This tiny house is built with a 3D printed light gauge steel frame! ORCA LGS are innovators in the construction industry and have developed printers that cold form light gauge steel into studs that can be used like wood 2x4 and 2x6 lumber.
The way it works is that a digital architectural design is converted into a steel model, that information is then transmitted to the printer, which prints out the all of the components necessary to frame the house. The components are perfectly measured and easily assembled into panels that can then be connected together to build the structure.
You can follow and find out more about ORCA here:
ORCA Homes
https://www.orcalgs.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/orcasteel
ORCA Kits
https://www.orcakits.com/
https://www.instagram.com/orcakits
The tiny house in this video is the Jay model. It's 435 square feet, and has one bedroom, one bathroom, and an open concept kitchen, living and dining room area with a picture window and built in covered deck at one end. It's great as a tiny home, an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), multi-generational living, or even as a cabin or vacation rental. ORCA also sells different models with different sizes!
ORCA sells homes that are fully finished but they're also working on rolling out the option of buying just the steel frame kit for folks who want to do the rest of the build themselves.
Some of the advantages of using light gauge steel is that it's 97% recycled steel that can also be recycled at the end of it's life cycle so there's very little waste. It is also shipped in small coils which dramatically increases the efficiency of shipping building materials when you compare one steel coil compared with the equivalent 1 km of lumber.
The steel used is galvanized and it is resistant to rot, mold, fire, warping, etc. and has a much longer lifespan than wood.
When framing a building with metal, it's important to consider thermal bridging which is when heat and cold are transmitted through conductive materials like wood and steel. To combat this, ORCA wraps the house in rigid foam exterior insulation, and also insulates the spaces between the frame with mineral wool batts.
In terms of sustainability and embodied carbon, steel does require more energy when it is manufactured, whereas wood actually sequesters carbon while it grows so it has a lower embodied carbon footprint up front. However the sustainability of light gauge steel starts to catch up with wood when you factor in the longevity of a steel framed building which could outlast a wood building by a significant amount of time. It's also great that the frame can be disassembled and fully recycled at the end of it's lifespan.
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CREDITS
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Music Credit: Exploring Alternatives
Editing Credit: Exploring Alternatives
Filming Credit: Lukáš Hyrman
https://www.instagram.com/kashframes
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