Today we built a house every hour

Persimmon believes its Space4 division could produce 5,000 homes a year, equivalent to about 50% of its total sales

BuzzBuzzHome
February 1, 2010

Today is February 1, which means that we are in the midst of winter. I can tell from looking out my window that it is cold outside! I am sure glad that I’m not on a construction site!

Persimmon, Britain’s biggest homebuilder, has set up Space4 – an automated production line – that can produce one house an hour. As such, construction workers may not have to bear the elements for much longer.

According to the Times Online,

“…because the external structure of a house can be erected within hours, and covered in a waterproof skin, plumbers and electricians have a safe, dry environment in which to work, even if it is raining or snowing outside. Moreover, the automated production system, which uses Weinmann technology from Germany, means there are fewer mistakes in the construction process. This in turn speeds up the approval process from the National House-Building Council, whose inspectors provide the workmanship guarantees that are required by most mortgage lenders on new homes.”

Think that the houses may look cheap? Not according to the article, which states:

The beauty for the company is that from the outside the homes look no different from those on any other modern development, but they are cheaper to build and can be erected faster.

Are you in the lowrise business? How long does it take you to build a road of houses? “We can make a new road of houses in a month,” says Mike Farley, chief executive of Persimmon, “Space4 means we are ready for the growth when it comes.”