Transportable home site preparation: what owners need to know
The factory builds the house. Everything else happens on your section — and the owners who plan that part early are the ones whose delivery day goes smoothly.
What the manufacturer does and does not cover
Most transportable home companies build, transport and place the home. What usually sits with you is the site: consents and any resource consent conditions, earthworks, access, foundations or piles, services connections, and the finishing work once the home is set.
Confirm the split in writing early. The most common surprise for owners is discovering the piles are their responsibility six weeks before delivery.
The site preparation checklist
- —Consents in place, including any resource consent conditions on siting or access.
- —Access assessed for a wide transporter and, where required, a crane — including gateways, overhead lines and culverts.
- —Earthworks and levels completed so the building platform is right.
- —Pile or foundation work built to the engineer's design and set out accurately.
- —Services routes planned — water, wastewater, power and any tank or septic system.
- —A firm, drained standing area for delivery day, particularly on rural Canterbury sites in winter.
Delivery day
On delivery day the home is transported in, placed onto the piles or foundation, levelled and secured. Where a home arrives in two halves, the join line has to be pulled together and made good properly — that work is on site, not in the factory.
The single biggest cause of a difficult delivery is access that was assumed rather than measured.
After the home lands
- —Levelling, fixing down and any structural tie-downs required.
- —Join line make-good inside and out on two-part homes.
- —Steps, landings and stairs to every external door.
- —Decks and outdoor areas where specified.
- —Skirting or base enclosure around the perimeter.
- —Services connections and final inspections.
Rural and alpine sites need more lead time
Sites in the Mackenzie, Hanmer, North Canterbury and similar areas add travel, weather and access complexity. That is not a problem when it is planned into the programme, and a serious problem when it is discovered on the day the truck is booked.
How JJCS helps
We act as the local site crew for transportable homes across Canterbury and selected South Island locations — piles and setout ahead of delivery, then the steps, decks, make-good and finishing carpentry that turn a placed building into a finished home.