Over and over again we see houses damaged by tornados. The lines where they fail are always along floor or ceiling lines. This is because builders cling on to the way we have always done it : "PLATFORM CONSTRUCTION." College text books show "TRUSS FRAMED SYSTEMS" as an alternate, but no builder will touch it because they know that the idea needs some expensive further developments. As a retired aerospace materials engineer, I know the paths of optimization. I have concluded that house construction re- inventing needs to follow a path similar to the Saturn auto re- inventing.
I have also concluded that green and energy friendly orientations can also be more durable with less costs. I want to find a rich person who will help me prove these ideas. Dean Youngkeit 21 North 100 East Willard, Utah 84340 (435)734 0681 young@brigham.net
bschaefer
Posted - 13 August 1999 12:33
Good point except that the Saturn is a cheap piece of junk. I'd rather stick to the saying-"You get what you pay for."
mc
Posted - 21 September 2000 12:3
The movement has already begun. ICF houses are the most energy efficient houses in existence. They can easily reach R-values twice as high as stick homes, depending on how many windows you have. For more information on ICFs and other concrete building systems, visit www.concretehomes.com.