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Flat out: Avenues' guide to flat-pack homes
Flat out
Avenues’ guide to flat-pack homes
If the thought of assembling a flat pack piece of furniture fills you with horror, then Ikea’s new range of flat-pack style houses (pictured) may not be for you.
The houses, which are known as BoKloks, (Swedish for ‘Live Smart‘) in Scandinavia, are being launched as a solution to Britain's lack of affordable housing.
Flats will be priced at under £100,000 and Ikea said it expects to sell three-bedroom houses, even in south east England, for less than £150,000. Each of the homes will have a flexible open plan layout, high ceilings, solar panels, low energy heating and double glazing and be fitted with Ikea kitchens and wooden floors.
BoKloks are already popular in Scandinavia, and 800 are now sold each year in Sweden.
They will be developed here in the UK under licence by Live Smart @ Home, part of the affordable housing provider, Home Group.
The first development, the St James Village Project, consists of 90 BoKlok flats and houses is being built in Gateshead, opposite the Gateshead International Stadium. The 36 flats were aimed at households earning between £15,000 and £35,000 per year, and there was a huge waiting list to snap one up. The first residents moved in in May of this year.
One bedroom flats on the Gateshead development are priced at £99,500, two bedroom flats will be £124,950, and townhouses range in price from £132,500 to £149,500.
The homes are partially constructed in the factories before being fully assembled on site. Constructed from timber and steel, the homes are not really a self-build option, but more than 2,000 people have already registered their interest in the homes, which can be bought in full or part ownership, on the BoKlok website.
The fact that the homes are not built from bricks and mortar may cause problems though, as mortgage companies shy away from properties that are not built with the traditional materials, and homebuyers could find themselves with a limited choice of more expensive loans.
To keep costs down, BoKloks will be built in areas in need of regeneration rather than in city centres, and will be erected in small clusters around a communal garden with landscaping, seating areas, and a Swedish apple tree.
After the 117 home Gateshead development, Ikea hopes to expand the project to 12 more sites across the country over the next 18 months. Public consultation began in April on plans to build the UK’s second BoKlok development in Sunderland.
A planning application for around 100 homes in the Hendon area of the city is being prepared for submission later this month and, if successful, work will start on site later this year. The price of the homes will start at around £120,000 for outright ownership.
Designs for the scheme will be similar to the homes on the Gateshead site, and all of the homes will be eco-friendly, using sustainable materials and building methods.
If you want to get your hands dirty, Argos has launched a flat pack log cabin priced at £13,000. Sold in kit form, the Helsinki cabin has five rooms, loft space and terrace, can be self assembled in a few days.
The 32ft by 16ft 10in cabin is made of Scandinavian whitewood, has double-glazed French doors and windows and a felt shingle roof. It is constructed using tongue and groove boards which slot together, and should be erected on foundations of concrete or compressed gravel.
To find out more information, visit www.boklok.co.uk and www.argos.co.uk.
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