buildings

Mighty Buildings’ 3D-Printed Homes Points To The Future Of Sustainable Housing

There is a problem with housing in this country. From decades of bad public housing policy to retrofitting the suburbs for sustainability to near consistent affordable housing shortages, we have to start looking at more innovative housing solutions. Not looking to solve all that, but certainly falling somewhere within the mix is Mighty Buildings, an Oakland based company 3D-printing generally affordable homes. All you have to do is find a place to put them.

Which, isn’t too far fetched a concept. People are building apartments in their backyards and from a luxury standpoint, offices or extra rooms in the backyard. Like container homes, 3D printed homes seek to offer a generally affordable alternative to a small, sustainable home created in a non-traditional manner. 3D-printed homes are not a new concept but have mostly been stuck in the conceptual phase until recently.

Mighty Buildings built a 79,000 square foot facility and received approval under the California Factory Built Housing program as well the first UL certification under the new standard for 3D printed construction. It can create 3D-printed homes quicker and more efficiently (it’s literally a giant 3D-printer that prints homes) and sells its output for $115,000 for a studio at the low end to $285,000 for a 3b/2ba. If you live in an inflated housing market (anywhere in California for instance) then you can see the cost benefit immediately.

The innovative part here is not necessarily the methodology of 3D-printing a home instead of cutting up a series of shipping containers to make a container home, but it’s that Mighty Buildings literally developed a new composite material to build its homes, making them more energy efficient and structurally sound.

The new composite solves general issues with the existing 3D process that still involves concrete

Red Flag Fire Warning Conditions Return; 293 Homes, 272 Commercial Buildings Destroyed; Chance Of Rain Next Weekend

ST. HELENA (CBS SF) — An intense air war was waged on the north edge of the Glass Fire burn zone Saturday, allowing weary firefighters to extend containment of the massive blaze burning in Sonoma and Napa counties to 15 percent before red flag fire conditions settled in for the night.

Load Error

Cal Fire Operations Chief Mark Bruton said during his Saturday night briefing that air support was playing a key role on the northern edge of the blaze burning in steep terrain toward Lake County.

“It’s really steep, heavy terrain, we have some control lines in there but we have a bit of a lack of resources to really work in that kind of terrain,” he said. “We used aircraft to really pound it today. We dropped a lot of retardant to help slow the advance of the fire.”

Meanwhile, weather forecasters were keeping on an eye on a front developing in the Pacific that could bring much needed showers to the San Francisco Bay Area next weekend. Of particular interest, National Weather Service forecasters said, were plumes of moisture spinning toward Northern California from Hurricane Marie.

“In general, in looking at trends would say that confidence is increasing for some type of precipitation by next weekend,” the weather service said. “Rain amounts all over the board based on if Marie gets ingested as well as where (the) cold front would move onshore. As usual would say the better chances would be North Bay and points northward at this time.”

But Bruton said the front will not likely bring the level of rain needed to end the fire season.

“We would need to see something like 4-6 inches (of rain) to change how dry these fuels and make it a game changer,” he said. “Is that a possibility?

HVAC Contractors for Commercial Buildings – 5 Things To Look For

HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems are used for the heating and cooling of residential and commercial buildings. They also have an extra benefit that most people are unaware of: many HVAC systems are able to purify the air inside a building while maintaining a constant temperature.

Such systems are able to remove contaminants that include chemicals, organic compounds, and odors. If these systems are well taken care of they help create a fresh and comfortable environment in the building wherever they have been installed.

As these systems are proving to be the most efficient and cost effective out on the market, companies all over the country are installing them in increasing numbers, and there are many reasons why you should have a system installed as well. There are, however, some things to be aware of when installing your own HVAC system.

Once you have decided you are interested in installing a HVAC system, be sure to look for these 5 things to ensure your search for an installer is hassle-free:

1. First, be sure to find a company that is certified. On occasion there may be uncertified companies advertising their services, but in truth may be unqualified to do so. Ultimately it is you the customer that would suffer if the HVAC unit were installed incorrectly, so always be sure to verify the company you choose is certified to perform the service you require.

2. Always give close attention to the experience of the company. It is never good to hire an inexperienced company. Before hiring, ask the company’s representatives to show you their recent projects; this will help you know which company is your best selection.

3. Once you have selected a certified company, then obtain a written contract. This way you will be able to see …