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- An assortment of HUB types are staged for quality control check at the fabricator, before being delivered to the hot-dip galvanizer. In tropical marine environments, hot-dip galvanizing is essential to protect key steel components from corrosion.
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- The primary purpose of assembling the framework before shipping was to vet the use of steel pan decking for the floor and roof substrates, which was a first for HabiTek. The container in the background will eventually be loaded with the EXPO components after disassembly. A pipe was welded to the terminal HUB at the top of the post in the foreground. A PVC plumbing vent pipe will be inserted in this post. Two other posts, not yet assembled, will route shielded electrical wiring up to solar panels to be mounted on the roof.
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- Early stage of assembly at the EXPO site: steel outriggers are bolted to a post via an internal terminal HUB, not visible. Bolts are secured manually using a combination spud wrench and ratchet. The system uses one size bolt throughout.
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- Custom rolled steel z-sections are bolted to the outriggers, achieving a completed perimeter fascia very quickly. The steel fascia components are powder-coated before shipping to the owner’s site.
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- Four types of connecting HUBS are at the heart of the HabiTek System: base, intermediate, terminal and post-base. They are highlighted in this EXPO assembly photo.
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- The steel stair and railing components are loosely positioned in place, before being sent to the hot-dip galvanizer. All components fit perfectly, as detailed by HabiTek and fabricated in the shop.
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- Who’s that standing on the deck?
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- Aerial photo from the bucket of a Genie lift with a 60 foot boom. Throughout the EXPO assembly was expedited with the help of an assortment of forklifts, provided by HabiTek’s collaborator on the project, Northwest Steel FAB. The re-assembly crew in Mexico will not have this advantage given the remote site.
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- After being securely screwed to the steel framework, the steel roof pan deck will be covered by a layer of rigid insulation, covered by a layer of fiber cement board, screwed to the pan decking. A fluid applied elastomeric membrane will then be applied to the entire roof. To reduce heat buildup, the membrane is white, which will reflect most of the UV radiation. In the foreground, note the two round holes cut in the pan decking. They are two of six holes to receive custom fabricated stainless steel downspouts to drain the flat roof.
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- All loaded, the container was placed on a truck for the trip to the Baja Peninsula. The contents weighed nearly 15 tons, which included around 5 tons of fiber cement panel material used for siding and roof underlayment, which were purchased stateside. If the fiber-cement panels are excluded, which in many instances can be sourced locally, steel components for TWO Adapt-1 size houses could fit in just one 20 feet container.
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- Assembly underway in Mexico. The photo was taken from a drone above the site. The concrete piers were poured well in advance. The container’s contents were off-loaded at the contractor’s yard near San Josẻ del Cabo, and delivered to the site in pick-up trucks (one visible in this photo). This is an excellent display of the close-packing nature of HabiTek’s components, readily deliverable to remote locations.
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- Another drone photo taken after 3 days of assembly by a crew of six. Quite an impressive showing for builders with no prior experience with the HabiTek System.
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- The crew positions welded-wire mesh on the composite steel deck in advance of pouring concrete.
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- The 3-1/2” concrete floor is poured. A gas-powered drum mixer was used. The contractor did the pour at night to avoid over-heating and prematurely setting up the concrete in the intense sunlight.
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- The steel shear panels are in place, awaiting install of the fiber cement board exterior wall panels, and windows and doors.
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- The Adapt-1 steel frame under construction.
Last summer HabiTek assembled components for its newest resilient home, which has been designed to resist the extraordinary forces present near the southern end of the Baja Peninsula, Mexico. The Adapt-1 is a first for HabiTek: it is all galvanized STEEL AND CONCRETE construction. This was a customer requirement primarily due to the threat of hurricanes and termites, but also because of the impact a tropical marine environment has on wood construction.
All components have been delivered to the owner’s site and assembly is now underway. A home constructed of non-combustible materials, such as the Adapt-1, would also make sense in areas prone to wildfires such as those that tragically unfolded last year in California.
The above rendering is an approximation of how the Adapt-1 will appear when completed. The beige colored galvanized steel components were powder coated at a plant in North Idaho. The red-brown exterior walls represent a stucco finish to be applied in the field on sandwich panels composed of fiber-cement board adhered to a continuous layer of rigid insulation. The exterior wall panels were included in the container shipment from Deer Park, WA to the site.
The Adapt-1 is being assembled in a remote subdivision north of San Josẻ del Cabo, overlooking the Sea of Cortez (aka Gulf of California). The site is well off-the-grid, so the owner will rely on roof mounted solar PV panels and a back-up generator for electricity.
The floor plan for the Adapt-1, illustrated above, encompasses 848 gross square feet. This area does not include the three decks, an option requested by the owner. In this instance, the steel studs and track used for exterior and interior framing was sourced in Spokane, and delivered to Mexico, along with HabiTek’s components, in the owner’s 20 foot container. Construction of the walls will take place on site in a largely conventional manner. All other elements, such as doors, windows, cabinetry, plumbing fixtures and electrical components, will be sourced by the owner locally in Mexico.
The orientation of this Adapt-1 on the owner’s site is, or course, determined by several elements, such as site access, contours and views. The plan shown can be mirrored in both directions, or two identical plans can be combined to form a duplex unit.