Grain Bin House Videos

It really helps to see finished examples of what others have done. Once again it’s YouTube to the rescue.

Cornell University’s Silo House
Glenburn Silo Home
Silo House aka The Cabin in the Woods (low quality footage but has some good points)

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Nice Home Entries and Entryways

Nice entryway on traditional home

Universal design home entry

Timber frame entry

Nice entry to custom straw bale home

Your home’s entry and entryway are the first things people see when they enter your home, and so it’s important for these areas to be inviting and attractive. To help design this area, imagine yourself visiting your home. What is your first impression? Is it one of warm, welcoming colors? Is there a place to hang your coat and put your umbrella and bag? What about a mirror, artwork, lighting and place to sit down and take off your shoes? Is the flooring durable enough to withstand wear and tear? Is the space large enough for a group of people to enter and close the door behind them? Is there a protected entry and adequately sized coat closet nearby? Careful thought on these and other considerations will improve the design and livability of your home.

Image source: Nush Designs Blogspot
Image source: Gant Construction
Image source: Hybrid Timber Frame
Image source: The Watch (interesting story about the house)
Related:
8,250 Entry Design Photos
Airlock Entryways (good for cold climates)

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Grand Canyon Desert View Watchtower

Grand Canyon Desert View Watchtower (click to enlarge)

View of eastern Grand Canyon from Desert View (click to enlarge)

Looking up inside the Watchtower (click to enlarge)

Kabotie Mural in Desert View Watchtower

“Build a structure that provides the widest possible view of Grand Canyon yet harmonizes with its setting: this was architect Mary Colter’s goal when the Fred Harvey Company hired her in 1930 to design a gift shop and rest area at Desert View. Colter’s answer was the Watchtower.

A perfectionist, Colter scrutinized every detail, down to the placement of nearly every stone. Each stone was handpicked for size and appearance. Weathered faces were left untouched to give the tower an ancient look. With a lavish, highly publicized dedication ceremony, the Watchtower opened in May 1933.

The Indian Watchtower is at the eastern end of the south rim of the Grand Canyon. From a distance the building’s silhouette looks like the Anasazi watchtower it was meant to mimic. In actual size the tower is considerably larger than any known Anasazi tower. In plan the structure is composed of one enormous circle at the north, a small circle at the south, and gently arced forms connecting the two. The largest circle and the arced portions are the sections of that building that are just one story in height. The smaller circular plan is for the tower itself, more than five stories high. The building sits out on a promontory overlooking the Grand Canyon.

The most noteworthy aspect of the exterior is the stonework–a variety of uncoursed rubble below and coursed sandstone above, with decorative patterns of triangular stones adding architectural interest directly below the tower’s parapet and other bands of color masonry adding even more visual interest.”

Text and image source: Grand Canyon Desert View Watchtower
Image source: Field Studies in the Grand Canyon Region
Image source: Adam Schallau.com
Image source: Flickr

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More Grain Bin Homes

Nice grain bin house (click to enlarge)

Grain bin home

Another grain bin house

Stuccoed grain bin home

Grain bin apartment

Interior view of grain bin apartment (follow the link below to see more stunning pics)

Our recent blog posts about Sukup SafeT Homes and SafeT Home Videos proved popular, so I thought readers might enjoy seeing a few more grain bin homes.

Image source: Little Homestead in Boise
Image source: Mother Earth News
Image source: Greenieweenie
Image source: EcoFriend
Image source 5, 6: Travel Shack
Related:
Mother Earth News: Convert a Used Grain Bin to a New House (best article I’ve found so far on grain bin houses)

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Double Pallet Wall w/ Post and Beam

Top view of double pallet wall with post and beam frame

Wooden shipping pallets are typically available for free and are very practical for building homes, furniture and many other things. We’ve already explored several ways of building pallet walls: Post and Beam Pallet Wall, Earth Lodge Pallet Walls, Interior Pallet Walls, Straw Bale Pallet Walls.

This new design sprang from the idea of creating wider pallet walls to provide space for extra straw/clay insulation or other type of insulation. Total wall thickness is about 16” not including plaster and/or wall cladding. Note how the good side (top side) of pallets all face outward. The building process is as follows:
1. Construct the post and beam frame. In this proposed design, the posts are spaced two pallets apart.
2. Build the interior pallet wall. Horizontal 2×4 or 2×6 plates are attached at the base, between courses of pallets and along the top. Plates could be 3’-4’ salvaged boards from broken pallets.
3. Add a spacer board between the pallet walls to help stabilize the wall. This could consist of short pieces of scrap blocking or a long board.
4. Build the exterior pallet wall so the outer surface aligns with the outside of the posts. Some partial pallets are required. Partial pallets could be cut from damaged pallets.
5. Mix and stuff straw/clay inside the pallet wall.

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Latilla Ceilings

Cedar latillas create a true Territorial feel (click to enlarge)

Split cedar latillas create a different, yet traditional look

Roundhouse ceilng made with latillas and vigas

Skipped peeled latillas

Saguaro cactus rib latillas (click to enlarge)

Historic vigas and latillas (click to enlarge)

Colored latillas and carved corbels

Definition of latilla from Dictionary.com: “luh-tee-uh, a peeled branch or piece of wood laid between beams of a ceiling or above the vigas for decoration.”

From Southwest Building Supply: “Latilla is from the Spanish word Lata, meaning stick. These “sticks” are used as a traditional ceiling material, laid between beams or vigas. Latillas are cut from spruce or pine [or other woods] and are available in varying lengths and diameters.”

Additional facts:
– traditional latillas were mostly laid straight
– latillas in many modern homes are laid diagonally
– latillas can be peeled, stained, painted, burned, split or milled
– latilla panels are available to speed construction

Image source: Camino del Contento
Image source: Grand River Supply
Image source: Soledad Canyon
Image source: Mark Wright Construction, Inc.
Image source: Colorado Preservation.org
Image source: Idaho Forest
More good Latilla photos: Southwest Ideas.com

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Grain Bin Homes

Sukup SafeT Home galvanized steel manufactured home

The most interesting thing about this product is it has already been designed and fabricated as a home. Some people have converted grain bins into homes by cutting door and window openings, etc. You can even buy plans for grain bin homes. But this is the first company to my knowledge that offers a complete home building kit that’s ready for assembly. This particular model sells for $5,700. It can be easily assembled with a few hand tools, although I would definitely use a cordless drill. And yes, it’s made with steel, an energy intensive material, but the extra environmental toll may be justified, for instance, where hurricanes and tornadoes routinely wreck havoc. Its virtually maintenance free 70-year life span is certainly a big plus. I’m impressed with the double, continuously vented roof that prevents overheating. So this design has some good features going for it. It would benefit from insulation. Some might find it practical as safe, temporary shelter while their permanent home is being built or as a cabin or storage building. I wonder if they sell the roof separately so it can be used on an earthbag roundouse?

Source: Sukup
Special thanks to Cliff for this tip.

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EcoRancho Update

“We started these EcoRanchos back in August 2011 and we are making steady progress since then. Here’s an update we posted on YouTube today. We are placing regular updates on our webpage on the building progress and hopefully we have the structures under roof by mid April 2012!”
Best regards.
Walter A. Hutterli
LandTrees
“Go Green is not just a slogan for us, it’s a way of life and how we see our environment. It is also a way we go about our daily business.”

Previous blog post: Earthbag EcoRanchos

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Double Unit Ecoresort

This ecoresort design joins two earthbag roundhouses with private baths between. (click to enlarge)

Specifications: Two 16′ diameter roundhouses = 402 sq. ft. interior plus 80 sq. ft. baths, total 482 sq. ft. interior (241 per unit), 1 bed, 1 bath per unit, Footprint: 19′ x 49’

Description: This ecoresort design joins two earthbag roundhouses with private baths between. The roof extends over the porch to create a shaded area with benches for relaxing. Windows on all sides provide optimum ventilation and thermal comfort (15 degrees F or 8 degrees C cooler inside than out). Glass block and bottle walls add a splash of color and fun. Thatch could be used, although metal roofing is more durable and fire resistant, requires less maintenance and allows for roofwater collection. With just a little modification, the two units could be joined to create a home by enclosing the porch as a passageway, converting one bathroom into a laundry room, and deleting one kitchen.

Double Unit Ecoresort floorplan. (click to enlarge)

When something works exceeding well, it makes sense to pursue similar options. I’ve been saying for some time that earthbag roundhouses are the simplest, fastest, easiest, most practical way to build with earthbags. (Domes are great in some ways, but they have certain design limitations and are not the best choice for our hot, rainy climate. Square and rectangular designs have some benefits, but tend to be a bit boring, especially for an ecoresort, and long straight walls require additional support.)

That’s one reason I’ve created designs such as Two Roundhouses with Greenhouse, Three Roundhouses Design, my Hobbit designs, as well as numerous other roundhouse designs at Earthbag House Plans. (You can easily browse all roundhouse plans by selecting ‘Round’ in the Category menu on the right side of the page.) Note — most people end up modifying these basic designs to meet their needs, which can easily be done for a modest fee.

Each step of construction is explained in this Earthbag Roundhouse Instructable.

All plans are available through Dream Green Homes. Not all plans are shown. Just ask if there’s something you don’t see.

Visit my Earthbag House Plans site for complete info.

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Tree Stump and Tree Trunk Furniture

Black walnut tree trunk side table

Rustic western dining room table with stump base

Stump wood coffee table with slab top

Cyprus tree stump seat, lamp stand or side table

Zafra, one of our readers, suggested this topic on furniture made with tree stumps and tree trunks. This ultra low cost, all natural furniture is made with logging wastes. Logging companies take all the biggest, straightest pieces and leave behind large volumes of scrap wood. With a little imagination and some time, thrifty scavengers can turn these scraps into beautiful furniture that can last generations.

Image source: Iran Design.com (excellent collection)
Image source: Andy Sanchez.com (excellent collection)
Image source: Live Auctioneers.com
Image source: This Next.com

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