Shelforce, a leading window and door manufacturer based in Erdington, has fabricated the Kestrel Aluminium windows and doors for Birmingham City Council’s first ever modular home. The Council’s housing arm, Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust (BMHT), chose Just Solutions Ltd to deliver the ‘ModPod’ for a property, situated in Hockley.

Built in answer to the need for affordable housing in the area, particularly on brownfield sites, Kestrel Aluminium Systems worked closely with Shelforce throughout fabrication. The company’s 60mm casement window system was installed meeting the exacting standards of Approved Document L. Used in conjunction with low U-value double glazed units, this ensured the new home is secure and energy efficient.

To complement the installation, the Kestrel Thermal Rebate Door system was specified. This utilizes the same profiles and hardware as the windows and thus offers commonality of design. All profiles were dual colour powder coated to provide a durable and long lasting finish.

The ‘ModPod’ comes as ground and first floor units, both essentially steel frames with insulated walls and customizable façades. It features a 4mm thick acrylic brick finish on the ground floor and a corrugated aluminium exterior on the first.

Sleeping up to four people, it has everything expected of a modern home, including upstairs and downstairs bathrooms and a master bedroom with balcony.

The unit took an hour to crane into place onto a pre-prepared site and was available to occupy the same day. It took around 20 weeks to construct however, on a live production line, Just Solutions estimate the build time will be two weeks.

BMHT already has Council approval, subject to planning consent, to build a further 54 units across six sites over the next 12 months. The aim is to deliver these homes prior to a further review of the modular housing programme.