The One-Week Home: Sustainable, Affordable, and Ready for the Future.

Axe Buildings is a modular housing startup addressing the affordable housing crisis with highly efficient, prefabricated homes. In November 2024, BMI visited their Bioveld facility and spoke with Xavier Toby, CEO.

Low-carbon, energy efficient, 100% Canadian, and addressing housing shortages head-on, Axe Buildings have a lot to showcase. But to reach Canada’s diverse market they had to challenge a few industry norms.

Unlocking the secrets to faster, smarter, more affordable home building

Rule #1: Modular homes are expensive.

At Axe’s facility, we toured a studio modular home priced at $95,000, the lowest on the market. This affordable price point is largely due to Axe’s innovative panelized system.

Their factory-made panels simplify on-site assembly and lower shipping costs. During our visit, we saw tradespeople working at scale, crafting panels with insulation, electrical, drywall, and plumbing already baked-in. This preparation method allows homes to be installed on-site in under a day and move-in ready within a week—reducing labor costs significantly.

Rule #2: Modular Homes lack style

The use of customizable panels means Axe Buildings deliver a high degree of flexibility. Their four default models range from studio to four-bedroom homes but their patented, code-compliant system can be stacked up to six levels. In the model home, we saw high quality finishes like exposed mass timber ceilings, quartz countertops, and state of the art appliances. Axe ensures every design is visually indistinguishable from traditional builds. As an added bonus, their homes are carbon-neutral and energy-efficient.

Every Axe Home requires one key configuration detail—but it’s part of their proprietary method, and we’ve been sworn to secrecy!  

Rule #3: Getting a modular home is complicated. 

As part of their offering, Axe Buildings handles all approvals and permits for their modular homes. Their system is perfectly applied to garden suites, tiny homes, and any other types of accessory dwelling units. 

When asked about their typical clients, Xavier noted a number of non-profit and non-governmental organizations as well as individual home buyers. One city keeping them busy is St. Catherines, who offers up to $80,000 in grants for building accessory dwelling units (ADUs) through the Housing Accelerator Fund. Working within this institutional subsidy. Axe Buidings is increasing housing supply while keeping costs attainable for residents.

About Axe Building Systems

Axe Buildings runs an efficient operation at Bioveld, leveraging the facility’s high ceilings and large bay doors to streamline the process of loading panels into shipping containers. With 15,000 square feet, the company has ample space to meet increasing demand. Their efficient setup enables Axe to provide cost-effective, durable homes delivered at a fraction of the time and expense. An Axe Building truly is the home of the future.