Home Made From Scraps From Big Dig

[madokie]

http://www.startribune.com/484/story/588185.html

Mass. Home Made From Scraps From Big Dig
LEXINGTON, Mass. (AP) - It's over budget, Paul Pedini says of his Big Dig house, but at least "it doesn't leak.''
By KEN MAGUIRE, Associated Press Writer
Last update: August 01, 2006 – 11:55 AM

Pedini wants the home - built using steel and concrete salvaged from Boston's $14.6 billion highway construction project - to be a prototype for recycling.

"These materials are as good as you can get,'' said Pedini, a 51-year-old civil engineer who spent a decade working on the Big Dig. "We were being paid money to junk this stuff. There's something inherently illogical about it.''

So instead of dumping top-shelf materials, recycle them into a public housing project, municipal parking garage, prison, even as a replacement bridge.

[acmejack]

1. Interesting story

A $645,000 4300 sqft house is not quite what I expected, though. If they pre-engineered with an eye toward eventual reuse, now that would be a different story.

[Hekate]

2. It doesn't sound all that attractive; pictures would help, tho...

I like the concept, but somehow 25 tons of concrete for a roof would make me feel a bit edgy. I think the guy deserves credit for innovation!

Hekate

[madokie]

3. Heres a couple pics.

I couldn't do the roof thing either

[Elidor]

4. A section of a website about it

http://www.singlespeeddesign.com/works/residential/bigdighouse-2/bigdighouse-2_06/

[madokie]

5. thanks, lots of good stuff there

[Hekate]

8. Thanks. It reminds me of some in LA Times Sunday Magazine

Some people really like concrete and steel for their walls and floors -- I've certainly seen a lot of them featured in that publication.

Given my druthers, if I had the money I'd prefer to live in a Craftsman cottage, as the wood seems very organic and comfortable to the eye.

Hekate

[madokie]

9. here in ne ok we need storm shelters and that is where I will keep my

concrete. I like the warm feeling of wood and the interesting patterns of the grain and the many different types. But I really like the recycling part though.

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. Nothing wrong with a concrete roof

as long as it's reinforced properly.

What do you think is over your head when you go into a multi-level store or building?

[yy4me]

6. Certainly the effort should b applauded but geeze, I paid

for all that stuff. It is amazing to me that there is so much waste. This project alone could build a city with the discarded material. And to think,I save a screw in case I may need that size in another project.

[Ian David]

10. I wonder how much of that "waste" was planned to build this house..

"It sure would be nice if I could have another hundred yards of steel rebarb for my house..."

"No problem, I'll make sure we order too much rebarb, and the taxpayers will pick-up the tab."

[madokie]

11. my thoughts are not all people are ripoff con artists

:shrug: but thats just me.

[Ian David]

12. Have you been following the history of The Big Dig?

The whole story is one of graft, corruption and incompetence to build a $15 Billion tunnel literally held together with duct tape.

[madokie]

13. No, I'll have to admit I haven't, too far from Ok I guess

my apologies if I was out of line.
peace

[Ian David]

14. Not out of line. Just out of the loop. n/t

[Tesha]

15. Approximately 1/3 of the cost of the Big Dig was...

Approximately 1/3 of the cost of the Big Dig was spent on
temporary measures to keep the traffic flowing while con-
struction continued. Most of the material that was involved
in these mitigation measures was designed to be scrapped as
the final traffic paths were completed.

There was plenty of steel and concrete there without any
need to have "designed in" fraudulentky-purchased materials.

Tesha