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what will homes look like in the future?

By Holly Bradman

Home Builder with The Restored Homestead

February 09, 2007 08:15 AM

We've come across an interesting link that we'd like to share. We build custom homes - actually, very old abandoned homes that will be torn down and we dismantle and re-assemble them. If that sounds interesting to you, just visit ourwebsite; www.therestoredhomestead.com. anyway, a friend of ours, who is a structural engineer, likes to stay on top of really "out-there" developments in home construction and he sent us this link. Here is a researcher using robotics to replace human labor and developing pre-designed molds that allow frames to be poured rather than constructed of wood. In this future, homes can be built in a matter of days, rather than months and can be shaped into any combination of geometric forms – cubes, cones, cylinders, etc. Check this link out to take a peek into mass produced homes of the future: www.isi.edu/news/news.php?story=47.

We don't know if this kind of homebuilding will take off - not our cup of tea, but we'd love to hear others reactions!

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Cynthia Sloop

Community Association Manager - Indianapolis, IN

Holly - I haven't checked your link out yet but wanted to stop and comment about your dismantaling and rebuilding abandoned homes. That does sound very interesting and rewarding. Hopefully you will post more about this type of work and market. It sounds very interesting.

Feb 09, 2007 08:49 AM

Marchel Peterson

Results Realty - Spring, TX

Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro

I checked out the article and I think i like bricks and wood.

Feb 09, 2007 02:06 PM

Anonymous

Holly Bradman and Sherrill Rosoff

thanks all, for your comments. As to what we do - finding abandoned old homes and re-assembling them, - we've created a video that shows the re-assembly process on our website, so you can see how we do it. It's pretty straightforward except that you need framers, joiners, etc. who really know their stuff - and like working with very old materials. visit www.therestoredhomestead.com to see the video. We constantly tweak it, adding more photos, so it does change. We think the more "transparent" the building process, the better people understand how homes are built! Our next step is to submit a video to YouTube and bliptv - see what response we get!

As to homes of the future - as I said, it's not our cup of tea but we think about the pressures on our natural resources as China and India get cranking. The US and Canada already export a lot of raw lumber to Asia but the Asian residential housing markets have yet to really take off - so, while the idea of molded and poured homes that can be put up in a week doesn't sound appealing to us (think of us as recyclers!), it might be just the ticket for housing in many parts of the world - and quite possibly here in the US. And it is very environmentally friendly, from what I can see, which is a big plus. (One of the reasons more and more housing in the US is being built with OSB (oriented strand board - aka chipboard) is because OSB allows lumber companies to use a greater variety of trees than does the manufacture of plywood, - and younger trees, too. OSB has its problems, but it reflects pressures on cost, efficiencies, and natural resources, among other things). if you want to learn more about OSB, let us know - we have some links.

Just some thoughts - here's the link again in case others want to take a quick look: www.isi.edu/news/news.php?story=47. You'll have to copy and paste this, or go back to the original blog - the link is live there.

Feb 10, 2007 01:54 AM

Karen Anne Stone

New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Real Estate

Hi Holly and Sherrill: What an incredibly interesting idea. I would love to see this video of yours. The "poured" idea... I think it will take a very long time to catch on. Are there very many homes built that way ?

Nov 07, 2007 04:55 PM

Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate

Fred Griffin Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL

Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

We invite you back to ActiveRain in 2018!

Much has changed since you last posted to ActiveRain. I encourage you to take another look at the website.

Best to you!

Apr 10, 2018 03:57 PM

what will homes look like in the future?

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