Recent news about small modular homes
ADUs Sweep California
Despite the skepticism about tiny homes, (see Polls on page 7 of Offsite Builder print edition) Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs – small, self-contained housing units found in the backyards of existing homes—are a hot trend. That’s especially true in California. A statewide boom in ADU approvals began roughly five years ago when the state’s legislators required local municipalities to relax their regulations.
Redwood City, California-based Abodu builds prefabricated ADUs and has installed more than 100 units in the past two years, with more units coming to both Sonoma and Napa counties in the coming months.
Abodu designed its business around taking the stress out of the process by handling most of the work themselves, but several other prefab ADU companies offer similar options.
Tiny Modular in Washington State
Just before the Covid-19 pandemic began, I met a young man at the International Builder Show in Las Vegas, Nev. that talked about building totally vertically-integrated IRC tiny houses in Washington state. At the time, I knew he was going to be someone that would make waves in our industry. Little did I know that shortly after that he would build a new, larger factory and become one of the pioneers in helping make affordable housing a reality for many. His name is Derek Huegel and he owns Wolf Industries Inc., a modular home builder located in Battle Ground, Washington. Currently offering six tiny home models, they facilitate permitting, production, delivery and setup – making the home-buying experience as easy on the customer as possible.
Wolf just finished a 21-unit detached, multi-family, affordable housing project for Vancouver, Washington-based Community Roots Collaborative (C-Roots), a 501(c) (3) non-profit developer of permanent, affordable tiny home communities. Their focus is on providing a safe and secure home for those in need.
The deciding factor for C-Roots when choosing Wolf Industries was Wolf’s ability to accurately estimate and deliver on such a large project scope. From pre-project planning to construction management services, it was all handled in-house with no subcontractors. This is truly a non-typical approach in the construction world. These differences are what allowed the project to pivot quickly when presented with supply chain issues and rising costs. Through the design of a new duplex model, Wolf was able to maximize the density and still deliver a comfortable site layout.
C-Roots representative Chris Thobaben said the Collaborative was looking for a standard product that could be refined over time. “We needed a partner that had something that could be created and replicated with confidence for the next funding source. Wolf had, hands-down, the best quality and the best quality control process. The expectation was something that could last for 30-50 years.”
At this writing and all units have been leased out. The tenant feedback is quite positive on how close yet “apart” all the tenants feel inside this compact site. One renter named Randy said, “I love it. I love the house! It’s fantastic. It’s warm; when we had the snow, it was great! It’s the perfect size. It’s a lot better than what I had…I love the place!”
Looking forward, C-Roots and Wolf Industries Inc. have been pursuing more sites in the greater Vancouver area.
