OFFGRID-INSTYLE small home and cabin designs are essentially kit homes which can be built onsite in just a few weeks by a small team of local tradesmen – using standard readily-available off-the-shelf materials and components, utilising conventional construction techniques and standard-sized wall sheets, floor sheets, and roof sheets in easily-handled sizes to minimise waste and labour.
On this website you will soon be able to purchase designs with fully detailed construction drawings complete with a comprehensive materials order list and an up-to-date cost estimate. The drawings are prepared by a certified building designer in compliance with the Australian SAA Light Timber Framing Code, so in most parts of Australia they can be submitted to local council for approval (with the addition of a site plan, engineer's certificate, and whatever else council requires). These drawings and order lists can also be given to local builders and tradesmen for quotes, making their task much easier since they only have to estimate their labour cost, while owners can get competitive quotes on the complete list of materials and components provided by OFFGRID-INSTYLE from a variety of different building suppliers such as Bunnings or Mitre 10.
The OFFGRID-INSTYLE design philosophy embraces robustness and energy-efficiency, in a simple modern style; combined with the belief that in most cases, houses built onsite, by local tradesmen, using locally purchased (and sourced, if possible) materials, can be more socially responsible, more attractive, more robust, and more affordable than factory-built prefabricated houses.
