SEA-CRATE CONSTRUCTION - Insulate Using Straw Bales / Refrigerated Thermal Shell / Compressed Straw
.www.containerhomes.net
Inside a Crate Home - Steel & Bamboo
World Building Systems, LLC THE PERFECT MINI-HOME BASIS FOR HOUSING THE HOMELESS VET? CERTAINLY THE CODE PEOPLE WOULD LOVE IT!
The Vision is to introduce an energy efficient, simple to build home. Listen, these guys are serious, they claim to teach you to construct this particular system in ONE HOUR! Once a slab or foundation, crawl or basement is in place the entire exterior envelope can be erected and finished within FIVE DAYS! Workers and volunteers can be trained in ONE HOUR to fully and effectively build a home.
How ENERGY EFFICIENT IS THIS HOME?? see article ... continued below
The Vision is to introduce an energy efficient, simple to build home. Listen, these guys are serious, they claim to teach you to construct this particular system in ONE HOUR! Once a slab or foundation, crawl or basement is in place the entire exterior envelope can be erected and finished within FIVE DAYS! Workers and volunteers can be trained in ONE HOUR to fully and effectively build a home.
How ENERGY EFFICIENT IS THIS HOME?? see article ... continued below
THE GOAL - Disaster-resistant, Green housing Solutions. First for Individuals then communities - recovering from disasters, war veterans and homeless, providing homes for families with limited or zero incomes; funding for service initiatives, and creating sustainable jobs and economic growth!
You Be The JUDGE - R40 Walls and ROOF, Ten Inch Thick interior and exterior walls, Environmentally friendly windows, glues, stains and materials. The World Building System utilizes a unique fibrous concrete panel attached to a steel frame with polystyrene in the middle, the panels may then be stacked and snapped into place. Concrete and rebar are added on site to add additional structural integrity to the building. http://worldbuildingsystems.com
Steel truss roofing is sealed with a mineral board under laminate and finished with steel, stone ground shingles( can be substituted with other types), the windows and door frames are actually part of the structure, finished on site with the window and door.
Is this ON THE LEVEL? Walls are built on a steel frame, squared and true to fit, don't worry about ordering parts and pieces that might not fit! All Electrical outlets, switches, cables, plumbing, ducts and vents are built into specific spaces in the walls and ceilings.
The Finished Home is WIND RESISTANT, FIRE RESISTANT and Insurance FRIENDLY! The material supplier partners such as Whirlpool, Kraftmaid will collaborate with your visionary team to build the most efficient and appealing kitchen. VISTA windows and doors, Ohio and Georgia, provide HURRICANE rated windows and doors they currently produce over 900 windows a day! Armstrong Flooring, hardwood and ceramic tile, American Standard quality kitchen and bath fixtures, Whirlpool A/C, appliances, Sherwin Williams Paints and Coatings, Kraftmaid Cabinents - div. of the worlds largest Masco Corp and Kichler Lighting of Cleveland, OH, Raynor garage door systems, Schlage locks and many other vendors, all are committed partners of the World Building System vision.
AN INEXPENSIVE SOLUTIONI'm pleased to report that we were able to solve our housing problem—and meet our design objectives—quite nicely with the aid of a 16' X 24 ' "modified Aframe" cabin (see accompanying photos) ... one that we built in just five daylight-to-dark workdays at a cost of only $1,000. (Those are 1971 dollars. Today, the same dwelling would cost about $1,800 to build using recycled lumber and windows, as indicated in the following bill of materials.)
LATER ADDITIONS Of course, we later made certain additions to the basic cabin: such as a 16' X 16' rear deck ... a 6'-wide front porch ... a handmade fieldstone chimney for our wood-burning stove (which took us the better part of a year to complete) ... and 1-1/2"-wide lat tice strip battens on the outside walls, to cover the gaps between the sheets of plywood and improve the dwelling's outward appearance.
I might add that since the cabin was built we've also put in a loft window containing an exhaust fan, and a back door (since we found the tiny lodge a bit "close" on hot summer days).
Another thing I like about our modified A-frame "summer home" is its inherent durability. Unlike other, much less expensive log dwellings, this cabin—once completed and stained-can be forgotten for at least ten years as far as upkeep is concerned.
In short then, we love our $1,000 modified A-frame. We think that for ease of construction, durability, and sheer good looks, it can't be beat!
OR THE IDEA CAN GO FURTHER ...
Mini house embodies a “hard loft” style with an industrial aesthetic and flexible floor plan. Despite its very small foot print, the home feels open and spacious. The client’s Spartan lifestyle is reflected throughout as the house stays true to materials and requires minimal maintenance. The floors are poured concrete, the walls are concrete block or white painted drywall without baseboards and the windows are oriented to coordinate desires for view, natural ventilation and passive solar gain in the winter.
Mini House (566 s.f.), though restricted by the scale of both site and budget, has had a big impact on its neighborhood. As one of the first new, modern houses in this part of Toronto it is a testament that that bigger does not necessarily mean better and that loft-style living is possible outside the bounds of a high-rise building.”
A PALLET PAD is a PRINCE OF AN IDEA!
Pam knew about Tuff Sheds from her many years in Arizona. There were covenants on our new property--no mobile homes permitted, for example--but rough-and-ready cabins "on the mountain" were more usual than not. She was quite ill already, but her knowledge remained intact. We planned on a 12 by 16 foot cabin, a palatial total of 192 square feet. On skids.
Looking around in a 200-mile radius for the best deal, we stumbled on a true treasure: A retired man named Al built sheds as a sideline. Our shed WOULD have cost around $2,200 from a commercial shed dealer, plus delivery charges. Al would build us one on site for $1,750 with a house type slider window at one end, plus two small holes cut into the sides (into which I would put window glass and screens.).
OR ANOTHER SHED/CABIN PLAN
Most wooden sheds are set on concrete blocks or treated-lumber skids. That’s all they need, even in deep-frost situations, because the soil moves uniformly as the ground freezes and thaws. To accommodate our sloped site, we built on solid concrete blocks set on compacted crushed limestone.
The tiny House Arc prototype is the creation of Joseph Bellomo Architects. This tiny prefab house can be flat packed requiring space of just 4x10x3 feet, and is created in a way that would be easy to assemble for a normal person.
Intention of the architects was to create something similar to an “IKEA house, only easier to put together.” Though it can be flat packed into those small dimensions, the house has 150 square feet of space and weighs 3000 pounds. House arc has a lightweight frame made of steel tubes, but also employs some concrete blocks.
When completed, the house is expected to withstand tropical winds and weather. Going by the renderings we see, the roof of the house has solar panels so it would be able to generate a good part of the juice it would require.
Intention of the architects was to create something similar to an “IKEA house, only easier to put together.” Though it can be flat packed into those small dimensions, the house has 150 square feet of space and weighs 3000 pounds. House arc has a lightweight frame made of steel tubes, but also employs some concrete blocks.
When completed, the house is expected to withstand tropical winds and weather. Going by the renderings we see, the roof of the house has solar panels so it would be able to generate a good part of the juice it would require.
above: Full Blown Desert Home - $250K plus ... exceeds Title 24 energy requirements by 15%. The “green” elements include bamboo and FSC-certified cabinetry, solar PV, solar hot-water panels, grey water system, low-VOC paints, high-performance double-E windows and doors, Energy Star appliances, efficient STEPs (steel thermal efficiency panels), and plenty of natural light.
above: CONVERT A GARAGE - BEFORE / after
