2 votes

Why people thought steel houses were a good idea

7 comments

  1. [6]
    Bonooru
    Link
    Adding to the list of questions that were never addressed. What's so bad about these homes? It seems like the big issues were management, not the product itself.

    Adding to the list of questions that were never addressed. What's so bad about these homes? It seems like the big issues were management, not the product itself.

    3 votes
    1. [4]
      JXM
      Link Parent
      I can imagine that maintenance would be a big issue too. Most handymen/repair people probably don’t have the tools or skills to work on a metal house.

      I can imagine that maintenance would be a big issue too. Most handymen/repair people probably don’t have the tools or skills to work on a metal house.

      2 votes
      1. [3]
        AugustusFerdinand
        Link Parent
        I don't think that'd be much of an issue. As someone that does the vast majority of the handyman work on my own home while my general DIY hobby is working with metal, there isn't much difference...

        I don't think that'd be much of an issue. As someone that does the vast majority of the handyman work on my own home while my general DIY hobby is working with metal, there isn't much difference in the skills necessary for metal home maintenance. The interior and exterior are made of nested panels, so the largest difference, in say dealing with a leaking pipe behind a wall, is you'd remove the panels to get to it instead of the typical method of cutting directly through the drywall to get to it and then patching the drywall you cut out. Pipes behind a metal wall are the same as pipes behind drywall or plaster.

        Sure, there might be things like the in ceiling radiant heating that'd have a learning curve, but it's likely updatable or just a matter of it being novel/new compared to how things are typically done. Just like a ductless AC or heat pump not being the norm over a typically separate heating and cooling circuit.

        So it certainly seems like the failure was mismanagement and expecting people to be more welcoming to new/novel ideas and not the typically clickbait-y (and unanswered) titles Vox gives their videos.

        4 votes
        1. [2]
          JXM
          Link Parent
          If it was a failure of mismanagement, then why hasn't anyone else tried to make metal houses? They seem to be a lot cheaper and more durable than wood and a lot easier to prefabricate and ship...

          If it was a failure of mismanagement, then why hasn't anyone else tried to make metal houses? They seem to be a lot cheaper and more durable than wood and a lot easier to prefabricate and ship than something like a modular wooden house.

          2 votes
          1. AugustusFerdinand
            Link Parent
            Oh, but they have! Feel free to saunter over to your search engine of choice and type in "metal houses" you'll find plenty of pictures and sites selling all the metal houses your heart desires or...

            Oh, but they have! Feel free to saunter over to your search engine of choice and type in "metal houses" you'll find plenty of pictures and sites selling all the metal houses your heart desires or mind can think up. Metal pre-fab "barndominiums" are becoming more common/popular. You just don't see these types of homes in city centers mainly because of an issue mentioned in the video: localization

            Laws/regulations/code in many metropolitan areas are written specifically for stick built housing and while they aren't necessarily opposed to allowing a metal house be built, the builder/homeowner has to be willing to jump through the various hoops to get variance permissions for the already written codes or convince the powers-that-be to change them. An expensive and time consuming endeavor that is unlikely to pay off for them.

            3 votes
    2. mycketforvirrad
      Link Parent
      The video covered a few reasons around the six-seven minute mark when it was discussing why Lustron failed. The steel houses, with their inflexible floor plans and hindrances to home improvement,...

      The video covered a few reasons around the six-seven minute mark when it was discussing why Lustron failed.

      The steel houses, with their inflexible floor plans and hindrances to home improvement, were also more expensive than conventional homes of the time. Smaller than wood and brick houses, they provided much less value for money at the time for their target market.

      1 vote
  2. JXM
    (edited )
    Link
    I had never heard of Lustron before. It's a fascinating idea. The Meadowbrook model listed on the Wikipedia page says it's a 961 square foot, three bedroom house. I currently live in a 1,200...

    I had never heard of Lustron before. It's a fascinating idea.

    The Meadowbrook model listed on the Wikipedia page says it's a 961 square foot, three bedroom house. I currently live in a 1,200 square foot three bedroom house and I can't imagine losing 20% of that while still maintaining three bedrooms. You'd barely have room for a full bed.

    I've always liked modular homes and I wish that (in the U.S. at least) they weren't so looked down on. They are a great solution to a lot of housing issues.

    The one thing that they never addressed in the video that I'm curious about is what they sounded like during a rainstorm. I've heard steel roofs during rain, so I'd be curious to hear the difference.

    2 votes