Design: BrightBuilt Home "Sidekick"

This is a post in a series of discussions of pre-fabricated and modular home builders I've considered. I'll cover the general experience researching and talking with builders, and the highlights of their offering in the "minimum cabin" space.

We're now looking at BrightBuilt Home, out of Portland, Maine, who do business in the East and Mid-Atlantic.

The Design

Once again going for the most affordable and diminutive of the options, the "Sidekick" is 560 square feet at its smallest (although they're working on a mini version for those truly devoted to tiny houses). The dimensions are long and narrow, consistent with many modular designs in this category, due to the requirements of shipping modular homes on trucks.
This design was originally created as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) but is increasingly being used as a standalone home. The layout looks cozy and functional, and I like that there's attention to accessibility (turning radius in the bathroom, for example).

First Impressions & Website

Another class act as far as communication and an informative website. I did find a broken link when I tried to download the Sidekick Mini floor-plans, which I think are still in the works - but other than that I had no issue getting floor plans, galleries of interior and exterior views, and other detailed information. They even have a blog featuring geese and hiking which - although I do not YET have geese - seems in line with my aspirational lifestyle goals.

Meeting and Q&A

I contacted Brightbuilt on their website via a form and J got in touch pretty quickly, and was available for a call. J is not a pseudonym I've tacked on for modesty - this guy's name is one letter. Amazing.

I went through most of my standard questions in our conversation, which I'm again structuring here as a paraphrased Q&A format for consistency and ease of reading.

Disclaimer: any inaccuracies here are likely to be my own mistakes and not those of BrightBuilt Home. This summary is not endorsed by them in any way, and they had no say in it. If they run across this post and contact me to correct any facts, I will update the post.

Q: What's the backlog like for getting a Brightbuilt home?

A: About 3 months. But this is a very busy time and backlogs and costs of materials are growing right now.

Q: Does Brightbuilt handle the construction or do I need a general contractor (GC)?

A: Brightbuilt does not handle construction but has a strong network of local GCs; however, the Sidekick can be delivered with most of the plumbing, electrical, and even appliances already installed - basically 90% complete on arrival. This is usually a side-project for a GC and can be finished quickly.

Q: How hard is it to increase the size later with an addition?

A: It can be done the same as any other house.

Q: The square footage in the Sidekick plans I looked at is 560, but I noticed different builds where one is 18' wide and the other is 14'. How wide can the design go?

A: The 18' wide is the Sidekick Camp design. It's only available in certain areas of Maine due to constraints on shipping. The standard design is the 14' wide one, and the length changes depending on which bedroom configuration you choose.
 
(Later, J referred me to this virtual tour of the Camp, which I thought was pretty cool. There's also a very good webinar with Q&A on their Youtube channel that explains even more about the reasoning behind the dimensions, among other things.)


Q: How much customization can I do? Can I have a vaulted ceiling, for example, instead of the flat one?

A: Yes, you can customize the design, although customizations could create additional cost or site-work. For example, the vaulted ceiling means the roof ships separately and needs to be joined and installed on-site. There are standard finishes and layouts, but you can change or upgrade those. You can add porches or decks too.

Q: What kind of foundation can I have?

A: Insulated frost wall or piers are the assumption, although you can have a full basement.

Q: An insulated frost wall is a slab?

A: No, you can't put a modular on a slab. There needs to be space for connecting the plumbing so you need at least a crawl space. The insulated frost wall is 4'. You can also do piers or a full basement, but no slab.

Here, I had a brief whine about my (alleged) high water table but did not get sympathy so I moved on with the questions 

Q: So what is included in this design?

A: Everything except site work. It ships complete with the roof, electrical, plumbing, appliances, baseboard heating, paint... We make assumptions about the cost and difficulty of the site work but those are rough estimates. It comes wired up for solar panels.

Q: Wait, baseboard heating? I was thinking of doing a mini-split.

A: You can do that. It adds a little cost but it has air conditioning as well and is more efficient, although not much heating is needed for the Sidekick due to its size and insulation.
 
You might be interested in reading zeroenergyproject.org (not affiliated with Brightbuilt).

Final Thoughts

This was another for the "people I'd like to do business with" list. The website has so much information, these folks clearly know a ton about the work they're doing and are happy to answer questions about it, as shown on their webinar. J was super knowledgeable and easy to get in touch with, and he provided clear answers and insight to the process and costs involved. Brightbuilt has also done a good job documenting and simplifying their processes and making that information readily available.

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