RISE OF MODULAR BUILDINGS

Modular building is going to disrupt the construction market globally. It has started to do that already in certain places such as North America, and we’re now starting to witness a lot of bathroom pods being built in Australia.

The advantage of modular building is the fact that it's in a controlled environment. It's in a factory. So, what happens in that situation is that, firstly, you've got a high degree of quality, because it all gets inspected. Secondly, you have less waste, and thirdly, it's the time efficiencies.

That’s all a massive saving for any construction project and we're seeing high-rise buildings where they've been using bathroom pods in that facility.

Aqua Seal was invited to visit, the largest modular prefab construction company in the world, in Phoenix, Arizona, last year. It is quite a disruptive industry that's happening there. There were names like Google, Amazon and Facebook coming into these discussions in construction.

Amazon have now invested into modular prefab building in the U.S. Google have got involved in, not from an investment side, but for the fact that dealing with these modular companies to build communities for them, because homes can be built now in 45 to 60 days. This is crazy. But we're not talking about cheap, transportable homes. These are high-quality homes. That trend of how they’re being constructed is going to come to Australia.

So, how does that affect water proofers and products? Firstly, you need to have a decent quality product, because what you're going to find now is the cheap stuff is not going to enter factories, because the way products are going to be vetted. They're going to be inspected, they're going to be assessed and they're going to be evaluated.

Secondly, you need to start asking yourself as contractors how you can get involved with these builders and can you service them in a factory environment versus what you do for onsite building?

If you limit yourself to only doing stuff onsite, you are going to miss an opportunity. And like any opportunity, those who get in first normally stay entrenched.

You need to understand where you can add value to that market, because it is happening right now and it's moving very, very quickly.

Here at Aqua Seal, we’re excited for the evolution of the modular market because all the Vic Aqua Seal products that we manufacture and design, including new innovative products specifically for the modular market that we've been developing for the last three years, allow us to offer solutions to the builders that are involved in that space.

Any of you out there that are in that area of pod or modular building, you know where to come on Aqua Seal. Please email Aqua seal at info@vicaquaseal.com.au to find out more. We've got specifications and products and systems devised just for modular building. Any questions, please throw them our way.