Prefab Builder Aux Box Makes Preciously Small Backyard Homes and Offices Starting at $32K

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Aux Box was born in 2018 out of a 20-year friendship between Morgan Seeber and Landon Sheck. Having both worked in small-scale construction for the past decade, the pair had talked about making prefabs with the same sort of modularity as Lego blocks, where rooms could easily attach onto a base model. The idea was shelved until Morgan and Landon took a ferry to Horseshoe Bay and fleshed out at a coffee shop what would become Aux Box.

After making drawings for a prototype, they were hunting for a site to build it on when they came across a Quonset hut, a long structure made of corrugated steel with an arched roof. The building was flexible in terms of its use, and was also minimal, both ideas that resonated with Morgan and Landon. They’d end up using the testing ground to generate five self-contained and ready-to-ship designs that range between 96 and 620 square feet.

Here, Landon shares what’s on offer from Aux Box, and why manufactured designs don’t have to be mundane.

What’s the most exciting project you’ve realized to date?

We were approached by a resort in Tofino, British Columbia, to help them adjust a section that accommodated travelers in RVs into permanent structures. Given that we, too, are on the West Coast, our design leant itself to the vibe of the resort. When we took this on, we were still a very small business and up to that point our largest order was two units. This was 10 units of a new product (the Model 240) to be delivered on a relatively tight schedule, which represented a shift in what production looked like at Aux Box. Ryan from Mackenzie Beach Resort saw the value and believed in Morgan and I to follow through on that value, so we went to work.

The priority was to have the aux boxes installed and fully functional prior to the next high season. The obvious advantage of prefabrication is the limited time on site, which means minimal disruption of down time for the resort. We collaborated on some design elements in the interior, but our original layout for the Model 240 was already near optimal for their needs, allowing for a seamless design phase. We were heavily involved in site planning and how the landscaping and decks would interface with the units. Mackenzie beach resort has enjoyed two full high seasons now, and the Aux Boxes are performing exceptionally well.

What does your base model cost and what does that pricing include?

We currently have five models in our product suite, ranging from 96 to 620 square feet. Our smallest backyard office model is $31,820 ($44,000 CAD), and our largest full-time living model is $224,192 ($310,000 CAD). These costs are for fully finished Aux Boxes that are move-in ready. We provide full scope-of-work costs for our clients for items like shipping, services, foundations, etc. Our goal is to spend as little time on our customers’ properties as possible. We deliver fully finished buildings and connect them to services.

What qualities make your prefab stand apart from the rest?

It’s an exciting time to be in this industry, especially given the sense of collaboration across prefab companies in North America. Given the transport constraints, many of the sizes for fully prefabricated structures end up similar, and much of the differentiation is around values and scale. We are enjoying the 100 percent prefabricated, small footprint niche that we have established. Our entire team is focused on making every Aux Box a little better than the last one, constantly questioning everything we do and returning to our original principles to ensure our clients are always getting our best offering. We love the phrase ‘sophisticated minimalism’ to describe our aesthetic, achieved by thoughtfully removing anything that distracts or is not absolutely necessary.

Where are Aux Boxes currently available?

Our facility is in Parksville on beautiful Vancouver Island. We can ship most of our models anywhere in North America with the exception of the model 620, which stays in the Pacific Northwest. To date, there are Aux Boxes as far south as Los Angeles and as far east as Toronto.

What aspects of an install do you manage?

We are comfortable handling the entire process, from permits, site prep, foundation, transport, and installation to service connections. We are also happy to work with our clients on just a portion of the scope, or simply supply the Aux Box.

Is your design currently pre-permitted in any U.S. municipalities?

We are actively going through accreditation for this. As of today, no, but by 2024, yes!

Are there plans to expand to different parts of the continent?

We are actively assembling a team in Ontario to create a sister facility to service the East Coast in Canada and the U.S. We believe four or five strategically placed facilities across North America makes more sense for our prefabricated approach than one large facility. Beyond that, we field calls from overseas to license our processes, and typically just share our learnings to get them started down the path of doing their own thing.

How long can a client expect the process to take after they put down a deposit?

Typically two-and-a-half to four months based on the model type and current capacity. It’s worth noting that every municipality has its timeframes for acquiring permits, so that range applies to our non-permitted structures and the amount of time required once the building permit is issued. We produce based on orders, but in the event we have some models in stock, then delivery times can drop to fewer than two weeks.

What aspects of the design can a client customize?

The short answer is any aspect they want. We have done, and will do, custom projects that fit our core values as a business and from a design perspective. Obviously, we have created substantial efficiencies to provide our core offering, so the custom path will take a little longer and cost a little more. For the existing product suite, we have allowed just enough choices to make it unique to the client, but not so many that we begin to compromise production or finish quality. Our clients can pick an exterior cladding color and profile, cedar or composite decking, the wood tone for the walls and ceiling, electrical finish color, some window locations, cabinetry color, tile color, and the orientation of the floor plan. We make suggestions based on the expertise of our designers, but yes, you can do an Aux Box in an international orange color if you like!

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