Inert Fill(TM)

The Vision

This is a process rather than a product. The resulting home should be able to conform to the local environment. This includes urban multistory situations.

• The shell should use a maximum of local, abundant, surplus or recycled materials.
• The shell should go up in a matter of weeks.
• Without supplemental energy it should neither freeze nor overheat.
• It should be habitable for 500 years.
• It should be fire proof.
• It should only rarely need supplemental energy or water.
• It should include a tempered food storage area and tempered fresh air.
• It should be habitable with minimum amenities.
• It should be easy to add domestic hot water, refrigeration, electricity and other amenities.
• All wiring should be in conduit and plumbing in chases so as to be easily maintained.
• It should be easy to beautify.

The Process

The owner or their employee locates local sources of the raw materials: Straw, hay, trash anything that can be dried and baled, and bar joists to recycle. Are there local sources for rebar, remesh, drain pipe, large concrete pipe, vinyl or PVC, urethane or beadboard insulation, sheeting, roofing membrane or coating (compatible with drinking water) waterproofing, floor tile, windows, to recycle and that can be used?
The contractor and owner agree on a site, site plan, structural plans, degree of completion, and price. The crew comes onto site for 2 to 5 days, prepares, inventories, and organizes materials, completes excavation and pours footers. After 2 to 5 days (concrete curing time) the crew returns to set walls. After another 2 to 5 days the crew forms the ceiling/roof and lays it. If the home is to be more than one story this process will be repeated. Walls and roof need to be finished and floors poured. With roof and walls waterproofed on the outside the structure will need to remain open until it has dried (the concrete cures but the inert fill may have been damp). At that point glazing can be installed and other finish work completed.

Step One - R and D

The biggest unknown in this process is its feasibility. Is this process adaptable, easy to use, inexpensive in materials and labor? How will the resulting structure look and perform? The cost of an experimental structure should be much lower and answer many more of these questions than any engineering study alone. It would also yield something to test and experiment with. It could make a great graduate study for a budding engineer.

• Find land in a jurisdiction that will allow an experimental building.
• Build a simple one story 14 x 28 foot (interior)structure.
• In addition build a roof section and a wall section for structural testing.
• Carefully document all materials and labor.
• Monitor thermal performance and any signs of stress.
• Calculate feasibility.

Step Two - Architecture and Engineering

Building departments will need to approve this quite radically different building process. This is probably the biggest hurdle and would benefit greatly from teaming with a university engineering department to complete all the reverse engineering, testing and documentation needed to satisfy the requirements. A marketing study will need to be completed as well. In the current market none of this would fly. Between peak oil, global climate change, and the repercussions there should be a strong demand for inexpensive, easily constructed, energy efficient housing within the next ten years. Our goal should be to have developed this process to the point that it is ready to meet this demand.

Step Three - The Model

With adequate financing steps two and three should go hand in hand and provide for the testing of a variety of housing configurations. If not we need at least one model of the most conventional configuration to obtain final costs and performance data as well as to stimulate sales.

Ongoing - Cost reduction and process streamlining.

For details contact me.
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