4 ms·

That looks really cool, but can I ask why you chose that colour? Do you live somewhere really cold?

ehnto 5y ago
I wouldn't mind hearing about their approach to handling weather also as it kind of looks like SoCal which closely matches the climate I live in. If that is the case then black may not have been ideal! It should help during winter though. If your peak heat is only 30c or something you could probably get away with it.
- harmmonica 5y ago
  I happen to be from Socal but we built this and the pics were shot in Northern New Mexico where my friend lives and where it is a bit more mild than Socal. That said it does get some hot days with a punishing sun during the summer (may top out around 100f/37c in a heat wave) and we were able to “test” the exterior this past summer in conditions pretty close to that. You can read about it on the website. Just scroll down to the section about the exterior metal: https://www.weshelterpeople.com/materials-and-costs https://www.weshelterpeople.com/materials-and-costs Important to point out that because of our location it would not need AC in the summer because evenings cool down adequately but if you wanted to use it anywhere in Socal that’s not directly adjacent to the beach you would “need” to have AC. I put the need in quotes because there are plenty of people in Socal who still live without AC, but I don’t think anyone would say those folks are comfortable doing so. It’s mostly a financial issue for anyone inland or as I said they live near the beach where a decent number of house and apartment rentals still don’t have AC.
anm89 5y ago
With proper insulation, and framing techniques you can get a away with a dark metal surface in most any climate. Not saying they actually did that but it's not impossible. For a deeper breakdown on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o-yN8N-mXM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o-yN8N-mXM
- harmmonica 5y ago
  Thanks for pointing this out because you’re totally right. When we were picking black as the color we were somewhat convinced it wouldn’t be an issue but it was nice to get confirmation once we built it, which we did by testing the interior temp on hot days to see how hot the interior would get.
harmmonica 5y ago
It was strictly an aesthetic choice and as another commenter points out it doesn’t impact the livability if you build it with proper insulation. You can read about the performance of the exterior black color in high temperatures on the website where we listed all the materials we used to build the house, how much they cost and details about the construction: https://www.weshelterpeople.com/materials-and-costs https://www.weshelterpeople.com/materials-and-costs

I wouldn't mind hearing about their approach to handling weather also as it kind of looks like SoCal which closely matches the climate I live in. If that is the case then black may not have been ideal! It should help during winter though. If your peak heat is only 30c or something you could probably get away with it.

harmmonica 5y ago
I happen to be from Socal but we built this and the pics were shot in Northern New Mexico where my friend lives and where it is a bit more mild than Socal. That said it does get some hot days with a punishing sun during the summer (may top out around 100f/37c in a heat wave) and we were able to “test” the exterior this past summer in conditions pretty close to that. You can read about it on the website. Just scroll down to the section about the exterior metal: https://www.weshelterpeople.com/materials-and-costs https://www.weshelterpeople.com/materials-and-costs Important to point out that because of our location it would not need AC in the summer because evenings cool down adequately but if you wanted to use it anywhere in Socal that’s not directly adjacent to the beach you would “need” to have AC. I put the need in quotes because there are plenty of people in Socal who still live without AC, but I don’t think anyone would say those folks are comfortable doing so. It’s mostly a financial issue for anyone inland or as I said they live near the beach where a decent number of house and apartment rentals still don’t have AC.

anm89 5y ago

With proper insulation, and framing techniques you can get a away with a dark metal surface in most any climate. Not saying they actually did that but it's not impossible. For a deeper breakdown on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o-yN8N-mXM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o-yN8N-mXM

harmmonica 5y ago
Thanks for pointing this out because you’re totally right. When we were picking black as the color we were somewhat convinced it wouldn’t be an issue but it was nice to get confirmation once we built it, which we did by testing the interior temp on hot days to see how hot the interior would get.

harmmonica 5y ago

It was strictly an aesthetic choice and as another commenter points out it doesn’t impact the livability if you build it with proper insulation. You can read about the performance of the exterior black color in high temperatures on the website where we listed all the materials we used to build the house, how much they cost and details about the construction: https://www.weshelterpeople.com/materials-and-costs https://www.weshelterpeople.com/materials-and-costs