Introducing the Ironwood Home
We can build better, build safer, build stronger and yes, build affordable homes.
Extremely Fire Resistant, Excellent Seismic and Wind Resistance, Insect and Rot Resistant, Energy-Efficient and Comfortable.
Our goal is to help build the homes you want to live in and homes you can afford. Rather than developing some proprietary materials or system the Ironwood Design is based on standard home construction materials and methods, just assembled in a different way. The result is a home anyone can have built by a local contractor or even built themselves. There is no factory or assembly line, no special equipment needed, no special materials you can’t find at the lumber yard or home improvement store.
The Ironwood Home is designed to be one of the strongest and most fire resistant homes around today. This design significantly reduces the risk from wildfires and from inside ignition sources. It is seismically stronger than standard construction methods and has great wind resistance. In today’s world this may make the difference between getting homeowners insurance and even financing. More importantly, it ensures your home is likely to still be there after a natural disaster.
The Ironwood Home is also designed to be more energy-efficient, quiet and comfortable. Every home is intended to be all-electric and include solar power, battery backup and solar water heating. There is no reason for a home to be built today without clean energy systems. Installing these energy systems when the home is built helps you avoid the trap of leased solar or 30-year power subscription plans. You will get lower energy costs and more reliable energy sources for the life of the home.
Ironwood Homes is a plan to improve design and construction and help the new homeowner manage the initial costs and plan for the future. With this design you are able to create a home of nearly any size and shape and plan for future expansion in the initial design. This is intended for the young homeowner, someone who does not need a 2,400 square foot home today but may want one as their family grows. By starting small, the mortgage is affordable and by planning for additions you no longer need to sell and buy a larger home avoiding significant increases in your future mortgage costs.
Plans & Specifications
Fire Safe & strong
Energy Efficient Construction
Quiet and Comfortable
Light-Gauge Steel
or
Wood-Frame Construction
The Ironwood Home design was originally intended to be just a home for myself with large open floor plans and big windows however, after the California Tubbs Fire in 2017 and the Camp Fire in 2018 where thousands of homes were lost, I focused on fire resistance. Using nearly 30-years of experience in California hospital construction, which requires highly fire resistant buildings, I have scaled those details down to residential construction. This experience also helped create a strong yet easy to build structure through extensive prefabricated, standardized wall, floor and roof sections. None of these require a factory to make or large trucks and cranes to deliver to the site. In fact, you can assemble every prefabricated panel in your garage, driveway or on-site.
Explore the features of the Ironwood Home and please provide feedback. This design is beyond the concept level, having been looked at by architects and structural engineers however no homes have been built yet. Your feedback will help complete the more intricate details and like the rest of this design, will be made available for everyone to use. If you want to build an Ironwood Home I will help you thoroughly understand the steps needed to design and build. All I ask in return is to follow your process, get design details and construction photos. These will be used to help others build their homes.