Lesley Livingstone’s master bedroom was hoisted from the back of a semi-trailer parked between a 137,000-litre water tank, and shed and stables on the other, with millimetres to spare.

A painstaking manoeuvre, the precision lifting and lowering assembled three modules in a few hours, creating a 205-square-metre steel home.

Joining factory-assembled modules on site will make up 50 per cent of new home building in the next decade, says Housing Industry Association ACT spokesman Neil Evans.

“It is becoming a trend, and they are way ahead of us overseas,’’ he said.

Roof truss assembly started the trend, which avoids rain delays and is more efficient.

Wagga manufacturer Prominda delivered Ms Livingstone’s home with hot water units and wiring in the walls, plumbing in the floors and insulation in walls, ceilings and floors. Windows are double-glazed.

A 7.5-tonne module worth $63,000 and comprising master bedroom, walk-in robe and en suite was slung on straps and placed on steel foundations first. Then followed the $101,000, 11-tonne living room, laundry, pantry, kitchen and dining rooms.

Then came the $90,000 third module, comprising two bedrooms and a bathroom, weighing about 10 tonnes.

Each module sits on steel foundations and is welded to the other modules.

The U-shaped home looks east towards Gundaroo from a former sheltered lambing paddock, where Ms Livingstone, a Canberra public servant, will run three horses. From Lake Macquarie, she bought the 15-hectare property a year ago.

An engineer and workmen will spend a few days completing joinery, decking and roof overhangs. A plumber and electrician will then hook up sewerage and 16 solar panels on the nearby shed, which will power a four-kilowatt system independent of the grid.

“I am my own power station,’’ Ms Livingstone said. “I’d like to be sustainable and as green as possible.’’

She expects to save about $2000 a year on electricity, and will have bottled gas for heating, cooking and hot water.

Prominda principal Gavin King says his factory can build a new home in 14 weeks. An architect, engineer and tradespeople are in one place, not scattered across sites.

People can buy one module, or string as many modules as they like together, or stack them on top of one another.

He has trucked prefabricated homes to the Pilbara region in Western Australia, Yass, and is fielding inquiries from Balmain and Frenchs Forest.

Mr King said people avoided building new homes because prices ended up spiralling from the planning stage.

“If we can quote a price before we start we are getting off on the right foot,’’ Mr King said.