Last updated: August 2026
Here’s the whole process, step by step, with realistic timings and what you’ll be doing at each stage. No sales-brochure optimism, just the actual sequence. Where a step depends on your country’s rules, we say so and use Ireland as the example.
Every TheHouz project gets its own programme
There is no responsible single timeline that applies to every home. An R Family™ home on a prepared site is a very different project from a large Combo Family™ home requiring planning, extensive groundworks and multiple building systems.
That is why every TheHouz project receives a project-specific delivery programme.
Depending on the project, it covers:
design → approvals → procurement → factory production → site preparation → delivery → assembly → fit-out → commissioning → handover
The programme is developed around the actual home, specification, site conditions, destination country and agreed scope.
You can see the sequence, key dependencies and responsibilities rather than relying on a generic promise.
Why panelised construction changes the timeline
Traditional construction is largely sequential. Foundations first. Then structure. Then roof. Then windows. Then services. Then finishes. And much of that work happens outdoors. TheHouz works differently.
Once the design and required approvals are sufficiently developed, two project clocks can run in parallel:
In the factory: the home is being manufactured.
On site: foundations, drainage, utilities and access can be prepared.
That overlap is where much of the programme advantage comes from.
We do not remove construction stages. We reorganise them.
Step 1 — Configure your home
Start with the home itself.
Choose:
R Family™ · L Family™ · Combo Family™
Then configure the size, layout and specification.
Depending on the home, selections can include:
- façade materials;
- windows and glazing;
- interior finishes;
- kitchen and bathrooms;
- heating;
- ventilation;
- optional cooling;
- solar PV;
- battery storage;
- EV readiness;
- smart-home technology;
- security;
- appliances;
- and furniture.
The TheHouz Studio configurator lets you explore options and understand how selections affect the home and price.
This is the best stage to change your mind.
Changing a configuration on screen is easy. Changing it after manufacturing begins is not.
Step 2 — Understand the site
The home can be standardised. The land cannot. Before the project moves too far, the important site questions need to be understood:
Can you build there?
Can the site be serviced?
Can we reach it?
What foundations will it need?
We review the available information on:
- site location;
- access;
- delivery logistics;
- utilities;
- drainage;
- ground conditions;
- and proposed home position.
Where additional surveys, planning advice or engineering investigations are required, they can then be identified early. This prevents site problems from becoming production problems later.
Step 3 — Planning and approvals
This is one of the stages that varies most across Europe. TheHouz is designed as a permanent residential building system, so the project must follow the planning and regulatory requirements applicable to the destination country and site. Some projects may benefit from simplified procedures or exemptions. Others require full planning permission and additional statutory approvals. TheHouz supports the appointed project team with relevant technical information, drawings, structural information, specifications and building-envelope documentation. But local planning and approval times remain outside the factory programme. That is why we identify this stage clearly in the individual project programme.
Step 4 — Freeze the specification
Once the project is ready to proceed, the home specification is finalised. This is an important milestone. Windows, façade materials, heating systems, ventilation, electrical requirements, interior selections and other relevant options are coordinated before manufacture.
Why?
Because factory production works best when decisions are made before the product reaches the production line.
A frozen specification allows us to coordinate engineering, procurement and manufacturing around a defined home.
It also gives the customer much greater cost certainty.
Step 5 — Engineering, procurement and factory planning
The home now moves into detailed project preparation.
Depending on the configuration, this can include:
- final structural coordination;
- building-envelope detailing;
- windows and doors;
- MEP coordination;
- material procurement;
- production information;
- quality requirements;
- and allocation of the manufacturing slot.
Long-lead components are identified within the project programme.
The objective is simple:
everything should arrive when production needs it — not when the site is already waiting for it.
Step 6 — Two clocks start running
This is where the TheHouz process becomes fundamentally different from a conventional sequential build.
Clock One: the factory
The structural and building-envelope elements are manufactured in controlled factory conditions.
Depending on the home and specification, factory work can incorporate significant elements of:
structure · insulation · envelope detailing · windows and doors · service preparation
Production is less exposed to the rain, wind and seasonal conditions that affect open-site construction.
Clock Two: the site
At the same time, the site can move forward.
Typical activities include:
groundworks · foundations · drainage · utilities · access preparation
The objective is to have the prepared site and manufactured home ready at the same point in the programme.
Neither side should be waiting unnecessarily for the other.
Step 7 — Delivery and assembly
Once the factory and site are ready, the home moves to site. TheHouz is panelised, not volumetric. Rather than transporting complete room-sized boxes, engineered building elements are delivered for assembly on the prepared foundations.
That makes transport more efficient and can improve access to sites that would be difficult for large volumetric modules. The primary structure and building envelope can be assembled rapidly — typically measured in days rather than months, depending on the home, site, weather and installation conditions. This is the stage where the project suddenly begins to look like a house very quickly.
Step 8 — Complete the home
Fast structural assembly does not mean the keys arrive the following afternoon.
The home still needs to be properly completed.
Depending on the agreed scope, this can include:
- building-envelope completion;
- electrical works;
- plumbing;
- heating;
- MVHR;
- optional cooling;
- bathrooms;
- kitchen;
- plasterboard and decoration;
- flooring;
- lighting;
- controls;
- smart-home systems;
- security;
- and final external interfaces.
For many projects, this completion phase is measured in weeks, with the exact duration defined in the individual programme.
The objective is not simply to erect a shell quickly.
The objective is to hand over a completed home properly.
Step 9 — Commission, test and hand over
Before keys, the building systems need to work as designed.
Depending on specification and local requirements, the final stage can include:
- heating commissioning;
- ventilation balancing;
- optional cooling commissioning;
- electrical testing;
- smart-home setup;
- security-system checks;
- controls testing;
- energy-performance assessment;
- final inspections;
- snagging;
- documentation;
- and applicable certification.
The customer then receives the relevant handover package, including O&M information, product documentation, maintenance requirements, commissioning records and warranty information.
Then come the keys.
So how long does it actually take?
There is no single number we would responsibly apply to every TheHouz project.
The programme depends on:
home size + specification + planning + site readiness + procurement + destination + installation scope
A compact home on a prepared site can move considerably faster than a large family home requiring planning, complex groundworks and extensive services. What remains consistent is the delivery logic. Factory production and site preparation can overlap. The structure and envelope can be assembled rapidly. And much more of the construction process is planned before work begins on site. That is where the time advantage comes from.
What usually causes delays?
Factory production is generally one of the more predictable parts of the process. The issues most likely to affect the overall programme are often outside the production line:
Late planning or approvals
If permission is required, it needs to be built into the programme from the beginning.
Site investigations left too late
Ground conditions, wastewater, drainage and access should be understood before they become urgent.
Utility connections
Electricity, water and other network connections can have their own lead times.
Apply early.
Late specification changes
Changing a façade finish in the configurator is simple.
Changing windows, services or structural interfaces after procurement or manufacturing has begun is not.
Access surprises
A narrow gate, overhead cable or unsuitable crane position is much easier to solve during planning than on delivery morning.
That is why TheHouz front-loads decisions.
The cheapest delay is the one prevented before production starts.
What about winter?
Factory manufacturing provides an obvious advantage.
Much of the home is produced indoors rather than being continuously exposed to external weather. Site works and assembly can still be affected by severe weather, ground conditions or unsafe lifting conditions. So we would never claim that weather becomes irrelevant. It simply has less opportunity to control the entire construction programme.
Your programme, not a brochure promise
Before production begins, the project should have a clear route forward.
TheHouz develops a programme around the actual home and site, identifying the major stages, dependencies and responsibilities.
That gives everyone — customer, factory, site team and project professionals — the same delivery roadmap.
One home.
One site.
One coordinated programme.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a TheHouz home take from order to move-in?
It depends on the home, specification, planning requirements, site conditions and destination.
Every project receives its own programme covering design, procurement, manufacturing, site preparation, installation, completion and handover.
The main advantage is that several of those activities can run in parallel rather than sequentially.
How quickly is the home assembled on site?
The primary panelised structure and building envelope can typically be assembled in days, subject to the home size, site conditions, weather and lifting requirements.
Internal completion and commissioning then continue according to the project programme.
Does the home take 100 days to manufacture?
Manufacturing periods depend on the specific home and procurement requirements.
Rather than promising one production duration for every model, the agreed manufacturing period is identified within the individual project programme.
Can foundations be built while the home is being manufactured?
Yes.
This is one of the principal advantages of the process.
Once the necessary design information and approvals are available, site preparation and factory production can proceed in parallel.
Can I change my specification after ordering?
Changes may be possible before particular engineering, procurement or manufacturing milestones have been reached.
But later changes can affect price and programme.
That is why the configurator and pre-production design process are used to resolve as many decisions as possible before manufacture begins.
Does winter stop production?
Factory production is substantially protected from external weather.
Site groundworks, transport and lifting operations remain weather-dependent and must always be carried out safely.
What is normally the slowest stage?
It varies by project.
Planning, statutory approvals, site preparation and utility connections can often take longer than the physical manufacture or assembly of the home.
Identifying these dependencies early is part of developing the project programme.
The principle is simple
TheHouz does not make planning, foundations, utilities or commissioning disappear.
We make more of the project happen in parallel.
While the site is being prepared, the home can be manufactured.
While conventional construction would still be moving sequentially from trade to trade, much of the TheHouz building has already been produced under controlled factory conditions.
And before that process begins, every project receives its own delivery roadmap.
Configure it.
Plan it.
Manufacture it.
Prepare the site.
Assemble it.
Complete it.
Commission it.
Hand over the keys.
That is how TheHouz turns factory production into a more predictable route from first decision to finished home.