Universal Design Consortium LLC. © 2011 All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
UDC announces the first ever Series 013 Universal Home™, scheduled for construction in April of 2011. The home is a custom design for two South Texas teachers, another first in consortium history. They will live in a 2,500 SF Series 013 Universal home™. As educators, the couple appreciates that the home will have an 85% reduction in electrical usage as compared to a "stick" 2x4 constructed home of the same size, have an integrated multifunctional safe room/ Storm shelter that will withstand 250 mph wind loads and 100 mph debris impacts, will be handicap accessible, and have a 90% reduction in water usage. The home will encompass all of the amenities that are common in the Universal home such as:
001 Passive Solar Configuration
002 ADA/ Handicap Adaptability for increased resale value & occupant flexibility
003 Integrated Multifunctional Safe room/ Storm Shelter for maximum occupant safety
004 Passive solar Hot Water production system
005 Compressed Earth Block Wall System
006 Integrated Media system (IMS)
007 Health Package (EMF mitigation in sleeping areas, MIRV 10 filtration for HVAC and low VOC material)
009 High Performance HVAC system
010 Drought Tolerant Landscaping
011 Off-
012 Grey water/ rain Water harvesting & storage system
013 Automated irrigation system
The house is part of the USDA Rural Development Housing & Communities Facilities
Program (Section 502) to encourage rural development. Where the USDA provides low
income individuals or households purchasing or building homes in rural areas a loan
guarantee for home financing, grant money, no down payment and the best financing
rates on the market. If you are interested in a new home and you live in a rural
area contact UDC for more information on obtaining pre-
Pictured Above: UDC construction workers install Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB).
Pictured Above: Design Staff conducting a site analysis of the site to determine soil compatibilities, site elevations and conditions.
Pictured Above: A D5 bulldozer plows up a red clay/silt mixture from a UDC soil quarry. This soil will later be mixed with hydrated Lime to form the exterior wall system of compressed Earth Blocks (CEB).
Pictured Above: The foundation pad made up of stabilized non-
Pictured Above: Rock is added to ensure level settling of the gray water tanks within the pit.
Pictured Above: Two 2,500 gallon Gray Water tanks will collect 100% of the rain water
run-
Pictured Above: The homes 1,000 gallon septic tank is installed. The black water tank will only collect the kitchen sink and all of the homes toilet wastes.
Pictured Above: UDC construction staff installs foundation reinforcement.
Pictured Above: UDC construction staff cut rebar for foundation reinforcement.
Pictured Above: The concrete slab is traditional 3,000 PSI concrete, however there are two variations; 1) a ADA/ handicap ramp is used for both the front and rear entry doors and there is a a 4’ x 4’ battery box embedded into the slab to house the 1,000 AH batteries that will power the home.
Pictured Above: Black water tie in. Waste water production for a Universal Home™ is reduced by 90%. Reduction that can be fully realized within a town or city, by reducing sewer water treatment infrastructure.
Pictured Above: Plumbing Rough-
Pictured Above: Medium expansive clay is collected and hydrated to predetermined levels before it is used in the Compressed Earth Block (CEB) manufacturing, All of the soil is excavated from the job site.
Pictured Above: The soil is stabilized with Lime (white) to increase strength and resistance to moisture gain. Lime still allows the block to breath naturally after installation into the wall system, increasing the efficiency of the building through a process called Heat Flux.
Pictured Above: The stabilized soil is then scooped up and poured into the Compressed Earth Block (CEB) machine.
Pictured Above: A AECT 3500 series machine is used to manufacture the Compressed Earth Blocks as a UDC associate removed a freshly compacted block. The blocks are hydraulically compacted to a compressive strength of 1,000 pounds or more.
Pictured Above: A pallet of Compressed Earth Blocks measuring 10” (W) x 14” (L) x 3.5” (H) and weighing 35 pounds each are stacked. Each pallets contains 72 blocks and weighs 2,800 pounds.
Pictured Above: The principal of UDC, Steve Mueller posses by the first pallet of Compressed Earth Block (CEB) manufactured at the job site. Also pictured is Kris Bakey the Sales director for UDC.
Pictured Above: Pallets of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB) are wrapped in plastic to protect them from the weather and placed in the sun to harden. The blocks begin to harden as soon as they are taken out of the machine, a process that will continue for the life of the block even after it is installed in the wall system.
Pictured Above: Compressed Earth Block being installed in the exterior walls of the home. The walls will be covered at a later date with natural lime plaster that will seal them from the elements.
Pictured Above: 14” walls will make up the perimeter wall system of the home. These walls will ensure the internal temperature and humidity levels of the home remain constant year around.
Pictured Above: A view of the front CEB wall system.
Pictured Above: A view showing the installation of window and doors frames. These frames are temporary and are used to define the space required for the window and door installation at a later date in construction.
Pictured Above: The integration of a exterior CEB wall system with a standard “stick” frame interior wall system is essential to maintain cost effective construction costs. The series 013 Universal Home™ is a CEB hybrid.
Pictured Above: A UDC construction worker mixes slurry to be used to bind the CEB together in the wall system.