WITH the use of structural insulated panels (SIPs), a new development company says it will deliver homes to Jamaicans at typically less than half the going rate and a mere fraction of the time it takes to build a traditional house using block and steel.

What’s more, is that its proposed efficient building mechanism has won it a number of contracts to provide commercial solutions locally, including a nightclub it plans to construct in the Corporate Area.

The development company, Magwall Jamaica has so far invested some US$1 million in a construction factory it set up at the Kingston Free Zone at the beginning of the year and, pending some final paperwork with the National Housing Trust (NHT), said it is ready to make the dream of affordable housing solutions a reality for locals.

“We are coming with a product that a young professional could buy with one NHT contributor — A 900 square-foot 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom (with pitched roof) model comes turnkey at $4.5 million,” noted Magwall Jamaica CEO Sam Catling.

“That basically means that a mom, dad and two kids can have a very nice quality of living at $4.5 million; that does not exist in Jamaica right now,” said Catling, basing his assessment on the fact that an eligible contributor who does not already own a house and has never received an NHT loan can get up to $4.5 million to buy or build a house from the Trust.

Magwall Jamaica uses a patented building system known as Magwall, which was developed in Edmonton, Canada to address residential and commercial construction solution needs in that country.

Catling explained that Magwall is manufactured by laminating two sheets of Magboard — a specially developed and engineered magnesium oxide sheathing — to a sandwich of expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) to form a panel with a specially developed structural adhesive. The finished Magwall SIPS are then carefully assembled to form walls, roofs and floors of buildings of all types and sizes — the thicknesses of the walls range from 4.5 inches to 12.5 inches.

“Basically we have come up with a revolutionary building product which is a variation on a theme of a traditional SIP building system,” he explained.

According to Catling, Magwall is a “green” product”, meaning it is natural and chemical free. It is also hypo-allergenic and will not give off any dangerous gases or vapours so there is no risk of health damage to occupants, he said.

However, the main sales pitch of Magwall revolves around its relatively lower cost of production compared to conventional building methods, allowing it to significantly cut into the typical price range of homes.

Catling noted that the majority of a Magwall home is manufactured in the company’s factory in a controlled environment. This mitigates the possibility for costly mistakes and time delays on site and allows the company to use less specialist labour and for less time. The upshot is that Magwall Jamaica is providing homes at $4,500 per square foot, said Catling.

“Typically, our research indicates that the cost of building a home (in Jamaica) will cost somewhere between $10,000 to $12,000 per square foot,” Catling said.

“We can cut back price by more than half for somebody who wants to go out and build their own homes, going to the local hardware store and buying the block and steel and other finishing materials,” he noted.

Obviously, a major concern of Jamaican homeowners has always been the potential impact of natural disasters on their houses. According to Catlin, the Magwall building system is tested and proven to be able to stand up to the most severe hurricanes and earthquakes. He noted that the Magwall’s transverse load – the measurement of the wind resistant of a panel – maxed out at 360 pounds per square-foot.

“Everything is ICC tested, which is basically the North American code for building — clearly, when you’re building you have to take into account the earthquakes in California and the hurricanes in Florida,” said Catling.

He added: “The long and short of it is that the Magboard itself was developed to contain similar properties of building with concrete from a load bearing standpoint, but we also wanted to engineer a degree of flexion into the board so that it could twist in an earthquake or storm event as well — ordinarily when you see businesses fail, it is generally because the concrete will essentially shake itself to pieces.”

What’s more is that Magwall is fire, termite and mold proof, noted Catling.

“The magboard itself is basically 100 per cent fireproof, with an ICC/Intertek rating of zero flame spread and zero smoke spread,” he said, adding “It is basically maintenance free… Once you install with a Magwall system there is very little you need to do going forward as far maintaining your house.”

He added that an occupier of a Magwall home can expect to see energy savings of between 60 per cent to 75 per cent due to the thermal efficiency of the material.

The Magwall building system is used widely across North America and Central America. The Magwall plant in Jamaica is the fourth of its kind, with the other factories located in Edmonton, Colarado, and Nevada.

“The application we see here for affordable housing in the Caribbean is a huge one, especially in Jamaica,” said Catling.

Indeed, he believes that the dire need for affordable housing combined with the openmindedness of younger consumers will allow it to compete effectively in a local market that has traditionally lean towards homes constructed from block and steel.

“We believe it’s a market we can tap into quite successfully,” said Catling, noting that some 70 persons are currently on a waiting list to purchase units from the company.

Each house Magwall offers is available in either a “Standard” or “Deluxe” version, with the option of a flat or pitched roof. A 400 sq ft, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom will be offered fully turnkey at a purchase price of $2 million and the pitched roof will be offered at $2.5 million; while the 1,350-sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom units are offered at $5 million and $6 million.

It should be made clear that the quotes do not include the cost of land.

Meanwhile, Magwall Jamaica is currently working with several local companies to provide a wide range of commercial solutions.

According to Catlin, among the projects that the company has been asked to provide is the structure for a new 10,000-sq ft nightclub in the Corporate Area.

“The operator sees the significant time and cost advantage of using Magwall and the massive reduction in consumption and subsequent savings attributed to the air conditioning of a large nightclub,” said Catling.

The company is also currently designing a 3,000-sq ft commercial cold room for a new hydroponic farm operation for the storing of their crops.

“We have also been asked to design and supply offices, pump rooms, storage rooms and various other buildings for the same project,” said Catling, who noted that Magwall Jamaica has also committed to building a bank of pit garages at Dover Raceway, scheduled to be completed before the Easter meet next month.

“We also perceive there to be a large untapped market locally for mobile/temporary offices, garden sheds, helpers’ quarters, dog houses and other similar structures. We are currently working on designs for all of the above and will be launching them into the market place in due course,” noted Catling.

Magwall Jamaica curently has a workforce of 15 persons and Catling anticipates that figure will double in the mid-term.