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steel buildings
#1
Are there any steel buildings in Puna? Just thinking of the ease/maintenance and cost verses wood for building a house. On the mainland, steel building kits are great! Would there be any major disadvantages building this way in Puna?
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#2
I just did permitting for someone who showed a metal bldg on their lot - 1972 bldg permit - bldg is now a pile of rust in about a 10' wide pile - 2 -3' high.

On the other hand some of the metal bldgs in Hilo seem to be holding up for many years.
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#3
The main thing with steel here is keeping weather & water away - and to treat all cuts to keep from rusting (we are using a cold zinc dip).... also heavier gauge steel studs seem to last longer.
We have a aluminum frame house built in the early seventies with no damage to the metal frame, but most of the wood used in the house was gone, only the redwood pieces were were left fairly untouched, all of the other wood in the doors, trim & posts were eaten away by termites....
The joys of Paradise!

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#4
Our house is steel and we have built several steel frame houses. Very good stuff, will last forever.

Daniel R Diamond
Daniel R Diamond
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#5

If interested in building with steel then you might want to check out Kodiak Steel Homes kit systems-
http://www.kodiaksteelhomes.com/

Their customer service is excellent, a DVD is available from them which shows these homes going up in stages, and there are several different models both already built and newly in construction on the Big Island.

One caveat about the kits is that for some models you should make sure to modify the design with a longer overhang for better sheltering doors and windows from Hawaii's rains.

-AlaskaSteven
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#6
Alaskasteven, great site! As we plan our move, I spend hours studying house plans. We are wanting to avoid wood and are looking at concrete as well. It has a good insulation factor, but I want post and pier and concrete is heavy. But Castlerock says their's can be done post and pier. We are going to meet with them in March when we go over.

Where at in Alaska? I lived in Homer for 10 years. Two of my kiddos were born there.

Sharlee

When life gives you lemons....trade them for chocolate!
When life gives you lemons....trade them for chocolate!
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#7
Hi Sharlee-

You are off to a good start if you meet with Castleblock. We are doing a combination of the Kodiak Steel and Castleblock materials in two different structures going up in Puna, one commercial and one residential.

I am in Los Anchorage at the moment but embarrassed to admit it after many years of living and working in the "real" Alaska -rural villages all over the Interior region and Southwest Alaska, mainly, with one year in beautiful Southeast too. Homer is so scenic; Hawaii and Alaska are so comparable in terms of beauty and social/political dynamics, though of course very different places. Best fresh oysters in Alaska come from Homer, IMHO.

Best,
AlaskaSteven
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Astonishing skill! This archer is a real-life Legolas and then some!
http://geekologie.com/2013/11/real-life-...rs-anc.php

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#8
quote:
Hawaii and Alaska are so comparable in terms of beauty and social/political dynamics, though of course very different places.
I totally agree with that. I loved Alaska, and the pioneering, subsistence lifestyle. I hear Homer is really growing. I think they might have two stop lights now, LOL. Another place dependent on tourism. I can't wait to get to doing it again.

We are definitely going to be meeting with Rob about Castleblock, we really like the materials. When do you plan to break ground? How is the combo thing working for you price wise with shipping and such? I liked how many house plans Kodiak Steel had.

Aloha,
Sharlee

When life gives you lemons....trade them for chocolate!
When life gives you lemons....trade them for chocolate!
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#9
Hi Sharlee-

So far the combination of Kodiak Steel Kit and Castleblock materials appears to be cost-effective relative to other products given the quality and fireproof/termite proof/seismically resilient/et cetera characteristics of the resulting combo steel and advanced materials structures. Because we are working on developing two different projects simultaneously --one commercial, one residential-- and the many various aspects involved (from site prep to financing to engineer stamps & permits) are all seeming to take several times longer than they conceivably might, the time line on ground-breaking is not itself crystal clear as yet. April, possibly? May, maybe?

I did just receive this message from Kodiak Steel Homes, in case you are considering buying one of those. John writes-

"Because the cost of steel is going up, we will have to increase our prices 5% before the end of the month. We stretched the deadline for ordering at the old price to the date of our seminar, Saturday January 26, 2008. If you can place your make-and-ship order by then, you can take advantage of lower prices (orders that are on hold beyond that date will be subject to the new pricing). Of course, this is a modest increase, and the pricing for Kodiak Steel Homes will remain affordable and competitive with other materials.

At our January 26th seminar we will be building a full sized Bungalow model. Your registration kit includes full construction drawings and an erection manual that you can follow during the construction process. We will have product demonstrations and do our best to answer all of your questions. Our seminars are designed to be informative and helpful. We are not selling dealerships or franchises and there is no heavy handed sales pitch.

One last thing, if you are coming to the seminar and want to see some finished homes, we have a free bus tour on Friday, January 25th where you can see the interior and exterior of homes in our area. Seating for the bus tour is limited and is on a first come first served basis, so be sure to call and make your reservation.

For more information, visit the seminar page at our web site, http://www.kodiaksteelhomes.com/about/seminar.html or call 800-278-0888.

Sincerely,

John House

President"

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Astonishing skill! This archer is a real-life Legolas and then some!
http://geekologie.com/2013/11/real-life-...rs-anc.php

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#10
hmmmm, the possibilities. I am assuming then that your are getting your framing from Kodiak and going to use the wall and floor materials that Castleblock offers? Castleblock uses steel framing as well, why not use that?

Also, what does shipping look like for Kodiak to ship to Hawaii (I thought it was funny when I saw they were actually in Arkansas.)? I like that they have a huge variety of plans.

Do you mind sharing what all you are using and where as you combine the two systems?

Maholo,
Sharlee

When life gives you lemons....trade them for chocolate!
When life gives you lemons....trade them for chocolate!
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