Staff Reporter
An exciting housing development is taking shape in the industrial zone at Walvis Bay, where local firm Panel to Panel (PTP) is producing high quality pre-fabricated homes that can be set up within a fortnight.
Rupert Smith was at the Erongo Expo last week to meet prospective customers. He told Confidente that PTP’s coastal manufacturing plant, where around 50 people are currently employed, has been in operation since 2006.
What is distinctive about the PTP prefab structures is that they come ready-fitted with water reticulation, as well as sewage and electrical lines installed. All one needs to do is connect these to the main supply lines, he explained. Moreover, the entire structure is completely flame-retardant, so is not likely to burn, or experience electrical short circuits.
The houses are designed and made from scratch on site in Walvis and then the parts are transported to the location where the home or office is to be assembled, he said. The owner needs only to throw the concrete slab on which the house or office would stand.
The outer shell of the prefab walls is made of zinc alloy, with polystyrene cladding inside. At the coast, the walls need a coating of sealant though to protect it from rust, but the company provides this offers 3-6 months’ after-sales service. In the interior less maintenance is needed, he noted, because of the drier climate.
To manufacture the prefabricated parts according to the exact specifications of the buyer takes only around two weeks, with a further two weeks required to install of the structure on site, which means from start to finish the process of owning a brand new prefab home can take a month.
Smith said they also do office construction and partioning of buildings, adding that they aim to build low-cost but high quality homes, with the standard two-bedroomed house on display at the expo going for N$395,000.
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Confidente. Lifting the Lid. Copyright © 2015
