With American preparing for the possibility of war . The concrete floors were stained to create a finished look. On the sewage side of the equation, we installed a BioLet composting toilet, reducing water usage substantially. The most common way to finish the interior of a Quonset hut house is to bolt some wood framing (usually 24s) to the metal, so that you can have some spray foam insulation put in, and then use the 24s to attach drywall or plywood or whatever you want for your interior ceiling/wall finish. I should have known better because this is a pretty typical fluid dynamics problem that I had to do several times at school. We too, are building a quonset hut home. Compared to chickens, guinea fowl are low-cost, low-maintenance, and do a standout job as chemical-free pest control. We bought a bunch of 12 ones at Home Depot and cut to length as we use them. Not only did they remind veterans too much of service life, but the Quonset 20, with just 960 sq.ft. Lightweight and easy-to-erect, Quonset huts are corrugated steel buildings with distinctive rounded or arched roofs, creating sort of a long half-cylindrical shape; the side walls can be curved or straight. With over 6,000 members and counting, the Facebook group has grown into an amazing resource all of its own! Eventually we will add wood framing like this to the underside of the whole metal shell, as support for a plywood ceiling. The side boxes were provided by SteelMaster as part of the basic building kit. We live in Tn. The local approach to wastewater handling is a sand mound. Telephone (360) 586-3065 Now I need an architect to design construction drawings. One storm was particularly intense and I captured about a minute of video with my phone. If you insulate the exterior you end up with, as Dana suggests, some protective coating. We built four of these sections like the photo above, gluing and screwing all the pieces together with generous amounts of heavy-duty Liquid Nails. Images may not be used without permission. How did you boot off your wet vents ( roof vents ) do they make a special boot or did you have to modify a lead boot ? Where you located? The plumber had more work to do to finish hooking up our cistern and pump so that we could get water pressure in the building. Ours is 30x40. The source of our 40-foot-by-40-foot building was SteelMaster, a company founded in 1982. The question is this: Does anyone know how do the interiors get finished if you were going to put walls/ceilings in them? We just glued and clamped and screwed it all together as we went. What does it take to live in a tiny home? Its a short one this week, and the end is rather abrupt, but here it is anyway. I briefly touched on the bolt-on method in this post from 2017, and again in this more recent post. (2) Are there moisture risks that could lead to problems? We are in the process of framing the living room and kitchen. Paint the entire arc white and then use blue painter's tape to mask off the striped sections. I was fortunate to find a local company that had experience erecting a Quonset-style building. You cant see the archives? This thermal bridging as its called, is an issue in any conventional wood-framed building, and is not an issue that is specific to Quonset hut homes. Drop your info below and Ill start you off on my email tutorial series. (R11-R17), which would be a sufficient R-ratio for dew point control at the metal surface from interior moisture drives without interior vapor retarders other than latex paint (unless you're in central AK or something), and would protect the exterior from direct rain-wetting. That might not sound like much by itself, but it translates to 40,000 gallons of water per year that falls on our building. The drawback with bolting the wood directly to the metal shell is that the wood typically acts as a thermal bridge and conducts some amount of the heat to the exterior. It sounds like you have already sprayed your 1 of foam insulation, is that correct? Bedroom loft or mezzanine would overlook the living or Great room end. bczygan from the www.garagejournal.com. Dining would be open to the living end. See my disclosure for more info. Now when we have the foam insulation sprayed in, there will be a continuous layer of insulation that is uninterrupted by the wood. Our building, an S Model, was manufactured out of 22-gauge Galvalume steel. Were near Williams in northern AZ. The most common way to finish the interior of a Quonset hut house is to bolt some wood framing (usually 24's) to the metal , so that you can have some spray foam insulation put in, and then use the 24's to attach drywall or plywood or whatever you want for your interior ceiling/wall finish. The problem we are facing is: how to frame the ceiling in those two rooms and still keep the cool dome-shaped feature? Images may not be used without permission. Our building is situated on a slope, so water can escape from under the concrete slab should any get underneath. Cheap and easy to build and very changeable in use. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn more and request to join the Facebook group here. I would love to know the type and length of the threaded extensions you are using to frame the inside. Recent Quonset Hut Pricing. Nathaniel's description of how to finish the interior illiterates the fundamental problem with trying to insulate quonset huts: their chief appeal is their shape and materials. The other construction requirements included a scaffolding system and a cordless, rechargeable, electric impact drill. Vents Kevin, Hey Kevin! The ribs weigh 5000 lbs each, so I couldnt roll them out across the gravel or dirt. This is a pay-as-you-go project, and weve kept costs to a minimum. Designed to serve 86 official uses, two basic sizes were offered: the 20 and the 40. Converting quonsets was quite popular in the 70's. The most common way to finish the interior of a Quonset hut house is to bolt some wood framing (usually 24's) to the metal, so that you can have some spray foam insulation put in, and then use the 24's to attach drywall or plywood or whatever you want for your interior ceiling/wall finish. While I like the look of the open joists, theyre not intended to be left exposed, as theyre rough cut, with excess glue and machine cutting marks exposed. From laying the concrete foundation of your steel building to installing and erecting each individual arch. The first few days, I was worried that I wouldnt have at least 4 people there at one single time. We ended up wasting several man hours and a lot of sweat getting it back into place. Adding skylights is another way to allow the sunshine to make that steel shine. If this should happen, could moisture from the ambient air get between the metal and foam, condense at times, and lead to corrosion? The ends of the space could be living (With big glass panels in those doors), on one end. THANKYA EARL! As always, I feel compelled to note that this is just a generalized description of what we did. Step 2 Push the insulation on to the pin. Slipcover your Quonset hut's interior if the idea of fabric walls intrigues you and you love the colors, patterns and textures found on today's textiles. I wish you had reached out before you sprayed your foam! Over the past several weeks weve made great progress on interior framing in the Headquarters Hut! The corrugated arch-style building that we used is based on the Quonset hut. And after spending most of our careers in the city, we finally got our chance in 2005 when 13 acres in northwest Pennsylvania 10 of which were once part of a cornfield came our way. After we modified the opening, the box fit great! This is definitely easier to explain with photos! Then you decide. Here are five of the most critical questions the experts say you need answered before you get, There are five important questions you must answer before the installation of your steel garage kit. Immediately after the war, many were being used as temporary spaces on college campuses, and a variety of federal agencies such as the Bureau of Reclamation, used the Quonset hut to meet postwar building demands. Perhaps someday well take some of the end panels back out and frame in some windows on this wall. 21.0 Finishing the Quonset Steel - YouTube 0:00 / 1:21 21.0 Finishing the Quonset Steel Home in the Earth 17.7K subscribers Subscribe 15K views 6 years ago This is a short video showing. By the end of the week there were lots of people volunteering and I was buying a few extra half inch sockets and wrenches so there would be tools for everyone. I have a lot and a 30 x 45 Q model building in storage. It has 1 of spray foam insulation as a moisture barrier, but we need to be able to add more batt insulation. Even though we get about 40 inches of rain each year, lots of folks around here have water problems during dry spells, and supplement their water needs with tanks carried in the backs of their pickup trucks, or with water deliveries from companies such as Culligan. Simple to manufacture and easy to assemble, the Quonset Hut is an easily recognizable architectural form. Eventually we expect to live in Pennsylvania year-round, but for now we enjoy exploring the South during the winters, leaving Pennsylvania after the harvest and returning in time for spring planting. Below: We set a few 24s in place as temporary supports, using the bolt-on method described earlier. Both were insulated with ccsf approx 20 years ago and are holding up fine. What would you say is the minimum total length in feet, of threaded rod one would need?? Use the same procedure to apply the second layer, using the self-seal tab to overlap the insulation layer's edge below. Once our metal building was up, I was amazed at how much rainwater could be captured! We will have no debt related to the farmstead, and expect to generate some income from our labors through the sale of our excess crops, shiitake mushrooms, and honey. If I could get one fairly cheap, in the 100-foot long range, thatd be perfect for me. My end walls are going to be made of 26 boards on the lower eight feet and then 2x4s on the upper half. We marked the edges, and then drew the arcs. To address our meat (and egg!) Good luck. 144K views 3 years ago Watch as SteelMaster Buildings customer Tom W. gives you a detailed tour of his Quonset hut home, along with some helpful tips. The Seattle based Pacific Hut Inc. had an initial one million dollar contact with the U.S. Army to deliver 1,000 units. . By the end of WWII, an estimated 150,000 units had been built around the world. We also have a private Facebook group called DIY Quonset Dwellers, where we share discussion, design, and construction tips with others who are interested in building their own Quonset hut house. PO Box 48343 Dear sir, thanks. Hey Kevin, I cant really estimate numbers for you on this stuff but you gave me a great idea for a YouTube video on how to do this kind of estimating. (its fairly large) And if I get really snarky, Ill put a fireplace in there, with a leather wing-back chair and dead animal heads on the walls. With over 6,000 members and counting, the Facebook group has grown into an amazing resource all of its own! Coupling nut and threaded rod, ready for block. We also used a 10 24 as a temporary prop underneath (visible at lower left). An early adopter of the tiny house life shares her wisdom for living well while living small. I will probably write a longer post on just this topic, so if youre interested in more detail on the window boxes, you might leave an encouraging remark for me in the comments asking me to elaborate. He also discusses insulation - spray foam versus blanket insulation, and interior framing.=============================For more Quonset Hut Resources: Check out my awesome email tutorial series about Quonset huts: https://www.clevermoderns.com/youtbQuonset Hut Home Plans: https://www.clevermoderns.com/plans/To join our Facebook group, where we share information about our Quonset builds, either search DIY Quonset Dwellers on Facebook or go to https://www.CleverModerns.com/group, answer a few quick questions about your interest in Quonsets, and you'll be added.FAQs: https://www.clevermoderns.com/faq/BLOG: https://www.clevermoderns.com/blog/ It took the three-man Amish crew four days to finish the south wall, including installing the windows and doors. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The help I receive from my brother Duane has been a big bonus. I could use that sheltered space at the back to form the ribs. Im a little fuzzy on how you used a tape measure to find the radius you needed, which you then drew on a sheet of plywood. Theyll be frozen, canned, or eaten. All contents copyright Clever Moderns, LLC 2015-2023. Curious about Quonsets? The monsoon rains came on schedule. Kevin. Howd you design the side boxes? BIG doors on both ends for access. ft., the Quonset Hut never became as popular as stick built structures. Just spray a thin shell of the closed-cell stuff (say, 1") all along the interior to encapsulate the metal and serve as an air barrier, since moist interior air would love to condense on that cold metal in winter. You'll find tips for slashing heating bills, growing fresh, natural produce at home, and more. https://www.clevermoderns.com/quonset-loft-house-end-wall-attachment/. A complete and fully installed Quonset hut home can cost around $30,000 to $40,000. Avoid over-decorating your Quonset hut's interior or you might add too many stimulating elements to your nest to allow you to relax at the end of the day. Theres no way these photos can do justice to the sight. You can find their contact info online. We expect the movable greenhouse to provide a total of 12 extra weeks of production, six in both spring and fall. Steel doors were custom-built in-house. Above the dining is the sleeping loft/bedroom with his and hers closets and bathrooms, one on the left and one on the right over the kitchen and utility/bath below. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly before peeling the tape away to produce a lovely effect from floor to ceiling to floor. Headquarters Electrical System Well start temperature-sensitive plants such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant in the ground under the greenhouse cover. You don't need much, however. The 20 measured twenty feet by forty-eight feet, while the 40 (also called the Elephant Hut) stood forty feet wide by one-hundred feet long. Looking to build an inexpensive but beautiful home debt-free? The windows were fabricated too wide to fit the openings in the arches. I originally thought I would erect the building myself, with the help of friends who volunteered. Announcing The Quorum The Quonset Forum. Im building one in northern AZ. You could even put a deck on each side. Then, when the threat of frost has passed, well slide the greenhouse away to expose the plants to full sun and weather. We explore all options before spending. Today scattered across the State you will find just a handful of Quonset huts most being used for agricultural purposes, repair shops and small business shops. Then I got the MC cable cut to length and screwed on with little hold-down clips. Continue Reading Steel "Quonset Hut" type buildings How to finish inside? This is an encouraging note(!) Row of ceiling fans at the apex. If you built another one exactly like this, and flipped it over on top of this one so the single layer areas overlapped, you would have one full arch, two layers thick. As the interior space of a Quonset hut is unobstructed, it provides a large and open interior. Fax (360) 586-3067, 1110 S. Capitol Way, Suite 30 The solution was to build only 2/3rds of the Quonset hut on the slab floor. https://www.clevermoderns.com/quonset-loft-house-end-wall-attachment/, Announcing The Quorum The Quonset Forum. The components of the building were delivered on three pallets. It allows the light to shine in at three different angles, which disperses the light 3 times better than a normal flat-panel skylight. In order for him to finish, the wood wall framing needed to be in place. Hi Donna, your new home sounds awesome! I am in the process of building my Q Model 30x32x15 open ended. The wood we cut to build the driveway sure came in handy! Get DIY high chair plans that are easy to make with simple tools at home. The most common way to finish the interior of a Quonset hut house is to bolt some wood framing (usually 24's) to the metal, so that you can have some spray foam insulation put in, and then use the 24's to attach drywall or plywood or whatever you want for your interior ceiling/wall finish. In the images above and below, notice the edge of the trapezoid block. Im in the process of building one as well but looking for solutions for the roof caps. He lives nearby, and hes spent most of his career in the construction business. Is a wood frame house cheaper than steel? Exposed duct work run along the floor/wall junction. Say bye-bye to thermal bridging! Kevin, SorryThis particular building is a 3050. By paying with a credit card, you save an additional $5 and get 6 issues of MOTHER EARTH NEWS for only $17.95 (USA only). The building was designed in 1941 by a team of engineers at Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island, hence the name. In late summer, its common in the afternoon and evening for monsoon rains to blow up from Mexico and cause intermittent downpours. We also installed rain gutters at the ground level of the building. I suggest you contact SteelMaster buildings directly with this question. How would you insulate a metal Quonset hut - GreenBuildingAdvisor Weve also added a food room to the house for the freezer and for storing canned food and other items that may be damaged by freezing. Or want to see some latest Quonset hut interior designs and ideas? The structure had to be able to be set up quickly by untrained personnel and had to serve a variety of purposes. Some, like the Butler and Cowin Companies, developed Quonset-type structures to sell to the Army or anyone else who wanted to buy them. I figured I would come back and take care of the anchor bolts next time. So for now you can get to the FB group at https://www.clevermoderns.com/group (that will redirect to the group). Quonset Hut | Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic To get the window boxes to fit, we had to bend back the edge of the arch panels on either side of all six openings. As you're suggesting, you could spray foam the interior. When we live here full time, well sustain a flock of chickens year-round. I hate to sound like Im promoting Facebook here, I am soon going to create my own private community here as part of my website and not rely on FB any more for my online community. I hope that makes sense. At each end of the arch we built a little wooden base, which was supported on 1/4 shims in lieu of using pressure treated material to get it up off of the concrete. Arch Walled Metal Building & Quonset Hut Insulation Guide This will allow us to insulate between the plywood ceiling and metal shell. As a result the Navy let out another contract to the Stran-Steel Company, who improved upon the design and soon took over a bulk of the production. Let's take a look, 1. I quickly realized this project would take a more concentrated effort. A Quonset Hut House: Distinctive, Affordable And Durable ft. of land and it cost about $150 per sq. Better too long than too short, but there was a certain amount of frustration that something that should have taken about an hour or less took much longer. Step 1 Add the illusion of more room and reflect light emanating from windows and glass doors by choosing white or another light color as your paint choice and then use it throughout the interior of your Quonset hut so it optically expands the space. Quonset Hut Homes: Top 7 Design Ideas for a Tiny House The idea is to have one put up, and put a 2-story apartment in one end, and build race cars and hot rods in the rest of it. To improve the look, I sprayed a diluted drywall compound onto all visible joist surfaces, and finished by spraying white paint over the joint compound. Measure the area, calculate the ceiling arc and make a rib pattern of brown Kraft paper. Or are you just tired of the same old same old and want something unique and beautiful? SteelMaster provides approved engineering drawings customized to your needs, and they research and ensure compliance with . Quonset Hut End Walls, Insulation, and Framing - YouTube We had to set up a cutting station with my angle grinder and cut about an inch off each one before putting it up. I will probably write a longer post on just this topic, so if youre interested in more detail on the window boxes, you might leave an encouraging remark for me in the comments asking me to elaborate. Were active, growing our own food, and were much healthier for it. Quonset huts are easy-to-spot, rainbow-shaped living structures that are traditionally fabricated of sturdy metal. If I can get a chance to go back through and see if I can figure out what video that might be Ill leave it here. There's also the fact that you'd still need to deal with one or more of the ends that are often open or have a garage door type thing and that this place would have no windows on the long sides unless you cut them yourself, possibly compromising the structure and substantially complicating the detailing. E-mail authorBill Hakanson. Mount them to the ceiling of your Quonset hut with screws made especially for metal, wood or the medium lining your interior space. This was tedious and time consuming, but in the end it wasnt all that difficult to do. Dining below, adjacent to the kitchen etc. Or are you just tired of the same old same old and want something unique and beautiful? Theres something really great about the open-ended shell of a Quonset hut. Homemade biodiesel helps you speed past the gas station toward fuel independence. For Less Than K, We Built a Quonset Hut Home. by Earl | Oct 8, 2019 | Building the Quompound, Headquarters Hut | 6 comments. We chose to install a full slab featuring an 8-inch-by-12-inch perimeter concrete beam. After reviewing the information on the website that I can, I am sure the archives would have valuable information for someone building a cabin using a Quonset. One way to minimize this is to apply an open joist system for the second floor. Another evening, the sky was steadily transforming gradation from pink to orange, with the buildings reflecting the color back in response. Since MOTHER EARTH NEWS was first published back in 1970, weve dreamed of improving the quality of our lives and being self-sufficient. Here's the calculation: a traditional house-building will need approximately 2000 sq. Wood framed metal roof Quonset Hut roof sheathing/insulation. Only a couple of the smallest panels were ok to install without modification. Others created hut designs in response to special needs, such as the wooden Pacific Hut (built in Seattle), and the Emkay Hut (built in Boise), which were created to save metal resources. While I think it may be possible to purify the cistern water to make it potable, at this time we purchase treated water for cooking and drinking. The following week, I put out help requests on Facebook and at work. Ep. A window on the south wall addition provides plenty of light and passive solar heat to the living room. Demand for the prefabricated structure by the various military branches was high, and the Fuller Company couldnt build them fast enough. Then, build the Quonset for the ends of the structure for living at one end and garage/shop at the other. 's advise is the one to go with. Originally a British design dating back to World War I, in the United States they were first manufactured on Quonset Point in Rhode Island during World War II in response to the need for lightweight, portable buildings that could be assembled without skilled labor. I would normally suggest that you use the Quonset bolts on the inside, with a coupling nut, to attach 2x4s for ceiling framing. Keep things ultra simple. Thanks so much for the great website, FB group, etc.! I have some ideas but I would still like to see how others did theirs for additional ideas. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. So lets get on with it already! Others can be found on our States military bases, but these are quickly disappearing. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. How do you finish inside a Quonset hut? This project is a work-in-progress and everything depicted in this photo essay of a not-yet-complete structure may not meet code. The exception is the garage. First we used a tape measure to find the radius we needed, which we drew on a sheet of plywood. The ribs were taking me a long time to make and closing off the building would save me a lot of hassle, so that seemed like a good idea. Anyway, it was windy and we didnt want to try erecting Quonset sections with just the three of us. Do you know of analogous applications where people apply spray foam to the underside of sheet metal roofs? But people, out of curiosity or nutritional reason, might be interested in trying some other type of eggs, like duck eggs. I am looking for ideas about building my end walls. Repeat this process on the other side of your structure, starting with the floors and working horizontally. However, despite the low cost, some as little as $1.50 a sq. You can take inspiration from them and build and decorate your own Quonset hut.