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Cheryl Dorsey: Social Entrepreneurs Already Helping to Rebuild Haiti

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hotelvergleich oesterreich of 6:07PM April 11, 2010

I am a licensed general building contractor in Califonia and have been for the last 25 years and I totally agree with your idea of the prefab wood homes as a pliable answer to rebuilding Haiti.Concrete floors with steel floor to wall hold downs and wall to roof hardware has long been proven here in California
As work is scarce here at the present I would be willing to help out "on site" with this endevor.
sincerely Paul Russell a.k.a. Action builders
559 676 8570

Paul Russell of CA 7:24PM January 27, 2010

I am a Forester and forest pathologist with a career that spans 50 years. I have built and lived in our own wooden house for 40 years. It has been through a serious earthquake here in the Pacific Northwest. I have long known about the superior earthquake resistance of wooden homes. Ours suffered no damage at all during our moderately strong quake.
Here are my suggestions for rebuilding in Haiti. Provide Haitians with earthquake and hurricane resistant homes by making them primarily of wood. The wood would come from the U.S. which would help to stimulate the sick timber industry there. The houses would be manufactured in easy to assemble locking panel design made primarily of wood with securely attached truss and steel roofs. Steel strapping engineered to keep the houses together with minimal damage during hurricanes is necessary. Floors would be prepoured reinforced concrete that are readied in advance of the arrival of the house kit. Premanufactured kitchens and bathrooms would be installed after the houses are erected. Concrete floors can be colored and finished in a variety of designs.
The house packages are wrapped and secured at the manufacturer so that they could be lifted from the deck of a cargo ship by helicopter and flown directly to the building site. Local Haitian crews on site would do the assembly. Numerous trained crews could put up many houses in a relatively short time.
Varying the designs and sizes would provide diverse neighborhoods. Alternatively, raw wood materials can be shipped directly to Haiti for premanufacuring homes there so that local employment would benifit from the rebuilding. Early house kits needed right now would best be shipped from US or other foreign manufacturers since Haitian infrastructure has been so badly damaged.
Time to get to work! My feeling is that design of a concept like this is very doable in the short term.

Kenelm Russell of WA 6:08PM January 27, 2010