Marketplace

Alternative Home Construction

Alternative home construction projects use construction materials or methods that are unconventional. Reasons for using alternative home construction methods are cost, desire to be environmentally friendly and simply being eclectic.

One alternative home construction method is the use of straw as the primary building material. Supporters of straw house construction say it is a "green," or environmentally friendly, building material. Straw bales are highly insulative and a natural material, made from an agricultural waste product. Backers of straw house construction also point to its availability and affordability, and say straw is easy to work with.

Straw house construction is also simple because, due to straw's inability to hold weight, the structures must be small. Straw houses can be either load-bearing or non-load-bearing. A load bearing straw house construction can hold the weight of a roof on its own, while a non-load-bearing house will require additional support from a wood frame. The non-load-bearing straw house construction uses the straw as wall filler and insulation. Non-load-bearing straw houses, since they use wood for the frame of the house, can be much larger than load-bearing houses.

Concrete block house construction is a very simple form of alternative home construction. In block house construction, the homes are made of concrete bricks, both on the interior and exterior. These no-frills houses can be highly affordable and extremely durable.

Block house construction is not a major part of the construction industry, but can be found more frequently in certain parts of the United States. In areas struck frequently by hurricanes, like the Gulf Coast, block house construction can be found around coastal areas. The reason for this is simple: block house construction, due to its overwhelming concrete design, is more capable of withstanding hurricane force winds than other kinds of buildings.

Other advantages to block house construction include its resistance to other potential damage. It will be able to resist fluctuations in temperature, from extreme heat to extreme cold, and will not warp or rot due to the effects of rain or snow. It will also resist fire better than other materials, particularly wood. Since block house construction is simple, the costs of building a concrete block house are normally less than what it would cost to build another design. In addition, highly trained construction workers aren't needed in order to successfully assemble this kind of alternative home construction.

Leave a Comment

Roughneck Definition

Roughneck Definition Amoco Corporation

There are several oil companies operating world wide, but the largest in North America is the Amoco Corporation. Established in 1889 as the Standard Oil company, it changed its name to Amoco in 1985, an is the largest natural gas provider in North America. Amoco also provides gasoline...

read entire definition