Homelessness has long been a problem in California, with an estimated 170,000 homeless people on the street on any given night. To help alleviate the problem, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a historic Housing and Homelessness Funding Package that includes $5.8 billion to create more than 42,000 housing units for the homeless. As a result, San Francisco is spearheading an initiative to build “tiny home villages for the homeless,” says The Real Deal.
70 Tiny Homes to Feature Steel Framing
The lots at 33 Gough Street in San Francisco currently contain 44 tents that shelter the homeless. In late 2021, the tents will be replaced with 70 new tiny homes — 64 square feet each. Nonprofits DignityMoves and Tipping Point Community will lead the $1.7 million effort to construct and build the homes.
Designed by Gensler, the world’s largest architecture firm, each tiny home will have a bed, a desk, a chair, a window, a door that locks and heat. The homes will contain:
- 2” thick walls and 4”-thick roofs for insulation and energy efficiency
- “Durable steel frames so that the cabins can be relocated to another site once the pilot program ends, which is slated to run for around 18 months,” says SocketSite.
If successful, the plan is to replicate the tiny cabins in other locations across the city and state.
Tiny Topanga: Steel Framing Adds Strength and Flexibility
Tiny Topanga, based in Central Mexico and Southern California, is dedicated to designing and building custom tiny homes. The family-owned business was founded by Israel and Rebecca Borough, a couple who met through the Peace Corps.
The Borough’s initially designed a tiny home for themselves as a way to travel. However, prospects resulted in their decision to launch tiny homes and van conversions as a full-time business.
Tiny Topanga is the first home builder to construct tiny houses in Mexico and transport them to the United States. The homes feature “copious windows” that let in natural light from every direction, according to Inhabitat. This is made possible because the entire home is framed in steel. Steel is strong enough to support the weight of the windows, while allowing enough flexibility to keep the windows from cracking while being transported.
Plus, steel is durable and won’t rot, crack, warp, split or harbor mold. Tiny Topanga’s goal is to give people the simplicity of living offered by a tiny custom home.
Why Steel Framing for Tiny Homes?
Cold-formed steel (CFS), also called light-gauge steel or metal stud framing, is made from structural quality sheet steel formed into C-sections and other shapes usually by roll forming steel through a series of dies. No heat is required to form the shapes.
A preferred framing material for tiny homes for multiple reasons, CFS is:
- Pre-engineered and can be cut to exact lengths
- Dimensionally stable and does not expand or contract with changes in moisture content
- Lightweight compared to wood and concrete
- Will not warp, split, crack or creep when exposed to the elements
- Sustainable and 100% recyclable
- Durabile and has a high tensile strength
- Non-combustible and is a safeguard against fire accidents
Article cited by BuildSteel.org