Introducing The I-House - a new pre-fab, affordable green home.

[Dover]

A new pre-fab, customizable, modular eco-friendly and energy efficient home that is faaab.




The I-House looks like a house you'd order from Ikea, sounds like something designed by Apple and consists of amenities–solar panels, tankless water heaters and rainwater collectors–that one would expect to come from a offbeat green company out of California selling to a high-end market. But Clayton Homes, one of the largest manufacturers of mobile homes out of Maryville, Tenn., is looking to enter the market of environmentally friendly, prefab homes with a model that is seriously affordable...cont'd
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/how_your_house_works/4299495.html

BTW, Clayton Homes is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire-Hathaway. As Buffet noted earlier this year, people buy mobile homes for shelter, not speculation, and are less likely to walk away just because the market has dropped.



Clayton Homes I-House website:
http://www.claytonihouse.com/




Other articles on the I-House:

* Eco-friendly Clayton iHouse on sale, coming to a highbrow trailer park near you.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/07/eco-friendly-clayton-ihouse-on-sale-coming-to-a-highbrow-traile/

* Clayton 'i-house' is giant leap from trailer park
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/06/financial/f114751D98.DTL&type=realestate

* Treehugger - Thoughts On The Clayton I=House
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/clayton-ihome-design.php

[hlthe2b]

1. But... Can they withstand a tornado?

at least better than mobile homes?

Intriguing....

[daggahead]

24. Earth berm one side of it ...

And it could survive a tornado, plus it would be even MORE energy efficient.

[xchrom]

2. pre-FABulous. nt

[obliviously]

3. Thats real nice

now if they could print velveeta on the side you could make some money on advertising too.

[rwheeler31]

4. Uh it's a trailer.

[femrap]

6. And you're what.....

unaborted?

[Terry in Austin]

27. (great zinger)

Seriously. Can I use it?

TIA

:toast:

[havocmom]

7. or a roll-away with windows

and flowerbeds.

Think I will stick with SIP panels and shot-crete for the low maintenance last home.

[Vektor]

8. A beautiful, mid-century mod looking trailer...

that is a hell of a lot easier on the eyes than most "non-trailer" homes.

[Terry in Austin]

25. But it's a "high brow trailer"

Jeez, doncha think that makes the difference?

:P

[napoleon_in_rags]

5. Sweet! I want one.

Its really brilliant to kill two birds with one stone like that. Affordable housing that also has incredibly low energy usage. So its really long term cost savings.

[imdjh]

9. I hate to be a pain, but this house is expensive.

It's coming in at $140 per square foot not including land. Right now, in St Petersburg a reputable firm will build you a concrete block home which is up to code, on your lot for $80 per square foot.

[MercutioATC]

12. Agreed. There are better solutions to the problem.

Most of these new innovative "green" homes are outrageously expensive for what they offer. They're for people who want to be "green" but don't want to know anything about what "green" means.

[imdjh]

13. I still believe in innovation though. New tech costs more at first.

While I don't know the particulars of these Clayton homes, or if there is any new tech involved, they are a business and they will test the water at a price they think the market will bear.

I don't see these houses coming to Florida, not coastal Florida anyway, but I have been waiting to see the dome houses come to Florida.

I don't think that legislation is the answer to everything, but when we're talking about new home design, I see where some legislation is called for. Property insurance companies are notoriously out of touch with new things and the rates they charge for new things. These prefab homes might well be insurance rated as mobile homes, and the flat roof is going to be a surcharge as well.

On the other hand, we have the dome houses which are virtually hurricane proof. But will a hurricane insurance company rate them as such? Should mortgage lenders even be allowed to require hurricane insurance on a windproof house?

[Dover]

14. Some thoughts on your comments

I have the feeling that insurance companies will implode as a result of an overload of disasters
in an already weak economy, before building practices can change enough to impact that industry's means of assessing new materials and technology. And very likely that will begin by their refusing to cover areas particularly prone to natural disasters such as coastal regions.

There are some incentives currently in place to encourage purchases of energy efficient homes
as well as changes in building codes that encourage their use. There are tax incentives for
first home buyers (which I assume would be available for these prefab type homes), and 'green efficiency' financial incentives being put in place both locally and nationally. And it was really interesting reading online comments directed at some architecture magazines who continue to promote the 'old' models of large expensive, inefficient homes. So there is a voice from the grassroots of this change that is forcefully saying, 'we're not happy with your lack of response to our changing times and needs relative to sustainable practices'. Pressure from below. And I'll bet architectural school programs are also receiving pressure to teach these practices. And then there are plenty of people who don't wait around for top down change, but take on the personal expense and/or professional risks in order to pioneer new living models. The field is wide open and exciting though it would certainly be nice to get stronger leadership in government. I'm sure there is heavy lobbying against it as well by some of those in the building industry who fear how this change might effect them, but even their heavy drag on the system can't stop this movement. It would behoove them to adapt rather than resist.

So I don't think there is ONE solution or model. Diversity, individual expression and customization, experimentation create energetic change and are part of what sustainability is all about. We're seeing various incremental steps in this direction, and i-homes is just one example of sustainable technology and mindset working its way into the mainsteam. If it becomes cookie-cutter, one-size-fits all then it will surely fade quickly. That 'factory' model is so 20th Century and would be dead in the water if that became the goal. This i-house is not the end-all. It's just the beginning, a sign of change...

[imdjh]

20. America's taste for the center hall colonial doesn't seem to fade

There are many innnovative designs out there, and some of them are smart as well as handsome. The problem we keep running up against is not what people need, it's what people think they need, ie what people want. This is where it gets sticky, because one person is telling another person what he needs. Except that that is EXACTLY what a good salesman in a perfect world does. A good broker is one who matches the customer with his needs, so he doesn't feel like he has made a mistake in his purchase.

A parent looks at the center hall colonial with its four bedrooms and possible fifth bedroom in the basement and thinks, "There is a room for everyone." even though there is a room for everyone in the existing house. There is a brief period in the life cycle where people, men in particular, feel particularly cramped and they see all those floors of the colonial and think, "I might have a room to myself." Of course, they have been feeling cramped for the last 15 years, and in five more years they are going to have more individual space than they know what to do with, but today he sees a big house that says, "There is room for you here." For their part, women know that larger homes are easier to keep clean and tidy so they see the colonial and think, "Finally, a guest room and a place to put everything."

So about now I'm thinking about motorhomes with tip-outs; houses that expand and contract. But that's where true innovation comes in with a little cooperation from the consumer. A crystal ball would help immensely; if people could decide whether they are going to be a scattered family in multiple households or an extended family in a single household they could plan a lot better for their comfort and financial future.

[kristopher]

15. Concrete block???

Popular in Florida because of termites, but it certainly isn't representative of the national standard in home construction.

I don't know where you got $140/ft^2 but the article linked in the OP talks about a 992ft^2 house for $100,000. My calculator reads $100.80/ft^2, nowhere near the $140 you claim.

According to the DOE ( http://www.btscoredatabook.net/TableView.aspx?table=2.3.16 ) the average 2150ft^2 home cost $209,256 to build (not counting the lot). Again using a modern super sophisticated device knows as a 'calculator' I come up with a cost of $97.38/ft^2.

As for a factory built home, they are of equal or better quality than stick built homes because of the ability to quality control materials, workmanship and design.

[imdjh]

22. It was in one of the links

A 1,000-square-foot prototype unveiled at a Clayton show in Knoxville a few months ago was priced at around $140,000. It came furnished, with a master bedroom, full bath, open kitchen and living room with Ikea cabinetry, two ground-level deck areas and a separate "flex room" with a second full bath and a second-story deck covered by a sail-like canopy.


And yes, I see that this one is furnished, so knock ten grand off and it's still $130/sf.

[kristopher]

23. The OP article states 992ft^2 for $100,000.

[Dover]

10. It will be interesting to see what kind of communities these prefabs might inspire.

Particularly among younger folks. A new 'eco-neigborhood/park' environment perhaps.

For instance, I can see several friends going in on purchasing a property in which three or
four of these houses (or other prefab models) are placed, or even a new design for the traditional
trailer park that caters exclusively to ecologically responsible types, etc.

[imdjh]

26. Most neighborhood probably won't allow them without legislation.

I'm thinking that most places are going to view them as nonconforming structures or mobile homes.

Frankly, this hasn't worked well in some instances in the past. Neighborhoods or sections of neighborhoods with experimental designs (frequently attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright or alleged inspired by FLW) for small homes have failed to appreciate as well as traditional areas, IMO largely because they were not deed restricted. For example, a section of modulars near here acquired the name "Munchkinland" and another one came to be called "Dogpatch" because the small homes were inevitably the lowest priced houses on the market and ended up as poorly maintained owner occupieds and then as poorly maintained rentals. They would be wonderful for fill-in in a neighborhood like mine, which is kind of funky to start with and where most of the older homes are on two or three lots, with many single lots (50W x 125D) remaining.

I love well done mobile home parks. Unfortunately, many of them have brutal rules in addition to the maintenance requirements which keep them nice. One park near here forbids all pets- no exceptions (I don't know if they ban service dogs but there aren't any) not even a canary. Efficient living loses its appeal if one must maintain a sterile environment.

Anyway, new ideas call for new ideas. These houses are a great design and there is no reason why a great neighborhood couldn't be designed around them. They would be delicious for suburban renewal- tearing down WWII bungalows on oversized lots and putting two of these in their place.

[kristopher]

28. It was just pointed out on another thread

That the energy bill requires homes to be rated and labeled for energy usage. Already we've seen a sharp decline in the average home size (9% in Q3 2008 http://www.cepro.com/article/study_average_size_of_new_home_drops_9_in_q3_2008/ ) and there is no reason to think that trend will not continue. It is pretty clear that a basic shift in values in underway as a result of greater public awareness of the limits to cheap energy.

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. Looks all kinda Jetson-y and stuff, but it's still a mobile home.

Fundamentally, houses do not appreciate being dragged cross-country.

There are some great ways to build environmentally friendly small homes, but one need not put up with a 2:12 pitch roof which doesn't shed snow and WILL leak within 10 years.

PS: there's a good reason why normal house roofs look like upside down V's.

[kristopher]

16. Being a little bit provencial there, aren't you?

Your criticism presumes that various roof pitches are not available ( a presumption I'd bet is wrong) and that all climates are the same as yours.

I'd also be willing to bet that you have absolutely no idea what actually differentiates a "mobile home" from a stick built home. One is built to a national standard under close supervision ensuring a high level of quality control, the other is built on site by an assemblage of unsupervised subcontractors with cursory inspections and indifferent supervision.

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. quite the opposite.

I lived in a mobile home while I built my house. After crawling around inside that very poorly constructed unit I am quite confident, especially after dealing with building inspectors, which is the quality home.

Manufactured homes are built to a national standard... that is far less stringent than the standards (UBC or ICC) used for stick built homes.

... and roofs are roofs. If they slope to the middle, they are unsuitable for areas in which it snows or rains.

[kristopher]

18. I'm sure your personal experience was persuasive

However it isn't a proper way to judge the issue. The mobile home was constructed in a manner you consider to be cheap because it was cheap. To properly judge, your objective need to be a comparison as to which process and method delivers the best possible house for, say, $100 per square foot. You'll get everything and more in the manufactured home built under HUD code as you would get in your stick built home built under local code. If you don't believe me go somewhere that has a copy of both codes and do a point by point comparison. The quality control, mass production and controlled environment produce more for less when both methods are funded equally. The drawback of the manufactured home is that it must be designed in a way that facilitates transport. Until recently that restricted aesthetic options but now there is a very good selection of styles available.

And the roof? Your opinion doesn't make sense. You claim that a roof designed by well trained architects specifically to make use of the precipitation wont work. You have no basis for that claim except that the style and operation of the roof is something you don't understand. Your failure to understand is a poor basis for a claim that the roof designers are fools.

[lumberjack_jeff]

19. A roof designed for weather in Tennesee is not suitable for the weather in WA.

Anyone who put that roof on a house in my area, or in places where it snows a lot, is a fool.

[imdjh]

29. Exactly, He's comparing a $40,000 mobile to a $100,000 pre-fab, but it needs to be tweeked

But what makes it look cheap is the roof, the exposed pilings and the 1950's windows and the deck.

• Raise the ceiling height on the high end by 2 ft.

• Take the wooden deck off the front of the house, it's a dead giveaway to a modular home, Even though we aren't concealing that it's a modular home, the front deck has become the visual curse of the modular home.

• Make the deck a raised suspended concrete patio with a glass block knee wall. This adds something permanent to the appearance.

• Build a carport and a three season porch into the design, because it is the first thing that people are going to do, and they will do it cheaply and badly.

• Complete the line of the high windows like a solid window two feet high and twenty feet long on the bedroom wall, round the ends if possible for a nautical look. It won't be a continuous window, some of the panels will be structural or deadlights, but it will give a kind of art deco look to what is essentially a complimentary design.

ª Do something a different with that box on the end of the house, it looks like a t-building at a public school.

[cpompilo]

21. I wonder if it will have formaldehyde problems like we heard

about with the FEMA trailers during Hurricane Katrina.

[joshcryer]

30. Oh yes, urbanization will solve our problems.

:sarcasm: