Flat-pack container modules staged beside a foundation on a US job site

Independent sourcing partner

Karmod alternatives: compare specifications before factory quotes

CivicAxis Sourcing is an independent sourcing partner. It is not karmod and is not affiliated with karmod. CivicAxis Sourcing does not claim authorized dealer status. A search names a reference point. The quotation still needs a building use, a footprint, design loads, a code jurisdiction, a quantity and a destination.

Send those six items and the desk asks factories for alternatives in the same scope. A shell package, a delivered module and an installed building stay on separate lines so the numbers can be read together.

Quote checklist

  • Use Occupancy, permanent or relocatable, and service life.
  • Dimensions Footprint, eave or module height, and layout.
  • Loads Wind speed, ground snow load, seismic design category.
  • Jurisdiction Authority, code edition, and energy path.
  • Quantity Modules or building sets, plus phasing.
  • Destination Delivery point, access, and who unloads.

What the brief has to lock

These six checks are the minimum a factory needs before a number is comparable. They are review steps, not a claim that a plant has already been audited.

Use and occupancy

State whether the unit is a site office, a dwelling, a classroom or a utility room, and whether it stays or moves.

Module dimensions

Record length, width, clear height and the transport envelope the route can accept before a volumetric unit is shortlisted.

Design loads

Ask for design live load, design dead load, wind exposure category and ground snow load in the units the jurisdiction uses.

Code path

Name the authority having jurisdiction. A brochure reference to a standard is not approval for this site.

Quantity and destination

Count modules or building sets, name the delivery point, and say whether partial shipments are acceptable.

Scope boundary

Mark foundation interface, utilities, installation and permits as included, excluded or still open.

Inquiry families on this desk

Each row is a product family you can price. Nothing here is stock, and nothing is offered as the original branded system.

Knock-down container house panels on a factory floor

Flat-Pack Container Houses

Knock-down container formats for accommodation or site rooms. Confirm finish level before comparing a pack price with a finished module.

Open inquiry options
Volumetric modular building ready for transport

Modular and portable buildings

Relocatable offices, classrooms and site units. Ask which work is finished off site and which trades remain at the pad.

Open inquiry options
Panelized house wall frames in a jig

Prefabricated residential houses

Panelized or volumetric dwellings. The residential code path, energy values and foundation interface have to travel with the quote.

Open inquiry options
Cold-formed steel house frame

Light-gauge steel houses

Cold-formed framing for low-rise accommodation. Request steel grade, coating and the connection design that the quote assumes.

Open inquiry options

Uses that change the specification

Site office modules beside a construction fence

Site offices

Relocatable classroom modules on a school pad

Classrooms

Remote workforce accommodation blocks

Workforce camps

Steel warehouse frame under erection

Steel enclosures

Map a use to purchase requirements

Comparison checks, not company totals

SixBrief fields before prices are lined up
FourScope lines kept apart: shell, delivered, installed, turnkey
ThreeDocument checks: system, supplier, jurisdiction
TwoMethod families reviewed first: volumetric and panelized

These are fields a buyer can write for one site office, not measurements taken by CivicAxis Sourcing. A sample brief names design live load 40 psf, design dead load 10 psf, wind speed 115 mph, wind exposure category C, ground snow load 30 psf, seismic design category C, eave height 14 ft, bay spacing 25 ft, clear span 60 ft, module dimensions 40 ft by 12 ft by 11 ft, a transport envelope 12 ft wide, foundation interface reactions in kips, an insulated metal panel target of R-19, thermal transmittance U-0.053, and a fire-resistance rating of 1 hour only if that occupancy requires it. Quantity in the same note is 8 modules to one destination, with coating G90, 4 bays, and a 12-ton crane called out on the pick. Volumetric modular construction can finish more off site, while panelized construction may pack tighter and leave more work in the weather. The desk records both arguments and does not pick a winner before the route and the crane are known.

Ask factories on one written scope

Share the specification, quantity and destination. CivicAxis Sourcing collects factory quotations for that brief and returns the gaps that still need a buyer decision. No percentage saving is stated, because this desk does not hold a matched quote set until the brief exists.

Request Factory Quotes