These Interlocking Prefab Homes Shove You Into the Off-Grid Life in Just 30 Minutes

Folks, Backyard Workroom (BW) is a crew from out in Plano, Texas, that was born in 2020, in the middle of the worldwide health crisis. However, with CEO Eric Benavides at the wheel, this prefabricated home designer and builder simply took off. Sure, Benavides's previous construction and business experience may have led to the growth, but the results are impressive nonetheless.

This brings us to the Small Home Kits that BW offers to would-be customers looking to extend their current property's livable surface area or those that simply want an off-grid retreat somewhere on some beach or mountain lakeside.

Now, things are a bit tricky with BW in the sense that you can start with a Studio kit and if you get sick of it or need more space, just call the crew back, and they'll add extensions to your habitat. This means that you can start your prefab journey by dropping $43,500 (€43,200 at current exchange rates) on a Studio and, over time, keep adding a few feet more. However, you can jump the gun and settle for a three-bedroom home for $93,500 (€92,900).

But, the real benefit of this dwelling is the ease with which it's raised. Part of the design utilizes nothing but interlocking panels to assemble each component quickly, efficiently, and with no room for error, much like a jigsaw puzzle.

Part two of the story lies in the materials used to build each home. Because BW utilizes SIPs (Structurally Insulated Panel) to build each habitat, the walls, flooring, and roof can be carried in with nothing more than a cart. They could also be carried by hand but come across as rather bulky. Heck, I discovered this crew based on the video I've added below, and at one point, you can see a craftsman with an entire wall leaning on his shoulder and his head poking out of a window.

Speaking of the video below, Kristina Smallhorn, the channel's host, challenged BW to build a home in the time that it takes her own crew to boil a batch of crawfish. Unfortunately, BW lost, but with around 30 minutes on the clock, the Studio was complete and ready for any interior design aspirations and dreams that you may have.

Exploring more of what BW offers the tiny home market, there's a mention on the manufacturer's website that wall panels feature an R-21 insulation rating. At the same time, the roof boasts an R-42 rating, yielded by 8 inches (20 centimeters) of insulation. Weatherproofing is achieved with a coating of polyurea on the roof. The only downside may be that the top doesn't seem to be slanted, meaning snow loads may be an issue.

Beyond that, you can take the time to add an array of systems to this habitat and indeed live off-grid. With a battery array, some solar panels, and an inverter, you would have all the energy you need to operate this bugger in the middle of the wilderness. A toilet and shower would be next.

At the end of the day, once you're tired of the view you've witnessed for the past months to a year, as easy as your dwelling was raised, it can be taken down again. Load it on a truck, and then it's off to the next X on your adventure map. Sure, you'll have to worry about transportation costs when that happens, but it's a small price to pay for mobile and off-grid living. Plus, the price tag leaves you with plenty of room to play around.