200 sf again.

[Amanda_931]

Actually the basic module is 96 sf.  

designed as emergency shelter.  The view around the model isn't up yet.

http://www.helpishere.us/

[Epiphany(Guest)]

It would be nice if they could make them like a tiny version of the fold-out house we discussed in another thread, and ship them en masse where emergency housing is needed.  

Or put them on wheels and tow them in....

[RayN(Guest)]

When I first saw the picture I thought, "Wow thats a nice size solar panel!", Then I saw it was just corregated material for a porch roof.  

Wonder how much a solar panel of similar size would cost,  nice duel purose porch roof and electricity.  Sink looks like the IKEA thing mentioned in a much earlier thread.

[glenn kangiser]

Solar Panels cost about $4.00 to 4.50 per watt.  2'x4' appx can vary from 40 to 125 watts appx.  100 watt panel would be $400 to 450.  There are a lot of ripoff artists who will charge up to double that.

[John Raabe]

There are some new organic and paint-on nanosized silicone solar electric materials coming down the pike. Some will be plastic films that can go over roofing and siding and perhaps glass. In 5 to 10 years I expect there will be a lot of new options for off-grid power production.

[dail]

Has anyone kept an eye on updates to their progress?
I would be curious.
The units look as though they are designed to be shipped as singular modules, does anyone know for sure?
The floor joist spacing appeared to be 12" on center. I'm curious on that. The website did not say how much each unit cost in materials, would any of you have a good guess?
If is seems I askcrazy questions, I'm sorry about that. I've been told "I'm weird." But then artists are weird anyway.
I'm thinking there is a cheaper, quicker way, since cost and weight affect the number of units that can be built from a given amount of materials. ....d

[Epiphany(Guest)]

I've been trying to come with basic emergency shelter from several pieces of 4 x 8 plywood.  A quick, throw it together yourself kind of thing.  Any ideas?  

[dail]

Well, actually, this subject is something that I have an interest in, and some experience. I asked the above questions because, what they (HELP) is doing, is nice, but, the way they are doing it looks expensive, not to mention super heavy.
The thing one wants to remember about "emergency" shelter, is that theroetically, it has to be built such that; it's quick, cheap and temporary. And in some cases, portable. What HELP is doing, is not far from a 16 foot tow-behind-RV. The Red Cross has a fleet of those, and used them when Andrew cut a swath across Florida.
In my mind, emergency shelter would be constructed from locally salvagable materials. As getting something like that into a heavily damaged area would be difficult. (Recent Pakistan earthquake, as an example.) If it has to be brought flown or hauled in to a heavily damaged area, then it has to be light, compact, and easily assembled.
I've built one 8 x 8 building that was "panelized," 2 x 2 construction. The wall panels laid flat, and when stood up, (I could raise and move them by myself. That was one of the characteristics I designed into it. Self Assembly Required) were lag screwed together at the corners. All the wiring was in the front wall panel, to avoid interfering with the connection of the adjacent panels. Anyway...
Perhaps we should all put our heads together and design a compact, inexpensive and portable shelter, like they do with that open source software thing.
You know; and I say this from having worked with paper board myself; it is possible to even build a small corrugated cardboard house cheaply, to withstand some weathering. Thats even a route to go. Given a small amount of money to work with, you could turn out a lot of those.....d

[Jimmy C.]

Has anyone kept an eye on updates to their progress?
I would be curious.
The units look as though they are designed to be shipped as singular modules, does anyone know for sure?
The floor joist spacing appeared to be 12" on center. I'm curious on that. The website did not say how much each unit cost in materials, would any of you have a good guess?
If is seems I askcrazy questions, I'm sorry about that. I've been told "I'm weird." But then artists are weird anyway.
I'm thinking there is a cheaper, quicker way, since cost and weight affect the number of units that can be built from a given amount of materials. ....d

From :  Help is Here <contact@helpishere.us>
Sent :  Thursday, December 8, 2005 4:13 PM
To :  "jimmy cason" <casonjimmy@hotmail.com>
Subject :  Re: H.e.l.p.   
 
Hello, Jimmy.

We are currently in negotiations with several manufacturers for the HELP
House.  Finalizing this, we will send out information regarding specific
costs, materials and time frames for the HELP House.  Thank you for your
interest and patience.  We are keeping your name on file to follow up
with.

Check out http://www.helpishere.us/TeamHelp/TeamHelp_inAction.htm for
some construction photos.

Thank you, and have a great day.
Carib Daniel Martin

[Amanda_931]

Cal-Earth has always made noises about how great their system is for emergency shelter--send in a few rolls of bag material and then use local soil and debris.

Won't work in areas that flood and where the houses would be better up on stilts, can't be moved after they're built, but, a small dome can be built in a day, plastering can take place later, or it can be allowed to disintegrate.

http://www.calearth.org/emergshelter.htm

see also OKOKOK productions on the subject of earthbags.  This is an list of lists on "all natural" building--interesting by itself, but not a link to them.  Does have their address, though.

http://www.adpsr-norcal.org/menu/Resources/bldgmatrls.htm

Here they are--not hardly nothing in the way of pictures, though (their book is nice):

http://www.okokok.org/earthbag.php

[Amanda_931]

More to Epiphany's note....

Anybody remember Nomadic Furniture?  Not exactly what you're thinking of, but close--one can tell how old they are when you read about a "young fellow named Frank Gehry" who was making corrugated cardboard furniture.  But the idea was to make portable rooms that could be set up quickly and almost anywhere.

There was another system--Box Beams--involving 2x2's of wood or steel, bolted together--it makes a very sturdy and strong joint, I made some things out of it, although they would have been easier to deal with if I had had 2x2's that were the same size--not 2x4's ripped down the middle.  The guy(s?) who did this had a couple of interesting shelter ideas involving those covered with painted 1/4" plywood, and the last time I looked for the book, it was rare and expensive, unlike nomadic furniture.

http://www.synergyii.com/Quikstix/index.html

Interesting link on the subject--pictures of some of the original nomadic furniture designs about a third of the way down.  And he mentions box beams, in fact I think there are pictures as well, although it's damp, so my internet connection is not very happy.

http://radio.weblogs.com/0119080/stories/2003/03/11/galleryUrbanNomadics.html

Quite recently, there is a man who works with conics--he claims these are better than anything else around--strong, easy to work with. I think this is his website.  Think plywood tents!

http://fishrock.com/conics/

[hnash53]

These 200sf structures are amazing.

It makes me really wonder just how much we really need.

I'm reminded of an old King Crimson song called "21st Century Schizoid Man."  The last line in the song is "Nothing He's Got, He Really Needs."

Yeah, I know, this labels me as one of those late 60s/early 70s pot head radicals.  Turns out I made it to the 21st century and am still thinking the same sh#$t!

Anyway, I'm in the process of figuring how to downsize from a 2500 sf house to a 1250sf home I hope to build myself.  Am asking myself, "How much do I got that I really need?"

[dail]

Practical house size, is dependant on your physical size, and how many of you will occupy the space. Plus, the things you & yours, deem you need in your life, such as hobbies and interests. (Collectors would be miserable in 200sqf.  So would one who likes to cook from scratch, as they would need a bigger kitchen.)
"Eh," technically, just to survive and eat at McD's, a card board box and sleeping bag by a creek would work....

[Jimmy C.]

I could live in a 200 sf house.
But I couldn't live without a workshop of at least 800 sf!  

[Epiphany(Guest)]

Amanda - I HAVE Nomadic Furniture - great book.  They don't call me Homesick Gypsy for nothin'.  )

And Dail, how about a 200 sf live-in kitchen....

On to the survival shelter out of 4 x 8 sheets of plywood - I'm thinking of something like plastic tarp on the ground, one sheet for the floor, clips to attach plywood walls and roof, plastic tarp overlapping the plywood roof, connected by rope or bungy cords into some kind of spikes or staples into the ground.  Basic shelter, cook outside on ground....   Thoughts?  Comments?

[Amanda_931]

I'd think a tent would work as well, maybe not be quite as good for locking up one's belongings.

but a tent might not be quite so destructive when it goes down in a thunderstorm.

The radioweblog URL mentioned earlier has-I think--some pictures of the quicksticks version of a house--basically a place to crawl in and sleep.  But apparently pretty sturdy, even if all it is is ¹/₄" plywood bolted to a frame shaped to shed water.  I know they've got pictures of the "big" house.

[dail(Guest)]

Really, for that kind of shelter setup, (Plywood) you'd be better off with a good canvas or nylon cabin tent. Say 9 x 12 or better, with a 6 foot central ceiling heigth. A small cot, table and folding chair, along with a Kerosun heater, and you would have the basic comforts of home. Throw a dining fly over to assist in wind sheild. My wife and I, lived for a week that way, while we were waiting for the builder of our first home to quit arguing with FHA over the foundation anchors. (The nut didn't use any kind of j bolts on the sill or such.)
We had a small fold up cloughs closet in there too. Those kind you get for storing extra cloughs. (Garment bag with rack) Used the campground bath facilities.
I think that would be a better scenario than what you are purposing with the ply and clips thing, and would be more mobile.

Live in 200 sf kitchen? Wow! ...lol. You gott'a be a big eater for that!