Kit houses are also known as mail order homes or ready-cut houses and they were the most popular in the first half of the 20th century in the United States and Canada. These pre-cut houses are sold by various manufacturers and they come in different styles and plans. Once you order the house, you receive all the necessary materials as well as a construction plan of the house. It is important to mention that these houses usually do not include bricks, concrete, or masonry.
When it comes to pricing, the complete cost of building a kit house usually doubles the catalog price once the house is completely finished and this does not include the price of land. Despite this, building a kit house seems to still be significantly cheaper than a traditional one.
Another common practice is selling only the plan of the kit house meaning the owner will purchase the materials needed himself.
Most of the houses in the list are made out of glulam which is a glued laminated timder. Glulam has many advantages compared to other building materials, such as timber or log. As timber is chopped and glued together again, it eliminates defects and knots, making the surface quality very high. Glulam also offers strength that is 50-70% higher than regular timber. It also provides much better thermal insulation and structural stability.
Of course, the material has its disagvantages as well. One of the main ones being high price, as it takes more effort to produce glulam than just cutting and proccessing timber. The way glulam is made also allows some manufacturers to use lower quality timber. And one of the final disadvantages comes with the aesthetic, as in essence, proccessed wood loses the natural look of wood.
