All of Us and Me (510) 919-3078 michaelh@allofusandme.org
Housing Services
Not living in a stable domicile situation is an impediment to a stable lifestyle. When one is consumed by thoughts of where they will be sleeping is a situation that no individual should have to face on a regular basis. Without stable permanent housing or long‐term transitional housing, an individual is unable to concentrate on the other activities that contribute to being a fully integrated member of the community. Because of the skyrocketing and overly inflated price of housing as compared to the slow rise of living wages has caused some individuals to sleep on the street, in tents and/or vehicles even though they are employed.
All of Us and Me creates collaborative joint venture enterprises with entrepreneurs, other non‐profits, for‐profit business enterprises, and government agencies to develop novel and innovative methods to address the chronic and acute housing situation facing a significant portion of the population of this nation. These innovative methods include repurposing abandoned hotel/motel properties for either transitional or permanent affordable housing, building communities of tiny houses, repurposing 20‐foot and 40‐foot shipping containers as permanent housing, building prefabricated houses having with sixteen square foot concrete panels, and rehabilitating older homes with green and smart technology that helps with energy efficiency and decreases the cost of ownership.
Repurposing Abandoned Hotel/Motel Properties
This is a viable option because there are hotel/motel properties in urban centers and at the outskirts of urban centers that are no longer viable commercial enterprises. Hotel/motel rooms are excellent for housing for the following reasons:
- There exist as‐built plans for these commercial properties,
- The existing properties are already appropriately zoned according to current residential zoning regulations,
- Rooms can be reconfigured and redesigned for single person or small family occupancy with the addition of galley styled kitchen facilities,
- Each living space may already be wired for use of smart technology depending on the age of the building.
Tiny Houses
Appendix Q of the 2018 International Residential Code defines a tiny house as "A dwelling that is 400 square feet (37m2) or less in floor area excluding lofts…." Furthermore, a loft is "[a] floor level located more than 30 inches (762 mm) above the main floor, open to the main floor on or one or more sides with a ceiling height of less than 6 feet 8 inches (2032 mm) and used as a living or sleeping space." Additionally, the tiny house must contain a skylight or roof window installed as an emergency escape and rescue opening as required by Section R310.2 of the code." See https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2018/appendix-q-tiny-houses for further information.
Except for the City of Houston, Texas, most municipalities have zoning regulations which affect the placement, construction, and use purpose of container homes. Additionally, modifications of building codes and permitting processes need consideration. In most American municipalities, the use and placement of containers is not settled law. Therefore, collaborative efforts with the developer, architect, engineer, planning department having jurisdiction, and members of the elected municipal board make a container home or a neighborhood of container homes a reality.
Semi-Prefabricated Homes
All of Us and Me is developing strategies to build homes out of sixteen square foot concrete panels, larger dimensioned concrete boxes, and/or steel frames. With sixteen square foot panels, each can be easily interconnected to form a room, interior load bearing walls and outer load bearing walls of a living space. Once the walls are suitably placed in accordance with shop drawings, openings for windows and doorways are made using a construction saw. As for the concrete boxes, they would be quicker to assemble and modify for use of a living space.
The other method is the use of steel framed homes. These structures are recent developments within the last 30 years. These homes use steel members for the substructure and superstructure of a house. The skill level of the laborers is minimized as the frames are connected with bolts, nuts, and color‐‐coded compression washers. A color‐coded compression washer is a washer that changes color when the correct amount of tightening is applied to the nut or bolt it is connected to. The framing of a house with a floor area of 3000 square feet can be assembled in less than six hours. All the drywall, insulation, exterior siding, steel columns and beams with appropriate bolts, nuts, and compression washers can be shipped to a construction site in a 20‐foot‐long shipping container. The labor costs in assembling the home in certain residential markets in the United States is estimated at less than ten dollars per square foot.