Life can get busy as you juggle work and family commitments, leaving no time to manage your build project. However, you don’t have to put off building your dream home, thanks to turn-key home packages!

Here’s everything you need to know about turn-key home packages in the UK.

What Are Turn-key Home Packages?

Turn-key home packages enable a hands-off self-build that provides you with a move-in ready home. Everything you need to move in comfortably is taken care of for you, from home design to material sourcing, labour, construction, and final finishes.

The only thing you do is choose what you want, pay for it, and literally turn the key while moving into your new home or rent it out once it’s finished. It means no construction, renovations, or painting. Simply walk in and start living!

Turn-key home package suppliers are sometimes called custom build companies or design and build companies. Others even offer house and land packages to help you find a suitable plot and take care of planning, house design, and construction.

How Do Turn-key Home Packages Work?

While different turn-key home package suppliers may have different processes, some of the basic steps involve:

• Analysing the Plot – Your turn-key home package supplier may have available plot options for you to choose from. They can help you with site assessments and guide you through the purchase.
• Feasibility Study – The supplier will work with you to analyse all your project’s relevant factors by going through your broad brief, budget, and intentions to determine if you’re ready to proceed.
• Design Consultation – You can choose to work with a freelance or in-house designer from the turn-key home package supplier to create a design based on your budget and brief.
• Approvals for Building and Planning – The supplier then administers all the relevant planning and building requirements or warranties as required by local or national regulations for approval.
• Manufacture – Once you’re committed to the project, you can then order the ‘kit’ frame for your house, and the supplier will manufacture it off-site.
• Groundwork – Groundworks is usually excluded in most turn-key home supplier contracts, but they can arrange for approved contractors to undertake the work on your behalf.
• Delivery and Installation – Once the groundwork is complete, your kit will be delivered to the site and installed, ready to be occupied.

Turn-key Homes Structure Systems

If you’re an eco-conscious self-builder looking for highly efficient timber frame systems, a turn-key home package is your best bet. Compared to leaving a build to on-site builders, a turn-key approach is in many ways essential for the delivery of highly energy-efficient, airtight floor, wall, and roof systems.

Many turn-key home suppliers in the UK offer timber frame systems with closed panels closely resembling structural insulated panels (SIPs). You can also find slightly different options at differing price points, including eco, standard or Passivhaus.

Typical thermal transmittance or U values for such walling systems range from 0.11-0.18W/m2, and this will easily meet and exceed standard building regulations. Some walling systems also include building sections that may not have been considered part of the external wall, such as internal plasterboards.

Since most turn-key suppliers will have their unique roofing or walling system, it’s essential to ensure you compare like for like across suppliers when looking at things like wall thickness or U values.

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Service Levels For Turn-key Home Packages

Remember, all suppliers don’t offer similar service levels, and the package of one supplier will be different from another. Turn-key home package companies will usually provide a range of involvement levels depending on your preferences.

Some are considered materials package suppliers with project and design management add ons. After the design and planning stage, they offer additional options to include every option you can think of, from using in-house designers to bringing your existing plans for them to build from.

Core services usually include supply and erection of frame superstructures with pre-insulated external panels, roof trusses, and supply of carpentry fixes like skirting, staircases, doors, or architraves.

It usually excludes roof coverings, footings, plumbing, electrics, and cladding. However, the package supplier can arrange these for you if you wish. Among UK suppliers, such frame plus extras models are very dominant. Most of them are usually timber frame package suppliers, and for the most part, they typically stop at joinery.

Benefits Of Turn-key Home Packages

Single Contact Point

A turn-key home package allows you to only deal and liaise with one contact, the turn-key project manager, instead of having to manage a list of contractors.

All you’re required to do is share your thoughts and desires and choose the relevant finishes. They’ll carefully select and coordinate each item as and when needed, and you can be confident your project is in safe hands.

All Expertise Under A Single Roof

Turn-key home package providers have all the necessary experts in-house, and the project manager collaborates with everyone involved in creating your home.

Streamlining the entire project is possible when the build is managed internally, making it easy to execute on-site with incredible attention to detail.

Reduced On-site Time

Turn-key project managers can work to a pre-determined construction schedule. This helps streamline your home build from start to finish and allows you to plan your move-in date well in advance.

Most turn-key services offer seamless systems fabricated in workshops. They’re then brought to the site in large panel formats that easily clip together, significantly reducing the build time required. They can even pre-fit windows in workshops for further reductions in on-site build time.

Cost Efficiency

On-site time reduction, together with the turn-key provider’s vast experience and understanding of your build, can lead to significant cost savings. You can save on associated costs like:

• The hiring of machinery.
• Renting temporary accommodation.
• Rent for building facilities like on-site storage or toilets.
• Building site insurance.

Final Thoughts

Remember, the convenience and speed offered by turn-key home packages will often come at a high price, but the advantages are usually worth the extra cost. It’s also vital to ensure you choose a reputable and reliable package provider to avoid substandard work.

If you’d like to find out more about how Ashtons can help you contact one of our branches for further information.