i need to find the history of prefab homes, and Ar con type homes and materials used, a general history of.?

Question

I trying to find out about a property I'm thinking of buying, I'm told it has a steel structure the walls being about 4 inches wide
it has a slate tiled roof, I think the walls are some kind of pannelling with a small gap between sheeting on each side, inside the ceiling is about 6 feet high and it has wooden floors,

Answer 1

Prefabs were generally built around the 1940s' to alleviate the shortage in housing at that time after the war.

Often they were designed to last for 15 years but many have lasted far far longer than that.

In some areas of Birmingham and in many other cities, some prefabs have been restored and updated, some now have a preservation order which prevents their demolition.

By todays standards the prefab is relatively poor by design, often containing asbestos and steel window frames with single glazing is quite common.

Generally the living room is larger in proportion to the kitchen in most prefabs, as during the time there were not too many kitchen appliances like there are today.

Main proplems with prefabricated buildings today is getting a mortgage. Whilst it is possible to do this, most lenders will ask for a larger deposit. This is simply because the structures were only designed to last for a short period of time, although as I mentioned they often last much longer than originally intended.

There is a an excellent example of an ARCON prefab, which was moved from 85, Moat Lane, Yardley, Birmingham, to the Avoncroft Museum of buildings in 1980's, saving it from it's demolition. This is a very interesting link with some pictures of prefabs from this area
http://aghs.virtualbrum.co.uk/agww2/prefabs.htm
It is a typical prefab and has not been updated at all or altered, it is in good condition and depicts a 1950's property within. It is constructed with some asbestos paneling, steel doors and windows, and a pitched roof, although a lot of prefabs had flat roofs.

http://www.avoncroft.org.uk/#

Answer 2

I lived in a Pre Fab house which were all bungalow type. It had a steel structure outside (walls and window frames) and and asbestos roof. I think the one you are looking at is not a prefab, but a half steel type of house, withn brick walls halfway down. This type of house needs a full survey before buying because the steel walls rust from the inside out, and the attic has steell beams which are liable to rust.

Answer 3

theres a bit of history you might find useful here mate,ive seen this on a programme called grand-designs check it out and see what you think,hope it helps..http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2006/09/19/phuf19.xml

Answer 4

i dont know what country you are in ..but if its in the uk ..forget it ..you wont get a morgage on it and i doubt if you could sell it again ..and you wont want to live in it forever