House design: the Continental way

Shropshire property pioneer Mike Jaehrig claims British building techniques are so basic, boring and old fashioned that we are 15 years behind the rest of Europe.

In fact, he believes our building industry could go the same way as our car manufacturing empire and be taken over by foreigners.

To prove his point, he's bringing cutting edge 'green' self-build homes from Europe to the UK for the first time - and they are a world away from the traditional method of building a new property.

Mike, from Wellington - although he was born in Germany - is managing director of Hanlo, which produces 'eco-houses' at a factory 40 miles south of Berlin, and ships them over in an articulated lorry. The shell is then assembled on site in a day.

The shell of the individually designed house goes up in a matter of hours, being made up of huge panels. These double-insulated timber-frame panels come complete with windows and doors and services, and it all slots into place like a giant jigsaw.

Self-builders or developers can then take over, finishing their home in 12-16 weeks, rather than months, or opt to have it all done for them by Hanlo.

The properties are highly insulated and can be fitted out with a multitude of eco products. In fact, a Hanlo home can be totally 'carbon zero' if desired.

Clients are flown over to the German factory to spend at least two days touring its neighbouring customer centre, which is like a two-floor shopping centre, where they choose their own fixtures and fittings. Eco products available include underfloor heating, heat pumps and solar panels, active ventilation and heat recovery systems.

Hanlo has been building homes in Germany and Austria for the last 35 years. Its off-site closed panel construction system attracted a lot of interest at last year's Grand Designs and Homebuilding and Renovating Show at the NEC. Hanlo is now beginning to build individual properties all over the UK.

Mike says: "What seems unique here is not considered so extraordinary in Europe. In Germany and Austria there are around 100 companies doing similar builds."

After moving to Britain from Germany, Mike, a former mechanical engineer in the automotive industry, failed to be impressed with the way UK new homes are built.

He says: "You are handicapped with the way that land is sold. It is made available in large areas, given to big builders to establish a complete site, which ends up in a boring, non-individual, depressing residential area. In comparison, in Europe land is made available in plots.

"A developer will put the infrastructure in and divide it into plots and put streetlights and services in and then sell plots to people who can build a house to their own design.

"The impact the UK process has on the industry is that it takes the competition out. This has brought the UK industry 15 years behind the European building standard. It will go to the Germans, like the automotive industry."

Mike says the biggest hurdle British self-builders face is buying the land. "Our self-builders can't buy land as cheap as a developer can. The English homebuyer is betrayed."

The cost of a Hanlo house depends on its size, fixtures and fittings and the number of eco products in its spec. One recent customer was having a 170 square metre three-bedroomed bungalow built for £165,000.

The speed of the service is impressive. A design and cost can be turned around in 24 hours. Mike explains: "I can give the client a binding quote and I can stick to the price. If you don't change the size, the fixtures and fittings, or the design, the price will not change."

And as soon as the planning application goes in, work will begin on the foundation of your new home at the factory in Germany.

Customers can choose a Hanlo home design or have their own design built, and there are different packages available.

Mike launched Hanlo Limited after looking for alternatives to UK new builds. In Germany, Hanlo and its sister company Bau-mein-Haus are leading manufacturers of off-site constructed homes.