‘Build fast, built to last’: N.S. company hopes its low-priced modular homes will help housing crisis

Crystal Garrett visits a new company that's building affordable, modular housing.

A company that is new to Nova Scotia aims to make homes more accessible and affordable for those looking for a permanent place to call home.

SmartCasa builds affordable modular homes that fit the client’s needs.

Kathy MacGillivray, CEO and founder of SmartCasa, says she was inspired to help the province’s housing crisis after listening to a podcast.

“It stated that the only solution to address the crisis is through modular housing,” she says.

SmartCasa’s homes are built with light-gauge steel, making them long-lasting and maintenance-free.

MacGillivray says materials used in the builds also ensure their homes are mould-resistant.

“We have used PVC wall covering … we can do various wall coverings, but we have chosen PVC and behind this wall covering, it’s a sandwich panel,” she explains.

“It’s steel, rockwool insulation and steel, so absolutely nothing can go past this (wall) … the sandwich panels are locked in together, and there’s literally no transfer of heat from the inside to the outside and vice versa.”

MacGillivray says SmartCasa offers a variety of sizes, up to 3,000 square feet.

Depending on where the build is located and the size of the desired home, SmartCasa’s modular homes have an average starting price of about $159,000 and up.

“We have local builders that will be constructing the homes and the wall panels come preassembled,” says MacGillivray. “So therefore, it goes up very, very fast. Our motto is: ‘Build fast, built to last.’ Our homes are built within six weeks.”

“(They’ll last) a lifetime, because it’s light-gauge steel, our exterior cladding is either cement fibre board or metal, our roofs are metal, even our deck is composite decking. The people who will want our builds, they want a sustainable build, they want a low-maintenance build, an affordable build with high quality. And our whole mandate is to bring affordable housing to Canada and do our share.”

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