Documenting a personal quest for non-toxic housing.
Thursday, August 5, 2004Project Update
After some months of study, the theatrical truss concept appears to be a dead-end. Two different US distributors of the parts and still no price list. Now the engineers at the Prolyte HQ in the Netherlands tell me that ladder trusses would not be usable for roof joists without joints welded to the primary truss beams. I thought this was overkill myself until a reader on the ReadyMade magazine forums pointed out that the bolted clamp connectors commonly used with theatrical truss have a tendency to loosen themselves over time. This would explain why these welded joints were necessary. But the cost of that sort of custom work is untenable so it effectively kills this concept. Back to the ferro-cement and pre-fab park shelters as the most likely choices, though they too remain difficult, labor being an issue for the former and limitation to exclusive building contractors the problem with the latter.
Another interesting possibility emerged recently when I learned of a fully dismantled Lustron home being offered for sale complete with the trailer it was packed in for about $12k. But the logistics could not be worked out. There was no way I could afford that and land at the same time and nowhere I could park this 40' trailer for years as I waited to pay it off. It was also in need of some parts replacement and refurbishing I could not do myself, would need additional upgrades including foam insulation and radiant floor heating in the new foundation slab and the ultimate on-site construction, with it's several hundred pound roof trusses and some 9000 parts, is beyond the lone individual. Still, I've obtained a copy of the Lustron assembly manual and continue to study this idea.
I also learned of a nice non-toxic adapted Airstream trailer that recently went up for sale. It's one of the few trailers adapted by the Tad Taylor company and appears to be in surprisingly good shape. But it's tiny. Far too small for a permanent residence and prohibited for that in many areas. Though low priced compared to what these usually go for (typically 60-70% of what a normal house costs) at $8500, it's not exactly cost-effective for the tiny square footage and comes with the additional cost of about $2000 for its relocation from the midwest. Logistically, it's impractical when I have no place at present to park such a thing but it could serve as transitional shelter to support the construction of something else or might serve as a last-ditch emergency shelter -assuming it's still around in the event.
Meanwhile, my physician has warned me that my current housing situation is having a definite negative impact on my already poor health. It's been tolerable for a long time but escalation of the local pollution due to a flurry of new housing and the loss of serviceable kitchen facilities are taking their toll. I've been noticing the effects in a steadily declining work pace. I've gotten many months behind in my reading and my writing pace as slowed greatly. Physical stamina is now non-existent. My doctor could offer little advice for dealing with this since relocation is the only option and it seems nothing beyond what I've been doing all along -projects like this- is going to help with that. The path just keeps getting steeper.
