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Steel Kit Home 1

2/6/2018

6 Comments

 
To build the new house, the earthship mass wall had to move. The build site was right above a large valley so I decided to shove it down into the valley to create a dam.
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After grading the site, I had a contractor come out and put up forms for the concrete slab. We then had gravel delivered and spread and tamped it to create the form for the 20" thick turn down slab.
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You can see the turn down slab in it's final shape. The pile of tamped gravel in the middle is about 6" from the top of the form while the sides of the slab go all the way to grade to create the footer. The entire slab/footer assembly is monolithic and I made it nearly 2x as thick as was recommended to have the extra mass for heat storage for the radiant floor.
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I had a contractor install the plumbing and then me and my Dad did the in slab electric, data, cool tubes, ecofoil vapor barrier/radiant insulation (LINK), and 6 zones of radiant in slab 1/2"pex tubing.
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The building was brought right up to the site and I unloaded the trailer with my late 60's JD backhoe with pallet forks on the bucket. The hardest part was the roof panels which were 35' long and very flexible. I had to have a guy on each end while picking it to keep it from kinking while I moved it.
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This video explains the progress up until this point.
More to come!
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6 Comments
Joan Dunbar
2/9/2018 08:25:23 am

Great to see you back online...enjoy the newsletter updates.
Having Lunch today with someone you know...John Beton!
Regards and good luck for this next season! Joan

Reply
Oliver
7/20/2018 07:18:17 am

Where did you get the plans for your new metal house? Do you think it's the better decision over the previous earthbag build you were going for?

Reply
JACOB VANBENDEGON
8/7/2018 03:34:48 pm

Ameribuilt Steel Structures. I actually saw the basic idea on one of their EBAY auctions. Bob Mason is the guy to talk to, 407-324-6098

Reply
Zac Cullis
11/16/2018 03:19:51 pm

Hello again. If you may recall, my wife and I came up to visit you and the earthship build a few years back. Well, like you, we have also changed direction and are leaning toward a steel kit home. I know that the cooling vents are something that you brought over from the Earthship and I was wondering how well they worked for you over the summer?
Thanks,
Zac

Reply
caleb osborne
7/16/2019 10:41:37 am

I too am very interested to hear how the "cooltubes" worked for you? I assume the summers are hot and very humid like Virginia summers and very interested in this design!

Reply
Jasmin link
6/3/2021 12:38:17 am

I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work.

Reply



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