Housing developer Eco Dwelling is changing the way affordable housing is constructed in Rifle, Colorado. By using offsite manufacturing and choosing cold-formed steel (CFS) as its main framing material, the company can take advantage of innovative prefabrication techniques. The result is affordable homes at half the price of the average single-family dwelling currently available in the local community, the developer says.
8,250 Trees Saved
Eco Dwelling is currently developing two new affordable housing subdivisions in Rifle and is using CFS framing for those homes:
- Market Place includes 17 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom units
- Fritzlan Ranch includes 40 1-story, 2-bedroom units and 11 1-story 3-bedroom units
Affordability and sustainability are at the heart of both projects. Eco Delling is using 3D printers and sheets of cold-formed recycled metal to build the homes, notes an article about the project in PostIndependent, which serves Glenwood Springs and Garfield County, Colorado. Lumber will not be used, the article says.
“This house is made with the equivalent of three scrap cars,” said Eco Dwelling owner Fernando Argiro. “If you think about all the development that we have right now, we save 8,250 trees, and we’re recycling 450 cars.”
“It’s all made with zero-carbon emission,” said Argiro.
Take a tour of an Eco Dwelling home.
Recycled Steel Lowers Cost of Homes
Relying on recycled metal is a major reason why Eco Dwelling can charge less per home, according to PostIndependent.
In October, the Colorado Association of Realtors listed $620,000 as the median price for single-family homes in Garfield County.
Arigo said price ranges for homes in Eco Dwelling’s Market Place development run $265,000 to $270,000, which is over half the price of the average cost per single-family home currently in Rifle. The Fritzlan Ranch homes will be priced between $310,000 and $395,000.
New Modular Facility Speeds Production
To lower the cost and speed production, Eco Dwelling opened a modular home production facility to prefabricate homes with CFS framing systems. According to the company’s website, steel provides many advantages.
Cold-Formed Steel:
- Is the most cost-effective mid-rise structural material
- Offers a shorter and predictable construction schedule
- Has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any building material
- Is 100% recyclable
- Is non-combustible, does not burn nor contribute fuel to spread a fire
- Is inorganic and so will not rot, warp, split, crack or creep
- Is dimensionally stable, does not expand or contract with moisture content
- Is consistent material quality, produced in strict accordance with national standards
Habitat for Humanity to Open Modular Facility
Other local builders are beginning to take notice of Eco Dwelling’s use of modular CFS construction to speed production and lower costs, according to PostIndependent. Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley, for example, is on the verge of opening its own modular-home facility toward west Rifle.
Eco Dwelling representative John Kuersten said Habitat got the idea from Eco Dwelling after the two entities almost engaged in a partnership.
“I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Kuersten said.
Additional Resources
- Steel Framed Home Built in 3 Days Serves as Prototype for Humanitarian Relief in Armenia
- Steel Framing Reduces Multifamily Construction Costs by 20%, Saves 6 Months
- Builders Embrace Steel Framing for Offsite Construction