As the county of Maui and the state of Hawaii begin to assess the impacted areas and people affected by the August wildfires, housing is a very important issue. Maui is highly desirable for both locals and new residents alike, and rebuilding will be complex and costly.
The Road Home
Many homes were built more than 50 years ago and were family properties. So many families have been rendered homeless and don’t yet know how they will rebuild. One immediate help is the arrival of small, foldable, pre-fab homes that can be set up quickly and offer private living spaces for displaced families. These temporary structures will help families until they can either rebuild or find a new home.
Without assistance, residents may be forced to leave and never return, especially to an area where housing is already scarce and expensive
One option for Lahaina is prefabricated modular homes. Also called “pre-fab,” these are homes built in factories under controlled conditions.
They are constructed one room at a time to detailed specifications, then shipped to the site for attaching together and to the foundation.
Pre-fab homes are not mobile homes that are driven to a site and attached to land and utilities. A mobile home is set on a chassis so that it can be moved anywhere easily. A pre-fab home is nearly indistinguishable from a site-built one, attached to a foundation, and is treated the same for tax purposes.
Faster And Easier
After years of trying to keep pre-fab homes and structures out of Hawaii, the fires have made pre-fab a viable option for anyone trying to rebuild. There are several vendors in Maui and Hawaii that offer pre-fab and shipping container homes.
Pre-fab homes take less time overall. A site-built home can’t begin until the foundation is completed. But a modular pre-fab home can be built while the foundation is being constructed, or even before.
The house components are built in an indoor warehouse without weather-related or other delays common with site-building. And because the materials are stored in a climate-controlled facility, the building materials stay dry—and straight.
A pre-fab home can also be designed for an existing foundation, and from a home’s original blueprints.
Following the Woolsey fires in Santa Monica, California in 2018, many homeowners turned to pre-fab to replace their homes. The process took much less time than building on-site, and people were able to move home much faster than they would have otherwise. (A truncated version of this video is here.) Lahaina could be rebuilt much the same way.
Let Pro Draft Help With Your Next Building Project
Pro Draft is now offering discounted services to those affected by the wildfires in Lahaina and Kihei. Call us for details.
Pro Draft has been helping bring ideas to life in Maui for 30 years. We’re ready to help with drawings, interior design, “green design” with LEED certification, project management, and permit expeditions.
We can help with architecture, drawings, blueprints, and permits, and answer all your questions before the first day of construction. We’re happy to help and will work to ensure your project is exactly the way you envision.
Call Pro Draft today at (808) 579-9050 or 1-800-499-4699 from the Mainland
