Posted on 08/17/2018 5:44:00 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
From its bamboo floors to its rooftop deck, Clayton Homes' new industrial-chic "i-house" is about as far removed from a mobile home as an iPod from a record player.
Architects at the country's largest manufactured home company embraced the basic rectangular form of what began as housing on wheels and gave it a postmodern turn with a distinctive v-shaped roofline, energy efficiency and luxury appointments.
Stylistically, the "i-house" might be more at home in the pages of a cutting-edge architectural magazine like Dwell— an inspirational source — than among the Cape Cods and ranchers in the suburbs.
The layout of the long main "core" house and a separate box-shaped guestroom-office "flex room" resemble the letter "i" and its dot. Yet Clayton CEO and President Kevin Clayton said "i-house" stands for more than its footprint.
With a nod to the iPod and iPhone, Clayton said, "We love what it represents. We are fans of Apple and all that they have done. But the 'I' stands for innovation, inspiration, intelligence and integration."(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I’ll stick with the basement.
A friend of mine has always wished that he could live in a geodesic dome house- although he has never lived in tornado country nor manufactured housing, he just has a fascination with dome houses. Their ability to survive extreme winds is part of that fascination.
Unlike this emergency shelter, dome houses can be very high end. The basic shell is made by blowing up a huge balloon and covering it with something like shotcrete, gunite.
“I have long wanted a concrete dome home.”
You and one of my pals- he should have gone into the business, he’s an unpaid evangelist for the advantages of a concrete dome house.
There’s nothing special about a lot of stick built houses, mine included. And not having a house payment is a very good thing.
I saw one built on some version of an off grid show. It was in New Mexico I think. It was very cool. A dome sprayed with concrete then covered with dirt and plants.
I have been pricing Modular, not Manufactured Homes for a while. The Basic costs seemed reasonable, but adding the finishing touches added up quick.
A Modular Home is placed on a Foundation. It is trucked in piece by piece and assembled on Site. You use an outside Contractor to prepare the Site, grade, build the Foundation and Assemble the House and the Roof Trusses.
By the time I added it up it was nearing $300 a Square Foot to get a completed Home. That cost didn’t include the Land.
It seemed like a great idea, but it isn’t looking like it will happen.
” then covered with dirt and plants.”
Living roof. Helps to keep houses cool, esp. in desert environs.
kind of Frank Lloyd Wright -ish, but more claustrophobic
The quality of manufactured homes has improved dramatically over the years and they are equal to and in some cases better than stickbuilt homes.
We are still weighing options, but staying in this too-large house that is starting to need more work than we can give it isn't one of the good ones.
Most geodesic dome houses here are stick built with 2x4’s or 2x6’s. What you are describing is a concrete dome house that can be built that way but more often people will opt for a free form concrete home that can be built in almost any shape. By taking rebar and bending it to the desired shape and covering it with chicken wire looking mesh and blowing lightweight concrete over it and smoothing it. I’ve seen some pretty wild designs including a Fred Flintstone inspired home.
I’m leaning towards a couple of steel shipping containers converted into a house.
Either way, someone loses a house trailer.
Pada pum pum tissshhh. I'll be here all week. Try the chicken. It's been here all week, too.
I have seen a few "modular" dwellings that included a de-trucked 40' boxcar as a component (and with a little work they were actually not bad for basic shelter), but I have not seen a shipping container used to live in. Near the end of his career, a buddy of mine had a "boat box" converted into an office/shanty for the repair yard he was based out of. It was hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and his cell phone didn't like it... but it kept the wind, rain and critters out of the parts he had to keep on hand and the tools that weren't used a lot.
Sounds more like an excuse to jack up prices for a cheap product.
I have done a bit of research into them over the years. They seem to fit what many older folks want: downsized (but not too downsized), one level, affordable and sturdy.
I’ve never understood why they aren’t more popular. Probably because of zoning regulations or something.
The ‘wheels’ are removed & the coach is put onto a permanent foundation & bolted down as well as any stick built house today. Crawl space of about 5-6 feet under for access to underside of unit.
Modular house manufacturers can do even better-—custom building sections that get well secured together. Saw such a set up in Kansas & it was very nice. They were set on Basement/foundations, with all the mechanicals in the basement, with lots of other room for occupancy. and the variety of layout was endless. They would built you anything you wanted.
Because they were built inside large buildings, the materials were not subject to weather or damage......OF THEFT. Also- they could work 2 or 3 shifts if they wished —not subject to daylight hours.
Saw a segment on This Old House where they built a MODULAR home & I think it was well over 3000 sq ft. You could probably Google TOH for a viewing of that episode. I think it was connected to the homes being replaced after Hurricane Sandy.
That explains something. There is a Clayton dealer on US 50, near the V & T railroad bridge in Mound House, Nevada. I saw this set up recently & wondered what it was.
I have toured their homes, and they are quite large, and well laid out. My only beef with them was the Very muted colors in the models. BLAND. Drab. But nice layouts.
ALL my outer walls are 6”.
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