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Welcome to Prefab Profiles, an ongoing series of interviews with people transforming how we build houses. From prefab tiny houses and modular cabin kits to entire homes ready to ship, their projects represent some of the best ideas in the industry. Do you know a prefab brand that should be on our radar? Get in touch!
After helping launch Marmol Radziner’s line of prefab houses around 2002, architects Gordon Stott and Jared Levy saw modular prefabrication as a chance to make high-quality residences more affordable—so long as the construction method was extremely efficient.
In 2012 they launched Connect Homes with fifteen designs as part of its original Design Series. Since, Stott and Levy have made more affordable models as well as shelters and community buildings for unhoused people. Here, Stott tells us about the company’s new Pro Series and what makes the California-based fabricator unique.
California prefab builder Connect Homes’ units span between 460 and 3,200 square feet in size.
What’s the most exciting project you’ve realized to date?
Over the course of delivering 125 prefab homes, there are lots of way to interpret “exciting project.” When Connect first launched, we were less conservative with our delivery approach because our modules were small and originally designed to be delivered without a crane. This led to houses being installed in very inaccessible places where it was difficult to access by car. This sometimes made a project a little too exciting!
Today, our most exciting projects are when a client’s house looks like a beautiful, completed midcentury steel-and-glass home from the moment it’s craned on site. While there is still work to be done on site after delivery—the Case Study Houses are our inspiration—seeing something that looks like one deployed instantly is really thrilling.
The prefabs’ steel framework allows windows to be placed anywhere along the perimeter of a home.
Aside from the layout, everything from the finishes to the appliances are up for customization. Connect Homes also says it can work with clients on providing additional structures, like a covered deck or a carport.
What does your base model cost and what does that pricing include?
Current pricing on our website shows Pro 2 models going for about $208,000, including budget for doing basic site work, assuming local delivery, good soils, and utilities coming from the street. This cost is, essentially, turnkey.
Connect Homes offers two product lines. Their higher-end and more flexible Design Series ranges in price from $208,000 to $1.2 million. Priced between $208,000 and $611,000, the more standardized Pro Series models are also designed with the possibility of scaling up to form multi-residential developments.
What qualities make your prefab stand apart from the rest?
- We build 2,000-square-foot homes to at least 90 percent completion in our factory every six working days.
- Our all-steel frames allow clients to put glass anywhere on the perimeter of their home, adjusting the way a standard plan house interacts with its site.
- We install what we produce in the factory,
- We are currently averaging 80 days from delivery to completion on installed projects.
- We have a track record of 125 houses.
- We’ve launched a new prefab system—the Pro Series—which takes factory completion to 95 percent. This is big news for helping solve the logistics of prefab.
- We try and be as transparent as possible with clients on pricing and process, helping them achieve the modern home of their dreams.
The ceilings in one-story rooms are between eight-and-a-half and nine feet tall. Some models feature double-height living spaces.
Where is the prefab currently available?
We currently deliver in California, but will be delivering our first homes to Texas this year. We are expanding to serve all states where there is a state-wide modular housing program.
Is your design currently pre-permitted in any U.S. municipalities?
We have ADUs pre-permitted in San Jose and Los Angeles.
High-performance insulation well above building code requirements and a ductless HVAC system allow for precise temperature control in each room.
How long can a client expect the process to take after they put down a deposit?
Connect Homes takes care of everything from design to move in except foundations and site utilities. The home itself is built to at least 90 percent completion on our assembly line in a matter of days. On site, after delivery, we are completing installations in an average of about three months.
The building approval process and procurement typically end up being the majority of timeline. Overall, the process can be as fast as six to eight months, if approvals move quickly. It’s probably more typical for projects to take a year.
The flexibility and efficiency of Connect Homes’ modular approach has made them an attractive option for families who’ve lost homes to wildfires in Sonoma and Santa Rosa, California.
Connect Homes has also made shelters to accommodate unhoused and at-need populations across California, including in Victorville, Rohnert Park, and Mountain View.
What aspects of an install do you manage?
Connect Homes manages the whole process from design, engineering, approval, production, delivery, and installation through move in. The only parts of the process we don’t manage are the foundations and site utilities.
What aspects of the design can a client customize?
Both the Pro and Design Series are largely standard plan offerings. While clients can choose between finish, fixture, and appliance options, we don’t let them move interior walls around. That said, because of our steel-frame modules, our homes’ perimeter walls aren’t load bearing. This means floor-to-ceiling glass can be put nearly anywhere around the perimeter, tuning the house to its site. An optimized and site-specific relationship between indoors and outdoors is foundational to modern residential design. Our prefab systems promote this customization.
The white-painted roofs form part of an enclosure system that reflects up to 90 percent of incident heat, according to the company. While Connect Homes does not install solar arrays on their models, they offer to make the units “solar ready” to ease installation by a third party.
