I just arrived in Australia from the Philippines a few weeks ago. I’ve just been learning about the different traditions, cultures, and practices in the country. One of the things that I learned about is transportable homes. I first thought that transportable homes were meant to be relocated once the owner of the home decides to live in another place. When I first saw a transportable house (my sister lives in one with her Australian husband), I was really wondering how it could be moved to another place. It looked firmly rooted to the ground in my opinion.
My sister’s husband, John, explained things to me when he saw the confused look on my face. He told me that transportable homes are different from relocatable houses. Rather, I should think about transportable homes as prefabricated homes. Unlike houses built on site, this house does not use any concrete or bricks. Parts of the house arrive from the factory, and all that the workers need to do is put things together like a giant Lego set or jigsaw puzzle. Transportable homes are cheaper and faster to build, and you need very little manpower to complete the work.
Now I know that building a house in Australia is totally different from the methods employed in the Philippines. That’s another discovery as I continue to explore the land down under.
