Comparing panelised homes: find where each package stops

Describe what you would actually receive

I would start with a simple description of the delivered package. Ask the supplier to identify the layers, openings and finishes included, then describe the work needed to turn those components into the home shown on your drawings. Keep unfamiliar product names beside a plain explanation of their purpose.

For a hypothetical comparison, one offer might include wall panels with window openings, while another includes installed windows. Neither description tells you everything about the finished window junction. Ask what has been completed in the factory and what still needs to happen on site.

• Are windows supplied, installed or excluded?
• Which surfaces arrive finished, and which need further work?
• Who supplies the materials and instructions for joining the panels?

Put the joins on the agenda

Choose a panel meeting a foundation, a roof or a window, and ask the team to explain that connection together. I would want to know who draws it, who supplies its parts, who installs them and who checks the completed work. A line between two packages should not become an unanswered question.

Our off-site construction service brings the architectural design into discussion with the panel system. Foundations, transport, lifting, services and finishing still need attention around the manufactured elements. Ask how those responsibilities would be arranged for your particular project.

• What information must the site builder provide before manufacture?
• Who confirms that the prepared site work matches the panel requirements?
• Who resolves a mismatch before installation continues?

Ask what the evidence actually covers

If certification is mentioned, ask for the exact scheme, current documents and limits of use. MBIE describes BuiltReady as a voluntary scheme, with different scopes for manufacture only and for design and manufacture. It also explains that modular components can go through the traditional building consent process without a BuiltReady manufacturer's certificate.

I would ask the designer to explain the proposed compliance pathway and the evidence needed for this home. A scheme name is not a blanket approval for every arrangement. MBIE's guidance makes clear that a manufacturer's certificate has a defined scope, with other work still requiring consideration. This is a question to resolve with the project team, rather than a reason to assume every panel supplier must hold the same certification.

Make a one-page handover comparison

Take one proposed wall and make a sheet for each option. Use four headings: leaves the factory, arrives on site, installed, and finished. Under each, ask the supplier and builder to describe the condition of the wall and the work remaining. Mark any unanswered item with the person who will clarify it.

Then ask the team to price and programme that complete sequence. Keep unknowns visible instead of filling them with your own optimistic assumptions. I would use this exercise before choosing a preferred system, while the design can still respond to what you learn.

• Use the same intended finished result for each option.
• Record who provides each missing piece of work.
• Ask what would change if the proposed opening or finish changed.

Choose a team that can explain the handovers

Andre from Flexi describes sharing ideas and working through details with our team in his published feedback. That is the kind of conversation I would look for: people willing to explain where their work meets someone else's.

If you are weighing up panelised options, bring the supplier information and your site details to an initial conversation. We can work out which questions need answering before you choose a direction.