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How Do We Build a House? - Shipping Container Architecture | 05 May '08 from richards

My wife has almost died several times and we found out it's from extensive formaldehyde and other toxin overdoses from our manufactured home and now she has lupus. We are wanting to move and would like to make this move as green as we can afford. We are looking at recycling used shipping containers to build a home with. One of our problems is that there are 10 in our family. Does anyone have any suggestions and/or help and/or information? Would Building Green TV be interested in doing a show(s) about this? Thanks.


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Twenty Gauge Vintage American Steel Furniture | 13 Sep '07 from the editors

Some may see steel as a cold, emotionless metal, but from an environmental sense, it has a lot of style and can be easily reused. Southern California's Twenty Gauge furniture is vintage steel from a fargone American era which has been fully restored to its former glory.

Available online, through select international stores, as well as the infamous Sundance Catalog, Twenty Gauge carries an unheard of variety of home and office pieces. Have a specific color palate in mind? All Twenty Gauge pieces can be custom-finished with your choice of colors and fabrics.

J.C. Hryb, owner and founder of Twenty Gauge and having emmigrated from France over two decades ago, has been a leader in the hand crafted, collector quality vintage furniture industry for over a decade. Twenty Gauge has been the first and only company to specialize in conserving, customizing, and making vintage steel furniture available to the public.

Just like other antique and vintage purchases, Twenty Gauge pieces are to be seen as heirlooms - objects of beauty and quailty to be handed down from generation to generation.

RELATED:

+ Keetsa Introduces ... The Keetsa Mattress (made with 100% recycled steel springs)

+ GreenBuildings News :: August 9, 2007 (Company Opts For Recycled Steel Frame Panels Over Wood)


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Prefab is fab | 02 May '07 from the editors

Over the years, prefabricated, or prefab, housing has been generally dismissed as a cheap, low-quality way to put a relatively unattractive roof over people's heads. And, for the most part, that's been a fair assessment. However, modernist prefab, promises to bring both style and a sustainable approach to prefab design.

So what could possibly make a prefab home green? Well, a few things. Prefab building is quick, inexpensive, takes minimal energy, and because the homes are pre-designed (many come in kits) often there is very little waste of building materials.

But, don't be fooled: Not all prefab housing is green.

However, a number of prefab companies, like EcoContempo and livinghomes, have begun offering a variety of green amenities, including solar power,wind power, rainwater harvesting and building materials that won't off-gas.

And, strangely enough, many of these new prefab houses are stunning. Don't believe us, take a look at Inhabitat's Prefab Friday Series.

Oh, and while we're on the subject, these prefab public restrooms are pretty cool too.

Image Eco Contempo

 

 

 

 


Why did you build with steel when there are greener alternatives? | 09 Apr '07 from Kevin Contreras

You are right, steel framing is quite high in embodied energy. We really had a dilemma there. It’s one of those decisions that had to be made at the time of building. As we say in the show, wood is the better alternative, but because we are in earthquake country, we would easily have used as much wood as a conventional builder to provide the structural support required by our building codes. And we really wanted to infill the full length of the walls with bales for the best insulation. Also, steel was inexpensive at the time. The steel package cost me half of what the wood package would have. Now, however, the prices are quite comparable.

We could have done things differently if we had built a single story house in a less earthquake prone area. Then, we could have built what is called a load bearing straw bale house, in which the bales provide the structural strength and the use of wood is kept to interior walls and roof trusses.

My pocketbook and design sense got the better of my environmental concern on that day. When I do it again, I will try to do it better.


Are there green benefits to framing with steel as opposed to wood? | 04 Apr '07 from Kevin Contreras

Although using wood wisely for framing is the preferred method in green building, for our home we chose steel because of its strength and span. There are also a number of green advantages to building homes with steel frames, including eliminating a number of toxicity problems for the occupants. Termites are a huge issue in California construction and present health issues. Pest control can be quite toxic. Luckily, termites don’t eat steel so steel doesn't require any chemical treatment at all to prevent against termites or any other wood-destroying insects. So that's just one more chemical we can eliminate from the environment, not just the indoor environment, but the environment for the workers and the framing crews and the people who have their hands on these products every day.

While preventing termite infestation and the toxic fumigation needed to eradicate them, steel-frame homes have another advantage: They're not going to be a breeding ground for mold.


Ask Kevin: Steel vs. wood | 16 Jan '07 from Kevin Contreras

Hello Kevin,

I stumbled across your site and was impressed with its polish. I applaud your efforts and wish you success.

I hope you will address how using steel frame in a straw bale virtually erases the green benefits of straw, however. The embodied energy in the manufacture of steel is huge, and makes your green project a paler green. It will take you decades to pay back in energy efficiency the energy debt you incurred by using steel. And since you are teaching about building green, other builders or owners might be misled into thinking steel is the way to go.

Now, conscious choices are better than unconscious ones, and it looks as though your project has a lot to offer. I would simply suggest that you address your use of steel in this project and recommend against it for your viewers.

Thanks for your time,

John


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