Stephen Sutherland

Inexpensive Emergency Housing

A Study Performed by Auburn University

Masters of Integrated Design and Construction

Stephen Sutherland

Project Statement

The MIDC Cohort set out to determine if a livable home could be built on a budget of $2,000.  This home, if feasible, would be utilized as housing on a temporary basis for victims of severe storms or to provide temporary housing or transitional housing for those who may need it.  The home needs to be mobile to allow for transportation to the affected area or easily assembled.  The home also needs to be livable, meaning it should feel like a home with all of the amenities a home should have to offer.  Working with ARM Alabama Rural Ministries a set of plans which we feel met the above requirements was put together.  

Description of Duties

The Cohort was divided into several groups which worked on individual pieces of the project.  I worked with the first group on the overall feasibility and planning stages of the project.  We did this by performing case studies on similar projects and by doing much research into the tiny home movement.  In addition an estimate or quantity takeoff was performed on a small home that was built to determine the actual cost to build the unit in todays dollars.  A 3d model was then developed using google sketchup and a quantity takeoff done to determine the cost to build our unit.  This set the baseline which was then worked off of to develop and refine the plans.

This set of documents was then handed off to the second group of students in our program to further develop.  Once the project made it to the construction phase my role became material acquisition.  I was in charge of ordering and keeping track of materials on the site.  This included making sure the proper quantities were available and that the material was on site when the material was needed.  In addition I was required to work with outside resources to investigate possible donated or reduced cost materials.

Research Portion

How to deal with waste in our tiny home was a question that much time was spent trying to answer.  Several different methods were researched including traditional toilet, composting toilet, or camper style system with a holding tank.  Composting toilets are perfect for tiny homes or homes that are to be temporary for several reasons.  They do not need to be hooked up to the sewer system or to a septic system.  They are usually self contained.  The two biggest barriers to this system is the stigma associated with a composting toilet and the up front cost of the system.  Both of these can be solved through educating the user.  

There are several different styles of composting toilets available.  There are incinerating toilets that burn human waste using either natural gas or propane.  Also available are toilets that separate the sterile liquid waste from the solid waste and compost the solid waste.  The third style is known as the DIY or sawdust toilet.  All three styles work very well but only one is suited for our tiny home.  We want our system to be conventional and low maintenance so it feels like any other bathroom.  For this reason the composting toilet that separates the liquid waste from the solid waste will work the best for our situation.   This toilet is self contained only requiring maintenance every other month or so.  This system does come with high up front costs which depending on the life of the product can easily be overcome.  (http://tinyhousetalk.com/composting-toilets-in-tiny-houses/)

Project Reflection

When were you most engaged?  

I was most engaged during the construction phase of the project.  Ordering and picking up of material as well as ensuring the material was delivered on time and to the proper place.  Also much time was spent during the construction phase working to make sure the project was progressing in a timely manner and to ensure they was materials to allow work to progress the following day.

Who / what contributed to your leaning on this project and why?

The thing that most contributed to my learning on this project was being able to physically work on it.  Being able to see how the systems all fit together and work together was very beneficial to me.  Also being exposed to residential construction as opposed to commercial construction was a eye opener.

When were you least engaged and why?

I was least involved during the preplanning stages of the design lending a hand only when an estimate of constructability analysis were necessary.  My involvement became greater as more details were became incorporated into the project.

What surprised you about the project?

I was surprised how close we came to completing the progress in budget.  I feel that if the bare minimum had been done, buying the least expensive windows, or building a less beefy foundation we would have been very close to the 2K budget.  Also i was surprised at the time the project took to complete.  I was expecting the project to take much less time.

What would you suggest for additional projects of this type?

This project I feel had the potential to be the most beneficial from a learning aspect.  This is because it was not just research but a physical application of the research in the field.  It was a tool to show me as a constructor just how much thought needs to go into the drawings for a project to ensure that all of the details needed are provided.  It was also a tool for the architects to see how important the drawings truly are to a project.  That there is much that needs to go into the drawings to ensure the projects develops into their vision. I would suggest trying to incorporate more physical deliverables into future projects.