about how to get planning permission for your self build in our article here . Call the studio on 020 3034 0720 or email info@facit-homes.com to see if we can help you get planning permission for your project.

One of the fundamental questions at the start of any new build project is ‘how much is it going to cost?’ Much will depend on your ambitions and site, but also on the design and construction route you choose to go down. Facit Homes focuses on creating contemporary homes of outstanding quality, both in terms of architectural design and environmental performance. Our years of experience in this specialist field has enabled us to develop an approach that delivers unique, award-winning projects at a lower cost than many of the comparable options. We call it digitally manufactured architecture. An award-winning Facit Home in Suffolk designed by our in house architects. What is an architecturally outstanding home? Not all homes are created equal. An architecturally outstanding home will inspire those who see it, and enrich the lives of those who inhabit it. The best designs sensitively respond to their context and the lifestyle of their future occupants, and demonstrate creativity and consideration of both form and function. As with everything, there is a degree of subjectivity when it comes to appearance, but elegance and simplicity are universal and timeless qualities. How do you build one? To build an architecturally impressive home, the instinct for many is to first find an independent architect. It makes sense after all and is a path well trodden. But whilst a good architect should always be able to produce a high quality design, bringing it into reality within an agreed budget can still be full of risk and uncertainty. This can translate into a much higher cost than was first envisaged. Whilst many such projects are completed, spiraling costs and a constantly moving completion date are not unusual, with the success of the project heavily reliant on the competence of the builder/contractors and strong communication between the multiple parties involved. As a process it often leaves much to be desired but remains the default as alternative options are not as widely known. Prefab homes. If you’re looking for something that provides more certainty and control than the standard architect/builder route, then you may have considered a German prefabricated home. You’re thinking along the right lines as the homes are fantastic, but they can be fiercely expensive and present more limited design options. Typically they also require you to arrange the foundations of the home yourself, so that the prefabricated home has something to be placed on when it arrives. A striking Facit Home at Graven Hill, a custom build site near Bicester. With a vision to build a better future one home at a time, Facit Homes was established to individually design and digitally manufacture architecturally outstanding homes with guaranteed levels of quality, sustainability and value. Our combination of in-house architects, digital manufacturing specialists and construction professionals provides a complete end-to-end service that is unbeatable. How does Facit Homes offer lower and more certain costs? Designing and building contemporary homes for over 10 years has given us plenty of knowledge and experience. With every project we have honed our approach and invested time in the product development of the core components that make up our homes. We have learned from each one and continue to increase the efficiency and quality of our offering. The total cost of a Facit Home, including the kitchen and stairs, is set out at the start. Marginal gains in each part of the building process means that we offer a constantly improved product, just as you would expect to see more from every iteration of a product like an iPhone. Each individual element of a Facit Home has had years of in-house research and development poured into finding the best way of designing, manufacturing and building it. This research has helped us to engineer the best possible value and allows us to more accurately predict the total project costs from the very start. And these elements, from the timber Facit Chassis™ structure to a digitally manufactured staircase, can be endlessly customised to create unique homes. On top of this, as a design and build company we are able to zero rate the VAT on our architectural fees and external consultants, representing a 20% saving to you in real terms. Equating our offering to that of a consumer brand like Apple, we are a company that delivers a product directly to customers. And like when buying an iPhone, the price is known before the purchase. Taking this product based approach , which as a society we are so used to , and applying it to homes has resulted in lower costs, better value and guaranteed results. Our customers can choose to upgrade individual aspects of their home, like this copper worktop Getting more for your money For many who choose to build their own home, initial budget and final cost can differ radically. It provides most of the drama (and exasperation) on a typical episode of Grand Designs. Whilst the architectural results can be spectacular, the price it comes at is usually high. But building an architecturally outstanding home need not mean a bottomless budget. Nor does spending less mean that you have to compromise on quality. It’s just about taking a different approach and building a better home for your money. Learn more at https://www.facit-homes.com/price

Whilst many people who plan to build their own home worry about managing their budget once work has started on site, with visions of unforeseen costs arising (thanks, Grand Designs), a perhaps less considered area is controlling costs in the more formative stages of a project. A huge amount of trust is placed in architects, who are expected to both design your dream home and to do so within your budget. It is quite easy to get carried away with the design, making things bigger or adding in features, without fully understanding the impact on the bottom line and many projects simply rely on broad brush estimates, whilst some seem to just rely on the hope that it will all be ok. The reality is that without great care, and a robust costing strategy, the design itself can quickly start to exceed your financial limits and add stress to the experience before a spade is even put in the ground. Having identified this as a potential risk on every project, Facit Homes has developed a data driven approach to design and costing that helps to avoid the issue in a simple, transparent and accurate way. A completed Facit Home in Oxfordshire A typical build cost strategy When beginning a project, the typical cost strategy is to give your architect a total budget and ask them to design a home that meets your brief. The architect will often use a notional ‘per m2’ construction cost based on their experience to act as a budget guide. They will create a home based on your requirements and get you through the planning application process. Every architect is different, and their thoughts on design, construction methodology and costs will vary. Some will have a good grasp of realistic build costs, but others will not. However, without a quantity surveyor's assistance you are unlikely to get a detailed cost breakdown during the design stage and so may be reliant on the estimation skills of your designer. Once you have planning permission and your architect has undertaken the technical design, you will be ready to tender out the project. This is the point at which you will see how much the build will actually cost and whether your architect was close to their initial estimate. Most builders will give a total sum, and there may still not be a great amount of detail to the quote, leaving a number of unknowns. The services of a quantity surveyor will add more clarity here, but will not change the total price. At this point, if the project proves to be much more expensive than you initially expected, it leaves you in a vulnerable position. Either you accept the higher price and crack on with the build, ask your architect to redesign/value engineer the scheme, or the whole project stalls and potentially has to be abandoned. If you opt for a redesign, you can expect to pay your architect additional fees and potentially head back through planning. This approach is fraught with risk and is a potentially huge waste of time and money as you'll need to wait until very late in the day to know if you can afford it. Unfortunately, we have seen many projects where this has happened, with fantastic designs going unbuilt due to the lack of foresight into the true cost of building them. We have taken on projects that were over budget ourselves and either adapted them into something that was more realistic, or on a few occasions started again from scratch with a completely new design. At Facit Homes, we believe there is a better way to manage this process. We have devised a customer-focused solution, with defined touchpoints for discussing and providing cost information to allow you to keep a handle on your budget throughout. Scale, mass, form and materials all have a big impact on the cost of a build. Facit Homes' cost strategy We follow a simple step-by-step approach to ensure your project stays within budget. These steps include an initial estimate, a concept design update and a full cost plan which is produced before the planning application is submitted. Step 1: Project specific price estimate We begin with initial discussions to learn more about your project scope and gather information about your brief; this includes the number and type of rooms you require, any specific elements or materials you would like to have and an overall idea of the scale and massing (e.g. single storey). We also consider site specific requirements such as demolition, utility connections and drainage. Using this information, we can apply our experience from current and previous projects to include a total project price estimate within our proposal, including a construction cost per m2 for the home itself. This cost per m2 will be tailored to you, rather than a notional rate, and will be as realistic as possible based on what we know about your aspirations. And there is always the opportunity to revise the scope of the project in order to balance the budget before design work even begins.   Step 2: Using data to go from concept to cost Once appointed, we begin the design phase and work with you to create an initial concept. We then develop this concept design in a 3D computer model. We do this for a variety of reasons. First, we can show walkthroughs and how each space looks and feels through hyper-real renders. Secondly, we can extract data from the digital model to put into our cost estimation tools. The data gives us precise areas and quantities of things like external walls, roofing and windows, and our cost estimation tools contain up-to-date rates from a linked database. If a material cost changes, it is updated in our database. This means the cost estimates we supply you with in the concept design are incredibly accurate to the current market rate. By updating you on costs at this point, we can have deeper conversations with you about the design and discuss what is adding value to your project and what is not before moving forward. The 3D computer model puts a wealth of data at our fingertips to allow accurate costing of the design. Step 3: Fully itemised cost plan Once the design has been developed into something approaching a final scheme, we further leverage the 3D computer model to produce a full cost plan. Detailed information is extracted, giving us the exact quantity of all the materials and elements of the build. The cost plan is an itemised breakdown of everything, similar to what you would expect from a quantity surveyor. Before submitting the planning application, this cost plan will be presented to you, ensuring you understand everything about the project. If some areas don't feel right or you want to save on costs, we can tackle these issues before planning. This way, we can confidently submit the planning application Our method ensures that you understand the project's cost throughout the design stage and that your project stays on track and leads to a successful build.   Staying on budget At Facit Homes, cost estimation is like putting together a puzzle. We gather your ideas, calculate the pieces, and present you with a clear picture of what it all costs. From start to finish, we're here to ensure you know where your money is going and that your project is on track. Ready to explore the numbers?  Find more information on our pricing structure here . Give us a call or an email to discuss your project in further detail at 020 3034 07200 or info@facit-homes.com

A traditional ‘self build’ project can be intimidating. It’s one of the main reasons Facit Homes exists. However, finishing the interior of your home is something that many feel more confident about taking on and the cost savings can be very appealing. That is why we introduced our Assisted Self Finish option as an alternative to our Turnkey service. A recently completed kitchen installed by our team in a Turnkey project. What is Assisted Self Finish? A backseat approach to a self build project isn’t for everyone. Some wish for a more active role in the creation of their home without taking on the risks often associated with a build. So we’ve created an alternative service that offers customers practical involvement in their project. Assisted Self Finish offers our customers the opportunity to complete the interior fit out of their high quality, high performance home at their own pace and reduce project costs in the process. We like to think of it like a renovation project, except that they get to work with a fresh canvas, rather than battling with the gremlins that often lurk in an older property, and we are on hand to assist throughout (the key is in the name). Whether they want to have the experience of a self build project without the risk, to feel the sense of personal accomplishment from their own efforts or to manage their own project finances in the interior details, Assisted Self Finish includes a full design service and delivers all of the complicated and technical elements of the build. As always, the goal remains the same – to ensure our customers end up with the home that they want, on budget. What is included and what isn’t? In every self finish project the final stage is completed by the customer. We complete all the more technical/specialist work on the build (groundworks, structure, cladding etc.) and our customers complete the interiors. By the time we hand the site over to them, the exterior of the home is complete and the interior has MVHR, heating, first fix plumbing and electrics, and plasterboard on the walls. The customers are then responsible for completing the surface finishes, such as plastering, decoration, tiling, flooring, and bathroom and kitchen fit outs. There is also second fix electric and plumbing to organise because these cannot take place before the decoration work. Second fix is the final connection and installation of sanitaryware (bathroom fittings) and electrical fittings. During the first fix plumbing, we can test the system we’ve installed and get the gas certificate organised (if applicable). Facit Homes The customer First fix plumbing, test and gas certification Second fix plumbing: Installing bathrooms First fix electrics Second fix electrics and certification ​First and second fix MVHR Plastering, tiling and all decoration work Heating Flooring Plasterboard (without plastering) Kitchen installation However, the electrics cannot be tested until the house is plastered (so there is a smooth finish in the interiors before any light fittings are installed). Testing of the electrics takes place after the second fix, both of which are organised by the customer. Most importantly, the customer must complete the certifications for the electrics in line with building control, whereas we take care of this for the plumbing. Where this first and second fix separation differs is MVHR. Once the customer is ready, we return to the site to install the MVHR unit in the system we’ve already created. Again, this is because the final parts of the system can only be installed once the plastering and decoration is finished. NB: The site is handed over to the customer at practical completion. Any subcontractors organised by the customer can’t start work until handover. Flooring being completed in a Turnkey project. Cost savings Some enjoy getting involved; buying the products and rolling up their sleeves to paint the walls and lay the floors themselves. One customer even took tiling and plumbing courses so they could install their own bathrooms. Managing the budget and choosing specifications can give our customers great freedom in the final stage. It gives also them the chance to spread the costs over a longer period and save money on our services in the construction phase. Saving money is often a primary reason for choosing Assisted Self Finish, however, another advantage is the bargains available to those that can wait until the last minute to purchase their products. In a turnkey contract, we have to define our prices and products much further in advance. Assisted Self Finish in action Our customers in Hertfordshire decided to complete the interiors themselves using our Assisted Self Finish option in order to reduce the costs and be personally involved in the build of their future home. A young couple with busy jobs, they spent their evenings and weekends completing the interiors of the home while living in a mobile home on their site. You can check out their Instagram here  for photos of progress. Their project is a great example of what is possible and how capable they became. Our customers took on the interiors of their home as well as the landscaping in this project. Another example of this assisted self finish route has a little more involvement. Our customers in East Sussex, Mike and Donna, chose Assisted Self Finish as they were keen to be involved throughout their project. They took it one step further though. Mike hired a digger and taught himself how to use it via YouTube in order to excavate earth for the foundations and drainage according to our plans. Proving himself to be extremely capable, he soon got even more involved by becoming an official part of the Facit Homes site team, digitally manufacturing and assembling his home. Having really enjoyed the hands-on experience of learning how his future home was built, Mike then took a bathroom tiling course while Donna completed the decoration work inside, to an extremely high standard! Mike assembling Chassis components with the team; Mike completing the flooring; Freshly skimmed walls Contact the studio for a project proposal We pride ourselves on delivering bespoke homes, project flexibility and a professional, customer focused service. We know that your project and your dream are completely unique - as should the scope of our assistance. If you’ve always wanted to make your mark on your self build project, but have no building experience or time to oversee the main construction of your home, this is a great opportunity to get stuck in for the final stages. Contact the studio today to enquire about Assisted Self Finish or Turnkey projects. Call us on 020 3034 0720 or email info@facit-homes.com .

Our first Scottish planning approval continues our 100% application success rate. An unusual project for us in its distance from our studio, discover King's Cairn. Concept design for the rear elevation Introducing King's Cairn Discovering us while on the hunt for a turnkey service that could take care of their project while they continued to live and work in the south of England during the build, our customers found Facit Homes online and got in touch to ask whether we would take on a project so far from our London base. With all the lessons learned over the past decade building homes at ever increasing distances, and in particular during the Covid pandemic which pushed remote working practices to a new level, we felt confident that the location would not be prohibitive to us working on the scheme. The plot is on a beautiful custom build site backing onto a golf course, a stone’s throw from the spectacular North Berwick coast. It is the perfect location  for our customers, who are originally from Scotland and have family and friends in the area. 3D render of the front elevation The design Upon getting in touch to discuss the project, our customers sent us reference imagery that showed the type of home they were interested in designing but were not clear in their minds as to exactly what it should be. With no specific design narrative to the development as a whole, as well as a very open minded customer who trusted in our process, we were free to really explore the design opportunities of the project. Our initial concept design was nothing like they had imagined their home would be, but instead completely exceeded their expectations. Their imagery had shown us that large windows, a contemporary feel and contrasting shapes and cladding throughout the scheme would appeal. They liked both flat and pitched roof homes, so we combined them to create a striking design with two gable end forms tied together by a central double height dining space with galleried landing and flat roof above. The double height dining area connects to the kitchen and living spaces Structural testing required In order to comply with Building Regulations in Scotland, which differ from those in England and Wales, we had to undertake some additional structural testing that we haven’t completed before. It’s called racking and it involves applying lateral pressure to our components to see how strong they are. English Building Regulations don’t require the same level of empirical data about the structure, instead the process involves a structural engineer inspecting and taking responsibility for it. So, structural testing of the Facit Chassis™ began. Pedro, our Head of Product Development, visited Lucideon’s  testing facility to work through the process and the strength of the components outperformed even our expectations. A racking test is complete when a component or section breaks. In order to certify how much lateral pressure the components could cope with before failing/breaking, you have to get them to that breaking point and measure the pressure it took to force that failure. However, this was not as easy as it sounds! The components had such strength that they broke the testing equipment on multiple occasions and the testing team had to reinforce the rigging twice to get the result. Even so, we only managed to get an accurate reading for our digitally manufactured internal walls. These could take 36 Kilonewtons, which is “just silly” compared to the typical timber frame reading of 15-20KNs. The external wall components never properly broke, even when loaded with over 65KNs! To quote the testers “You can’t fail better than this.” As you can imagine, once installed as part of the complete Facit Chassis™ these components are even stronger than as an individual. Once they have a load bearing from the top, this reading would be even higher! Next steps As the local planning authority has approved our plans for this wonderful family home in King's Cairn, the next step is to build it! Remotely managed from our studio in London, we will still be delivering our MPF (mobile production facility) to site in order to digitally manufacture the home in position. Our on-site manufacturing process will result in a much reduced carbon footprint. Of course, the distance means that the delivery will have more carbon emissions than our closer projects, but it also proves how beneficial our system is. As we deliver flat stacks of plywood to site alongside our machine, we have 90% fewer overall deliveries for the structure in comparison to prefab companies that will have to organise more deliveries from wherever their factory is to the site. Keep your eyes peeled for our portable factory heading up to Scotland! All strapped up and ready to go!

Timber construction has many different approaches. Digital manufacturing allows us to create bespoke structures and accommodate tricky sites via the Facit Chassis™, our highly adaptable, low carbon and holistic building system. Digitally designed to speed up the installation of plumbing, electrics and more, discover the steps involved in assembling a Facit Chassis™ in this article. Structural design and assembly in East Sussex The design for this home was completed by a local architect so the project came to us ready to go. In order to use our structural system, we made a few minor design amendments  and kicked on with the build of this flat roofed, contemporary design. You can read more about the groundworks stage of this project in our past article . While the groundworks took place, the technical design of the home was completed by our design team using BIM, a.k.a Building Information Modelling, our parametric design software. An example of 3D technical design model from a previous project Our production team translates the details of our complex digital design into G code, a computer language that allows us to automate the manufacture of plywood sheets using CNC (computer numerically controlled) machines. This project saw our Mobile Production Facility (MPF) come out of semi-retirement in order to resume our on site manufacturing and continue to deliver efficiently and cost effectively while materials and costs rise across the industry. Our customer, Mike, said of our approach, “It makes sense to hire local tradespeople instead of shipping a team around the country. The Facit Chassis™ system doesn’t require a specialist, it just needs good direction and engagement from the team to want to do it correctly.” Joining the site team Mike was delighted when he discovered that he could be part of our construction team and physically bring his dream home to life. Starting by completing the excavation for the foundations himself, with self taught digger skills from YouTube, Mike proved himself to be more than capable. Also arranging the connections for the water mains and the electricity, he has managed to create a good balance between a hands-on self build experience and professional service. Mike and Donna will also be completing the interiors themselves using our Assisted Self Finish route. Donna is an artist and Mike has more than proven his practical capabilities! Production After a short training session with Head of Production, Pedro Hurtado Silva, the local team were ready to get going with on site production. Each component is assembled from a kit of parts that is computer cut on site. IKEA style instructions are sent to the site team, who spend their time alternating between operating the CNC machine, picking out the cut parts from the flat sheets of plywood and putting them together to create the 3D components. The flat patterns cut on the CNC machine are first punched with holes that will be used to fill the engineered components with blown insulation once assembled into the structure. The components are designed and manufactured with dedicated spaces, channels and compartments for cables, ducts and pipes. This ensures services and products can be installed as work continues to the home. This intelligent engineering and installation sequence allows multiple trades to be operating on the timber structure simultaneously, speeding up the construction phase and reducing time spent on site. Assembling and erecting the Chassis™ The first step is installing sole plates around the edge of the home, guiding the external wall components into place. The large components that create door portals are some of the first to be installed, held in place by timber braces to avoid movement during the step-by-step assembly stage. Spruce plywood is used for the Facit Chassis™ because it is lightweight, strong and pliable, and can be easily carried into place by the team, avoiding the need for heavy machinery. Slowly but surely, spaces begin to emerge as more wall components and window/door portals are installed by our team, while manufacturing happens in real time in the background. The next step is to install internal walls so that the roof beams can be placed for the roof components to fit in between. After the roof beams and components, there is a layer of breather membrane that wraps around the home and turns it bright yellow - a very on brand colour for us. Ventilated roof components follow to ensure the home is both airtight and resistant to condensation. Digitally designed and manufactured the bespoke ventilated roof components have slots that enable the airflow to remove excess humidity from the building. Moisture vapour passes through the layer and can disperse to the outside atmosphere without being cooled, thus eliminating issues such as mould growth. Once all the components are installed, Supabead EPS insulation is blown into the structure via the computer-cut holes, creating a highly airtight, highly insulated home that almost reaches Passivhaus levels of energy efficiency. Thinking of building a home? Want to learn more about how the Facit Chassis™ could work for your design or your project? Get in touch with the team today. Call the studio on 020 3034 0720 or email us on info@facit-homes.com .

‘Prefab’ is a broad term in modern home building that manages to describe nothing specific while covering almost everything. There are a number of different approaches that can fit under the ‘prefab’ banner, which is why it can be a little confusing. So, we thought we’d break it down and look at what some of the terminology means, what the appeal is, what the limitations are, and also where we sit within this area. Here's one we made earlier What is a prefab home? Prefabricated houses, often referred to as prefab homes, are so called because they are primarily manufactured in advance off site, then delivered and assembled on site. Historically, prefabs have been much maligned in the UK, having been predominantly associated with low quality, high volume housing that replaced stock destroyed by bombs in the Second World War. But such prefabs were only intended to be temporary, which reflects the standard they were built to, even though some remain standing to this day. Whilst there is still some stigma around the term, modern prefab homes are now more often associated with quality and efficiency. ‘Prefabrication’ can be roughly defined as ‘made before’. Traditional house building methods have long had elements of prefab to them, with components like timber roof trusses being made off site. However, by using ‘prefab’ to allude to a more modern method of construction, many companies now describe the virtues of their different approaches with this blanket term. The lack of clarity around ‘prefab’ and the assumption by many that it only refers to a modern, cost effective method is why it is used so widely, but any home can be considered prefab if some part of it is made before arriving at the site. Three other terms might sound familiar - these are often seen as interchangeable with ‘prefab’. We consider these subcategories of the prefabricated home with their own specific traits: modular, volumetric and kit homes. What is a modular home? A modular home is a type of prefab home built in large sections, such as wall and roof panels; a bit like a big Lego set. Most of us will have seen a picture like below, where an entire wall (often with windows already installed) is craned into place on site. Source: pbctoday Baufritz , a leading German prefab company, is a modular builder that prefabricates entire wall sections in a factory and cranes them in to place on site. This often gives the appearance of a home that will only take days to assemble. However, once the building envelope is in place there is still months of work ahead for the fit out to be completed and, of course, as with all prefab homes, the foundations will need to have been completed already. For more examples of modular homes, check out this Grand Designs article . 'Modular is not delivering, here's why '  is an article on the state of construction and modular building that states "Construction has been struggling for years with productivity flatlining at a low level, poor build quality, high cost and uncontrollable time schedules. Ideas of volumetric modular construction, proprietary kits of standardised parts, and buildings prefabricated off-site, have returned in various guises over the past hundred years yet not been able to change how we build, let alone revolutionised construction. One wonders why." Read on. What is a volumetric home? Volumetric is defined as ‘the measurement of volume’ and, in this case, is used to describe the volume of air in a room or section of a home. Volumetric modular manufacturing involves the prefabrication of a number of larger, fully finished elements. Considered a type of modular home, the volumetric modular units are joined together on site to form complete buildings. These ‘modules’ can be pre-fitted in the factory with electrics, plumbing, heating, doors, window and internal finishes. Source: Inside Housing An approach that is typically used for larger developments, it has the highest degree of standardisation and allows for an extremely quick assembly time on site as so much is done in the factory. An example of a volumetric house building company is nHouse , which offers various sizes and configurations of a standardised home product. In our opinion, volumetric homes are less successful for individual customers. One-off volumetric homes still have the factory and production line and rely on standardisation and, added to this, it is not always that easy to find a site that will perfectly suit this type of standardised house. What is a kit home? Self build ‘kit homes’ are prefabricated homes delivered to a site flat-packed for assembly by someone else, e.g. a contractor. This self build option has the most potential for individual involvement and often means that you are responsible for the construction of your own home. As the name implies, the components of the home are created as a prefabricated kit to be put together on site. It might require professionals but often can be built or at least managed by the owner, saving costs. It is aimed at those who wish to be very ‘hands on’ with their project. The amount of kit that you purchase may vary, from just the building envelope alone through to a complete home package. An example of a kit house company is HebHomes . Why are people interested in prefab? As a result of the industry using these terms (prefab, modular, kit and volumetric) interchangeably, we have seen confusion rise over the years. Throw ‘flat-pack’ into the equation too and it’s no wonder that people find it hard to understand who does what. Some companies happily use a number of the terms to describe their offering, and whilst each has its own pros and cons, they do all sit under the broader church of ‘prefab’ in that they involve advanced, off site production of some sort.   Despite the slightly blurred lines, there are a fast-growing number of people in the UK considering the prefab approach to building their own home. Although it is not a new concept, advanced and innovative prefabrication techniques now offer huge benefits. The low quality, post-war prefab homes are a thing of the past and have been superseded by high quality, 21st century buildings. Many customers want the certainty that a modern prefab home can give them, reducing a lot of the risks inherent with a more traditional construction route. This will range from certainty over costs (with many companies offering fixed prices) and timelines, through to a guarantee of quality and a higher level of environmental performance. Add in a faster overall programme and it is easy to see why this solution is reducing the stress levels of aspiring self builders. What are the issues with prefabrication? The conventional idea of prefabricated homes is mostly modular or volumetric and is often referred to as the future of house building due to the efficiency of mass, factory based production. However, there are some limitations that aren’t so widely discussed when it comes to individual homes. Calling something prefab does not necessarily mean it is well made - many factories still rely on the manual skills of individuals on a production line. Factories like to produce fairly standardised products - this can limit the overall design options available to a customer. Delivering large components to sites can present logistical challenges - not all sites can have a crane get close enough. There is a lead time - although work on site might be shorter, there is the production time in the factory beforehand to consider too. Higher cost - factories have overheads and need a constant output to remain efficient, which can result in charging the customer more. For us, ‘prefab’ is in many ways an outdated conversation. Factory based home production will continue to have constraints and because of this we believe that digitising the process is the next step, and is where the home building industry should be turning its focus. The benefits of prefabrication without the constraints? Facit Homes has featured in many articles that talk about prefab homes, such as a roundup of ‘5 prefab housing innovations that raise the bar’ in The Space s . Whilst we subscribe to much of the ethos around prefabricated homes, we don’t fit very neatly into any category because - by looking at the companies people generally associate with ‘prefab’ - we aren’t doing the same things. For example, whilst we manufacture many parts of the home off site, such as our advanced structural system (the Facit Chassi s ) we don’t prefabricate finished wall sections or complete rooms at scale in a factory setting. We’re also not a kit home company that leaves the customer with the stress of completing the build themselves. Instead, we are focused on leveraging digital manufacturing technology to ensure the highest quality and performance levels for our homes, whilst giving ourselves the flexibility to be able to individually design each one from scratch. No two sites or customers are the same and in response we’ve developed an approach that brings us the best of both worlds. Our method is perhaps more aligned with modern car manufacture, with all the parts being digitally designed and produced, before being delivered to site for assembly 'just in time'. It keeps things efficient, removes the need for a huge factory and makes the most of all the amazing specialist production facilities out there. We also handle the whole process from design to manufacturing to construction, offering our customers a complete turnkey service. This includes dealing with all the tricky bits at the start like groundworks and utilities; the parts that need experience and expertise in order to be done correctly. Regardless of exactly how we fit in, we optimise the prefabrication elements of our builds in order to create high performance, bespoke homes - and if they are best described as a ‘prefab' then we are happy to be on board. Find out more about our approach by exploring The Facit Home .

Digital manufacturing is part of our pioneering approach to designing and building high performance homes. We're the world’s first home manufacturer to use a purely digital design and production process. But, as a company operating in a niche overlap between the design, architecture, manufacturing and construction industries, what does this actually mean? The precision of digital manufacturing means that our digital designs become reality. What does it mean for something to be digitally manufactured? Also sometimes referred to as digital fabrication, digital manufacturing is a design and manufacturing workflow where digital data drives the manufacturing process. Starting with a design on a computer and ending with a precisely produced physical product, digital manufacturing has two main advantages; it ensures accuracy and precision, and offers exciting new design opportunities. The end-to-end digitisation of manufacturing for construction removes human error. Traditional methods would see a builder essentially making a building by hand on site and potentially interpreting the design and details incorrectly or inconsistently. Using our advanced Design for Manufacture and Assembly  process, we design and fabricate unique structural components - shapes that would not be possible to produce by hand. This is in contrast to traditional prefab factory production lines which often replicate manual processes at scale. Digital technology can transform designers into makers Digital manufacturing has become hugely influential in the architecture industry. It blurs the lines between designing and making and has led to a transition in AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction) where companies that would have traditionally been ‘design’ only, now 'make'. Digital manufacturing is often associated with the machine that manufactures (e.g. a 3D printing arm) but it actually describes the end-to-end digital process. How does our system work? It starts in the studio with a 3D computer model of a Facit Home, which our architects have designed to suit the customer and the site. Created using BIM design software, this model contains a huge amount of detailed information for manufacture, particularly for our advanced timber structure, the Facit Chassis™️ . The underlying chassis model can be separated into individual parts to isolate the details of each structural component. Once isolated, we deconstruct each component into flat patterns and convert this into G code, a computer language that can be used to convey instructions for the automated machinery. The production information is gathered and G code sent to our CNC router - a computer controlled cutting machine with a spinning blade that cuts patterns out of a flat sheet of FSC spruce plywood. Timber is perfect for a production and construction process like ours; it is a material that can be used with the CNC router, and it is strong, durable and sustainably sourced. Once cut, the plywood flat patterns are assembled into 3D components. These look like big boxes that are delivered to site and assembled to create the Facit Chassis™️. Applying this process to features within each home, we have been able to design and manufacture a unique laser cut staircase  and structural steel tree columns . These examples show the diverse opportunities in the process and how, with the same system, we can use different materials and machinery for digital manufacturing. Precise information from the model is also used to supply accurate production data to our partner manufacturers, such as our triple-glazed window manufacturer, Velfac. This ensures that every window is made to exactly the right size, based on a schedule exported directly from the model. The UK’s first home manufacturer Facit Homes is a pioneering company in the field of digital manufacturing. Founded in 2007, we have helped pave the way for others to integrate a timber-based digital manufacturing system into the design and construction of individual homes. Wiki House  is one such company. As an open source platform that uses the same underlying technology of CNC cutting plywood, anyone can use the timber frame building system for free and contribute to the advancement of the process (see TED talk here ). Digital manufacturing techniques have continued to evolve and companies have begun to adopt progressive techniques in innovative ways. Concrete 3D printing is one of the latest innovations taking centre stage. The three main types of digital fabrication In many ways, the process is more important than the type of manufacturing chosen. However, because we often identify digital manufacturing by the machinery used, e.g. 3D printers, we think it’s important to outline the three main types of computer-controlled manufacturing. Additive manufacturing is the industrial production name for a computer controlled process that creates three dimensional objects by depositing materials, usually in layers. It is more commonly referred to as ‘3D printing’ as a 3D object is immediately produced. 3D printing is additive manufacturing. Subtractive manufacturing  refers to computer controlled machining processes which start with a solid material that is shaped by removing material via cutting, boring, drilling, and grinding. The CNC router has a robotic arm with a spinning blade that cuts out shapes in plywood. Robotic manipulation covers the other types of digital manufacturing that don’t involve cutting away from or directly adding to material. It can be used to describe machining processes like bending, folding and weaving. For more info, visit this Arch Daily article  - “Digital fabrication offers more efficient use of materials across a variety of structures and designs.” New ways of thinking Apis Cor  is 3D printing concrete homes . Using additive manufacturing technology and a computer controlled arm that pours a material in a programmed shape, Apis Cor is digitally manufacturing homes in concrete. Their “unique robotics arm distributes a concrete mortar, creating the desired shape of a building.” Their Dubai project is the world’s largest 3D printed home . Apis Cor using their 3D printing robotic arm to create a house from concrete. In another example, architect Amin Taha and his studio digitally fabricated an almost-replica building in Islington, London using a digital study and laser survey of the lost building’s mirror image at the other end of the parade of buildings. Amin Taha’s digitally fabricated almost-replica. Creating a virtual model of the bombed building, they created machined molds using the digital scan and poured terracotta concrete into it to make a “hollow half-metre-thick cast-concrete shell”. As a highly digital project that acknowledges the original imprint of the lost building, this project shows technology leading to new ways of thinking and designs we couldn't perceive previously. Above: CNC cutting of polystyrene formwork, reveal of the terracotta concrete poured within the polystyrene formwork and installation of the polystyrene on site. ETH Zurich  is highly influential in the sphere of digital manufacturing and, as a university and research facility, it is constantly pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with the technology. A team at ETH recently explored a process which involved the combination of 3D concrete printing and the more traditional method of concrete casting. This process allowed the team to digitally control the setting rate of the concrete and control the robotic arm to “either 3D print the fast-hardening concrete for more structural elements... or extrude a more fluid concrete that can flow into castings.” ETH 3D printed a prototype of a structural slab using a 3D printed casting. The future of building homes As the future of house building continues to be explored in different ways by individuals, companies, universities and research facilities, we’re proud to be part of an ever-evolving industry creating better solutions for outdated practices. The benefits of digital manufacturing are multiple: It ensures accuracy and precision, and offers exciting new design opportunities. The end-to-end digitisation of manufacturing for construction reduces human error. It offers the opportunity for a system with efficient cost management. It can be used to create shapes that would not be possible by hand. We hope to see more and more companies following this progression and exploring the opportunities that digital manufacturing offers to the built environment.