Rebuilding After Hurricane Sandy Easy, Economical and Efficient.
The aftermath of Super Storm Sandy along the Northeast coast has left many families without homes. Though rebuilding will be slow to start it will soon start. Lessons learned from past tragedies can help in the rebuilding that can result in a whole house integrated building process. This can lead to an easy design, quick building time, cost effective and energy efficient home. This is the foundation of eco-building that can lead to an easy to build and energy efficient home.
In 2011 Alaska disaster relief officials needed to build nine replacement homes in a short period of time on a limited budget. They turned to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, CCHRC for an easy, economical and efficient solution.
The nine homes ranged from studio size up to four bedrooms and CCHRC came up with an innovated framing truss design that incorporated roof, walls, floors in a single truss. The single-truss design allowed the homes to be framed in just one day and virtually eliminates thermal bridging plus providing space for 7 inches of closed cell spray foam insulation in the walls, floor and roof. This complete thermal envelope will be protected from the outdoor elements by a maintenance free metal exterior on the walls and roof.
In the early 1900’s Sears and Roebuck sold thousands of pre-cut homes in a box that are still in use today all over the United States. Today along with truss system homes there are pre-fab modular homes assembled in factories and Structural Insulated Panels systems, SIPs that allow quick assembly at an economical cost and resulting in energy efficient homes. Many of these homes are rated and certified by EPA Energy Star for Homes, LEED for Homes and the National Green Building program.
Information sources:
http://cchrc.org/crooked-creek-prototype-home
http://www.jlconline.com/insulation/emergency-housing-cut-to-length.aspx
David Popoff is a Connecticut license real estate agent in lower Fairfield County and is a designated “Green” Realtor at William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Darien, Ct.
cell 203-228-0646
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