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Thanks Greg, I have been thinking the same regarding Pumice-crete and have spoken to a Tilt-Con builder in an effort to combine the two. He thought it was a bad idea,but I'm not so sure I agree. I too am not getting any younger. I thought the lighter weight Pumice-Crete poured on site might be tilted into place with a small crane or even something as basic as block and tackle. I have been thinking it may be a good business to get into. I'd like to hear your thoughts.
When I lived in Eldorado someone across the street put in a prefab home and then stuccoed over the whole thing - you would never know it was prefab. It was very interesting to watch. Maybe the Eldorado office would have info.
I never bought a pre-fab home myself, but looked into the issue when we were renewing/revising our covenants. Three interesting things about Preferred Building Systems. (This is about their pre-fabs. They have also started stick-building, and that is a different matter.)
1. The pre-fabs meet all building codes in so far as I know. Thus the legal basis for anyone to tell you that you can't put one up is open to challenge. Local government or a home-owners association might try to keep a pre-fab house out on aesthetic grounds, BUT Preferred Building Systems certainly does the flat roof pueblo look well in my opinion. (Their northern NM look, in my opinion, is not so great.) Of course, if zoning or covenants forbid pre-fab and you go to court, then the people you are fighting have deep pockets.
2. I like the look of their smaller pre-fabs, but they truck in the pre-fabs and every house is going to be 28' or less in one dimension - at least that is the way I read the floor plans -- anyone interested of course should take a look for themselves. So, for the bigger houses, you get, in my opinion, the long narrow rectangular look of something brought in on a truck. Depending upon where you live, your neighbors may be perfectly happy with that or very upset. Of course, it always possible to modify that look by additional construction. I think PBS themselves offers the option of adding a garage, which then gives you more of a single wing look. Now that PBS does stick-building, you might contract with them for other additions.
3. They certainly look a great deal less expensive than stick-built. If I had a vacant lot, I would certainly give them some thought.
Of course this is all my opinion. On point 1, I am not a lawyer and on point 2, I am not an architect. If I have gotten any thing wrong, please correct me.
Last edited by Devin Bent; 02-27-2008 at 03:57 PM..
Joey Saint - thanks for the request. Lightweight concrete has been around for quite a while. It is frequently made with pumice as part of the aggregate selection. I think that having pumice block made in a block plant would, if there are affordable masons around, be an economical way to create an insulated stone (glass foam) house. Tip up variant of cast in place is another method to be considered. If the tip ups were made small enough to fit on a flatbed truck then most of the house could be made at a precast plant, shipped in and lifted onto a prepared foundation. This could save time and money in a remote location.
All of these methods would be most economical for a multi house development because of the economies inherent in making several houses in large pieces to a similar, but not identical, design in a controlled environment, compared with stick building or bricks. The Eastern equivalent is structural foam panel where the house is built of Styrofoam between strand board sheets.
I can easily envision building a resort with a main building in the territorial western or adobe style with several nearby casita’s for guests desiring more isolation. Any of these structures could easily be powered and heated by a combined heat and power system using any available fuel or alternate energy sources.
My problem is that my ability to envision these things is far better developed than my ability to finance them. As I am approaching retirement fairly soon and I want to relocate, I am looking for something to do in New Mexico. The retirement may be very soon if the “powers that be” decide to get rid of us greybeards with a retirement buyout. In any case I would be interested in talking with folks that want to think about alternative housing, development and energy sources. If you are one of those folks please PM me.
I never bought a pre-fab home myself, but looked into the issue when we were renewing/revising our covenants. Three interesting things about Preferred Building Systems. (This is about their pre-fabs. They have also started stick-building, and that is a different matter.)
1. The pre-fabs meet all building codes in so far as I know. Thus the legal basis for anyone to tell you that you can't put one up is open to challenge. Local government or a home-owners association might try to keep a pre-fab house out on aesthetic grounds, BUT Preferred Building Systems certainly does the flat roof pueblo look well in my opinion. (Their northern NM look, in my opinion, is not so great.) Of course, if zoning or covenants forbid pre-fab and you go to court, then the people you are fighting have deep pockets.
2. I like the look of their smaller pre-fabs, but they truck in the pre-fabs and every house is going to be 28' or less in one dimension - at least that is the way I read the floor plans -- anyone interested of course should take a look for themselves. So, for the bigger houses, you get, in my opinion, the long narrow rectangular look of something brought in on a truck. Depending upon where you live, your neighbors may be perfectly happy with that or very upset. Of course, it always possible to modify that look by additional construction. I think PBS themselves offers the option of adding a garage, which then gives you more of a single wing look. Now that PBS does stick-building, you might contract with them for other additions.
3. They certainly look a great deal less expensive than stick-built. If I had a vacant lot, I would certainly give them some thought.
Of course this is all my opinion. On point 1, I am not a lawyer and on point 2, I am not an architect. If I have gotten any thing wrong, please correct me.
Hi Devin:
I have owned a home built by Preferred Building Systems for over nine years and it is located in Eldorado New Mexico so I am kind of an expert on them since I just became a building contractor last week. You can learn about Preferred Building Systems at this website [URL]http://www.justiceandlight.com/[/URL]
Hope this helps you or anyone one else wanting to learn about Preferred Building Systems homes and Eldorado which is a nice place to live. The ECIA website has more information on Eldorado and you can just Google ECIA New Mexico for more info.
Temperatures ranges are Highs 80 -100 in summer and Lows 10 degrees in winter. Elevation is just under 7,000 MSl. The rest of the year the weather is 60-80 degrees. July and August are the hottest months and December-April the coldest. Skiing in Santa Fe is fantastic (February – early April) here in the winter but if your coming up from a lower attitude of more than 4000 feet differential, it is always a very wise procedure to give yourself 2-3 days at rest to get acclimated to the attitude here and then you can go full out in whatever activates you chose.
So if you normally live and work at an attitude of 3000 feet Mean Sea Level (MSL) or less this rule would apply to you. People who live at Sea level normally should take the full 3 days before strenuous activity levels at our attitudes. The reverse does not apply when going back down to a lower attitude level
The Pink Adobe is a cool place to eat. Santa Fe plaza has Indian vendors selling fine jewelry on traditional native American blankets on the sidewalk. Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce has all the event dates like “Indian Market” etc.
People here are nice and easy to talk to.
Hope this info helps everybody.
Last edited by MILT P; 07-22-2009 at 12:32 AM..
Reason: Type O's corrected
Does anyone know any websites where I can find pre-fab or "modular" homes? We're looking to put one on our land in Santa Fe and haven't been sucessful in finding any websites? Any information is appreciated!! Thanks.
Better check your restrictions. Your neighbors might not be happy about that.
Does anyone know any websites where I can find pre-fab or "modular" homes? We're looking to put one on our land in Santa Fe and haven't been sucessful in finding any websites? Any information is appreciated!! Thanks.
I have a client who is researching that at the moment, for land he bought last year. He swears by Dwell magazine (Dwell - At Home in the Modern World) for most of his ideas & vendors.
Check your CCRs before starting this project - within about 10 miles of the Plaza most of the CCRs insist on pueblo or at least faux-dobe construction!
re: modular homes --- I have to wonder about the building materials as far as how they affect the people who live in them. Are modular homes made of plastic largely? Over time how do the elements affect them (wear and tear).
The term modular home has a lot of negative stigma, doesn't it. There are very nice, very elaborate modular homes on the market, and there are very awful ones as well.
I would be fine if my neighbor decided to tear down his/her home and park an Airstream trailer in it's place, provided he/she takes care of it (cluttered yards drive me up the wall).
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