Isle of Wight business building modular homes to help crisis

Inspiration Fabrication, based in Sandford, has been building modular housing, among other self-contained units, for the last two years. 

Business owner, Edd O'Kane, saw an opportunity to start modular housing due to Covid, filling in for another company which let down SEGRO; one of the biggest land owners in Europe.

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The 33-year-old has seven full-time workers — not labourers, but specialists — and between them, they can build a modular house in a month. 

Read more: 

• Homeless Isle of Wight families could be given mainland homes
• Isle of Wight Council give modular housing the thumbs up

The current modular house Inspiration Fabrication is working on.

Edd's team have already built three, and are working on a fourth.

"We're currently building more advanced versions of what you would do for the council," said Edd, who has a background in marine engineering.

One of the finished modular homes build by Inspiration Fabrication.

"These are fully commercialised, with air con and big flat screen televisions, and the design has been changing each time.

"The wiring is well above what you would ever need in a home."

The interior of a modular home built by Inspiration Fabrication.

Edd says he already has planning permission going through to erect a bigger factory, in which case, his team can comfortably build four at a time, and stretch to six.

Inspiration Fabrication has completed projects all over the place; for dive-spreads, food-trucks, stainless steel verandas, boats, bridges and even floating homes.

The steel framework of a modular home built by Inspiration Fabrication.

By the age of seventeen, Edward was running a workshop in Cowes building racing yachts, and in 2014 he set up the business.

"SEGRO could have chosen anyone to build their stuff and they chose Edd," said Colm Watling for the business. 

One of the finished modular homes onsite and being transported.

"The secret to modern methods of construction is to build houses like you build cars.

"You get the efficiency of volume production once you've ironed out the design.

The interior of a modular home built by Inspiration Fabrication.

"It's not one brick on top of another brick all the time.

"It's great lumps of material and steel coming together in a production environment where everything is the same and everything is controlled, and you can do it when it rains, and you can do it when it's cold.

The initial framework of a modular home built by Inspiration Fabrication.

"Lots of councils are already going this way. It's quicker, easier and cheaper to do it, and the planning is a lot easier because they're not permanent fixtures."

"The other massive advantage is you don't have 15 weeks of disruption where other people live," said Edd. 

One of the finished modular houses being lifted onto a truck for onward travel to the mainland.

"Our install time is two days. The foundations go in on the first day and the unit goes in on the second.

"They can also be sold on to other councils. They're effectively an asset the council can buy rather than a hindrance.

"They have a 60-year lifespan, and that's being conservative." 

A modular home built by Inspiration Fabrication being lifted onto a foundation.

"We have skilled fabricators who have been on loads and loads of training courses and are building technical stuff. 

"We had a component turn up the other day that was 10mm out. 

An eco-friendly bus shelter and solar powered bench the team at Inspiration Fabrication built.

"On a building site, that doesn't matter, but in a precision engineering unit it doesn't fit."

"Over 12 metres, we work to about 3 or 4mm tolerance," said Edd. 

"We're desperate for more staff. The biggest challenge is finding guys willing to keep the quality up. 

"What I'm really passionate about is getting people we can mould into it."

A question mark hangs over the speed with which the Isle of Wight Council is tackling the Island’s housing crisis.

Last week, Cllr Suzie Ellis, a Conservative councillor, said the Island had a local business poised to produce them, and questioned why the Alliance administration hadn't corresponded with them. 

Read more:

• Isle of Wight housing crisis but no modular homes built yet
• MP Bob Seely message to Isle of Wight council over housing crisis

"The expression of interest came from the council in November, 2021, which we replied to, and we've not heard a dicky-bird since," said Colm. 

"If you get a push from the council with an order like they're talking about, I'd have another ten jobs here straight away," said Edd. 

"We don't have anyone on minimum wage."