Accelerated Housing Tour hosted by Tony and Matt Balding

Committee 4 Wagga members recently joined Tony and Matt Balding from Accelerated Homes for a tour of their manufacturing facility in Bomen and one of their completed homes at 24 Monash Avenue in Mount Austin.

The inspiration for Accelerated Homes began with the 2003 Canberra Fires and since then the company has been exploring providing a modular alternative to social housing.

Committee for Wagga members with Tony Balding (far left) and Mathew Balding (second from right) at the Accelerated Homes manufacturing facility at Bomen. Some of the modules used in the Accelerated Homes builds are pictured in the background.

The 2003 Canberra bushfires were the catalyst that lead to The Building Supply Company discussing above-ground fire shelter units and it was from this idea that Accelerated Homes was born. Since then, Accelerated Homes has grown into a company providing a number of modular housing solutions catering to a wide variety of needs.

The Accelerated Homes product is a building constructed using modules connected around a central space, such as a living area or hallway. Each module is built using Hebel floor and wall panels.

“It’s a third of the weight of concrete and we don’t have any wall cavities, we don’t have any gyprock, all doorframes are solid steel grouted into walls. All the doors are solid and the windows are double-glazed”.

The pre-fabricated modular design means the on-site component of a build can be completed in as little as 12-16 weeks. The video below captures the on-site construction process.

Click the image above to view the on-site construction of 24 Monash Avenue, Mount Austin.

Building on the original concept, the Accelerated Homes teams began exploring other areas where a modular build, strong materials low long term maintenance could be advantageous and the social housing market is one area they are exploring.

Three properties have been built for the social housing market and according to Tony, “The long term value to the government would be minimal maintenance and a much better quality housing product for the tenants”.

Testing continues on the original concept and the above-ground fire shelter units currently have a BAL40 rating (Bushfire Attack Level rating) with final fire testing by the CSIRO nearing completion.

24 Monash Avenue, Mount Austin. Constructed using Accelerated Homes modular design.