ShippingProjected / Unconfirmed
Brette Haus Compact
A hinged cross-laminated-timber cabin that folds flat and rotates open on site. Warmer and better finished than most of the category, with the import friction that comes with a European build. Base pricing is quote-based and varies widely by fit-out.
What's good
- Cross-laminated timber structure — quieter, warmer and better looking than steel boxes
- Genuine hinged fold, not a container slide-out, with a hinge rated for many relocations
- Sized variants (Compact 18/27) and a wider Rustic range including two-storey options
- Strong fit for high-end short-stay rental where guest experience drives nightly rate
What's not
- Ocean freight, duty and inland trucking can add tens of thousands to a US delivery
- Requires crane access on the day of installation
- No US certification is confirmed — the EU fire rating (REI 60) does not translate into a US permit, which is the buyer's responsibility
Full specifications
Anything we could not confirm with the manufacturer carries a Projected / Unconfirmed badge. We would rather flag an estimate than publish a number we invented.
| Maker | Brette Haus |
|---|---|
| Category | Foldable |
| Status | Shipping |
| Base priceProjected / Unconfirmed | $33,000 |
| Estimated delivered costProjected / Unconfirmed | $70,000 – $120,000 |
| Deployed areaProjected / Unconfirmed | 291 sq ft |
| Bedrooms | 1 |
| Bathrooms | 1 |
| Folded dimensionsProjected / Unconfirmed | Folds flat for container or flatbed transport; exact folded dimensions not published |
| Deployed dimensionsProjected / Unconfirmed | About 30 m² footprint (~291 sq ft), single storey, ~2.9 m height (Compact 27) |
| Setup timeProjected / Unconfirmed | About 3 hours to unfold with a crane and a small crew |
| Foundation | Screw piles, piers or pads — no permanent foundation strictly required; the patented hinge is rated for repeated relocations, and crane access is needed on delivery day |
| Certifications | No certification verified |
| Regions served | European Union; United Kingdom; North America (export order, at added cost) |
| Lead timeProjected / Unconfirmed | About 8–12 weeks plus ocean freight to North America |
| Financing | Imported units are hard to finance conventionally in the US. Most North American buyers pay cash or use a construction/renovation loan tied to the land. |
| Warranty | 2-year manufacturer warranty on all elements; 50+ year lifespan claimed |
| Best for | ADU / backyard home, Hospitality & short stay, Rental investment |
Financing
Imported units are hard to finance conventionally in the US. Most North American buyers pay cash or use a construction/renovation loan tied to the land.
Read the financing guide →Foundation & permits
Screw piles, piers or pads — no permanent foundation strictly required; the patented hinge is rated for repeated relocations, and crane access is needed on delivery day
Read the permitting guide →Compare with…
Build a custom comparison →Compact — questions buyers ask
- Which foldable home is best for a backyard ADU?
- Certification decides it. You need a HUD label or a state modular seal to place a unit as a permitted accessory dwelling in most jurisdictions, which narrows the field sharply — most expandables and imported cabins are uncertified. The Boxabl Casita, which carries a state modular seal in a growing list of states, is the standout realistic candidate; Brette Haus wins on finish quality if you can absorb the import freight and satisfy your county on certification yourself.
- How much does a Boxabl actually cost delivered?
- The Casita's base price is around $60,000. A realistic delivered-and-installed figure in the US is $95,000 to $140,000 once you add freight, crane, site work, an engineered pad, utility connections and permits. On raw land with no services, the top of that range is the honest planning number. Anyone quoting you a turnkey Casita at the base price is leaving something out.
- What is the cheapest foldable home you can actually buy?
- Expandable container buildings sell in the US from roughly $20,000 on marketplaces, and brand-name US sellers like Chery Industrial now start closer to $30,000, sometimes available from stock. They are legitimate portable buildings — excellent jobsite offices, studios and farm structures. They are not certified dwellings in most counties, so if your plan is to live in one full-time on a permitted lot, the real cheapest option is a certified unit at two to three times that price.
- Are the expandable container homes on Amazon any good?
- As portable buildings, some are perfectly fine — a galvanized-steel frame with foam-panel walls that unfolds into 380–800 sq ft for a low price, useful as an office, studio, guest room or short-stay unit. As dwellings, they are a problem: none of the Amazon-sold units in our catalog (Feekercn, EROMMY) carries a verified residential certification, so most jurisdictions will not permit them as a residence, and warranty and support are retail-grade. Buy one for what it is, plan for import logistics and an electrician, and do not mistake a low sticker price for a low-cost home.
- Can I put a foldable home on raw land?
- Physically yes, but the site work is where the budget goes. Raw land with no services means you pay for access, clearing and grading, a foundation, and — the big one — utilities, where a septic system alone can exceed $20,000. On the cheapest units the site work frequently costs more than the building. Plan on roughly base price × 2.2 for an unserviced site, and confirm your parcel is zoned for a dwelling and can pass a septic/perc test before you buy either the land or the unit.
- What is the Boxabl Baby Box?
- A small towable Boxabl launched around $19,999, with a wet bath and kitchenette in roughly 120 sq ft, aimed at offices, studios and guest rooms rather than full dwellings. It is SUV-towable and off-grid capable, but it is RV-classed rather than a permitted dwelling, and several specs — folded dimensions, certification and warranty — remain unconfirmed by Boxabl. Treat it as a preorder with projected numbers, not a shipping product you can pin down today.