Stick Built or Panelized?

In the early days of HUTS, I thought the hard part was design. Getting the home right for the land and the use case.

Then came the logistics. How does this actually get built here?

Not in theory.

Here, on this road, in this weather, with this labor market.

Our Standards have always been designed to be built by almost any framing crew. Increasingly, that has included construction off-site, through panelization and prefabricated building envelopes.

We’re not a factory-first company. Most of our projects are still stick-built with strong local builders. But our Standards are designed to support both paths: the same home can be framed traditionally or panelized, depending on what the site demands. When we choose panelization, it’s usually for one reason: reducing risk in the most unpredictable phase of the project.

Here’s when we’re most likely to do it:

Cold or wet climates where speed-to-dry matters

In winter conditions, the goal is simple: get the structure dried-in fast. Panelized shells compress the weather-sensitive part of the schedule, reduce saturated materials, and limit the number of days the project is exposed to the elements.

Markets where framing labor is scarce or unusually expensive

In some regions, good framing crews are booked out or priced like a luxury. Panelization shifts more of the labor off-site and reduces how much specialized framing time you need on the ground, which can keep a project from stalling.

Hard-to-reach islands (or island-like logistics)

On islands, incremental deliveries are a slow bleed: every missing item becomes a ferry trip and a lost day. Prefabricated shells help consolidate shipments and reduce the number of trips required to get the building standing.

Volumetric projects with repetition

Panelization really shines when we’re building many similar units in one place, like micro-hospitality clusters or multi-unit programs. Repetition rewards controlled fabrication: faster schedules, more consistency, and fewer surprises.

Sites with delivery access

Prefab has a simple requirement: you need to be able to get it there. If a large drop trailer can reach the site and unload 24-foot sections easily, panelization becomes straightforward. If access is a narrow track through the woods, the efficiency disappears fast, and stick-building may be the better route.

Panelization isn’t a belief system for us. It’s a situational decision. We use it when it reduces exposure, compresses risk, and makes the build phase more predictable, without creating new logistical risks.

Check out some more projects below with pre-fabricated shells.