Overview of the modular & portable building industry terminology

Our customers use many terms to describe modular & portable buildings and to save any confusion we have listed them below with their meanings;

Modular Building
A modular building is a pre-fabricated building that is transportable and consists of an unlimited about of modules. Modular buildings can be erected as a single storey, two storey and further multi storeys up to five high and can erected back to back or end to end.

Portable Building
The term portable building is sometimes used to describe both modular buildings and self contained jack leg cabins.

Jack Leg Cabin
A jack leg cabin is a self contained building that is transportable and comes in sizes from 8' x 9' to
60' x 12'. Self contained means that the single building module has its own electrics and doesn't rely on other modules for the mains RCD Consumer unit.

Relocatable Building
A relocatable is much the same as a portable building and describes any pre-fabricated building which is transportable and therefore relocatable.

Temporary Building
A temporary building is used to describe both cabins and modular buildings that are to be used on a temporary basis. Many hire fleet units describe their buildings as being temporary.

Volumetric Building
A volumetric building is a pre-fabricated modular building.

Pre-fabricated Building
A prefabricated building is one which is manufactured in a factory and then transported to the customers site.

Mobiles
The word mobile or mobile classroom is used by the Education sector to describe a single, double or multiple modular classroom building.

Portakabin Building
Many people use the word Portakabin to describe any building, whereas the word "Portakabin" is a registered trademark and the name of the York based company that manufacture Portakabin products including their previously manufactured Portakabin Duplex building, their Portakabin Ultima range and their Portakabin Pacemaker and Portakabin Pullman buildings. Although a few companies provide pre-owned Portakabin products only Portakabin provide new manufactured Portakabin products.
If you require a new manufactured genuine Portakabin product, then you should contact Portakabin.