Tatas to launch Rs 32,000 houses for rural market

[sanjay]

MINAEAN HABITAT (INDIA) PVT. LTD.

The first steel home using Minaean's Vesta Quik Buildâ„¢ System consists of a well-ventilated living room, a kitchen and a bathroom.

Have you heard of these guys?

 

[pmaitra]

No mate, perfect insulation materials are available. You can also install low cost very effective ventilators.

I am part of the Pre fab industry.

Oh, I see. Interesting. That sounds great.

On a slightly tangential note: How about erecting multi-storied complexes with steel? For example, we can build 4-level homes and sell out each level to different customers. Personally, I believe in making multi-storied buildings due to high land prices, although given an option, I'd rather have one home on a plot of land.

 

[sanjay]

Probably everyone prefers a fully detached home, and in rural areas there are more landowners without decent homes. Although clustered units like townhomes and apartments are the most energy-efficient in urban areas.

So everyone really needs a verandah, eh?

 

[pmaitra]

^^

I am not sure about that. There are plenty of landless labourers in the villages. It is no surprise that so many unskilled people throng the cities. Land, or lack thereof, is leaching crisis levels. Better optimisation in land utilisation is required in the villages.

 

[sanjay]

Here's another picture - although I'm still not 100% sure this tech is the basis for the Tata Homes:

The residential unit was built at the epicenter of earthquake. The 1 BHK residential unit consists of amenities with pleasant interiors.

Minaean builds company - one steel house at a time | Articles | IndUS Business Journal

Minaean's houses cost about $7 to $8 per square foot. According to company information, steel also brings a variety of other benefits over other building material - it is superior in strength and will not shrink, warp, split or swell, it is fire resistant, termite proof, and good for hot and cold climates. Minaean also claims that houses constructed using its system will withstand winds in excess of 144 kilometers per hour and an earthquake equivalent to 7.3 on the Richter Scale. The Gujarat earthquake measured around 7.9 on the Richter Scale at its epicenter, but there wasn't much Minaean could have done about it back in early 2001.

 

[Dinku]

Good man Tata.

Cheap houses.

Help poor.

Maybe world poor.

Humour name Tata.

Build house, say tata?

 

[Yusuf]

Oh, I see. Interesting. That sounds great.

On a slightly tangential note: How about erecting multi-storied complexes with steel? For example, we can build 4-level homes and sell out each level to different customers. Personally, I believe in making multi-storied buildings due to high land prices, although given an option, I'd rather have one home on a plot of land.

I don't think that is possible, yet at least. Steel is part of RCC construction anyways, but an only steel building with multiple floors is something that might require further innovation.

http://www.tatabluescopesteel.com/ this is the Pre-fab unit of tata. Bangalore metro project is also with them. All those living in Delhi, when you go to the metro station, you will see steel trusses on which cold rolled steel sheets are put. This is what it's all about. Depending on the weight of the steel used, calculate the total weight which will depend on the size of the plot, multiply by about 75. Cost of land not included.

 

[sanjay]

My understanding is that Tata has previously tried some affordable housing projects like Shubh Griha, which are built as complexes to house entire neighborhoods. These are built to 3 stories high, because any higher requires much greater cost to adhere to building codes.
Steel will support 2 stories just fine, though.

I wonder why Mahindra and Tata can't develop an inexpensive backhoe for their rural tractors, to allow farmers to dig out septic tank cavities, or even foundations and basements. Farmers can do construction business on the side.

 

[sanjay]

Also, why just talk of wood? Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant in the world. There should be plenty of opportunity to use bamboo as a building material for homes. It also has high strength and stiffness.

 

[Yusuf]

Yes Sanjay, bamboos are a very good alternative to low cost houses and Eco friendly too. Bamboo's structurally more stronger than wood and aesthetically better as well.

I think it would be far cheaper to make Pre fab bamboo houses than steel. It also reduces the carbon footprints as steel will not be produced and used.

In fact Indians have been using bamboo homes for generations especially in the north east.

 

[sanjay]

Yusuf, since you're in the business, you should consider how bamboo could be used to make prefab parts, like Structural Insert Panels (SIPs).

I think that bamboo price would be fairly stable, and not subject to much inflation, right? Plus, it seems to grow so rapidly, that it can quickly be grown to match demand, and plus it doesn't require huge amounts of land to cultivate.

What are the latest innovations in prefab housing? Have you ever visited a site called fabprefab.com? I used to be a regular poster on their forum all the time, discussing all the latest developments. The headquarters for Royal Homes is very nearby me (Canadian prefab company created by the Royal Group, owners of Royal Plastics). Another interesting company here in Canada which is just 60km north of me, is called Sustain Homes . Their designs are quite modern and attractive.

Hey, have you ever thought of exporting to Canada? Indian suppliers are never as cheap as Chinese ones, though. I used to look up Indian prefab suppliers on the net sometime back, just out of personal interest, to see how competitive they were, but they're crap compared to China.

 

[Yusuf]

I import from Taiwan. What I import are the fasteners that go into the steel truss fixing the CR sheets. Chinese screws are horrible to say the least. Two of my friends tried to import from china about 3 years back. Horrible material. They still hold stock of what they imported 3 years back. Taiwanese screws are far superior.

What do you look to source from India?

 

[sanjay]

Nothing, as I'm not in the industry myself. But I think it's definitely the wave of the future, so I only researched it out of personal interest. After Tata did Nano, and promised to try something similar in housing, I thought that perhaps India could really score a big coup in the marketplace. But now I think China will have a better chance of that.

What do you think about the growing use of shipping containers for homes? The number of shipping containers exported by China is piling up, and it's not worth the expense to send empty containers back to China. So recipient countries are now trying to make more use out of them, since they can be gotten cheaply, and sometimes even for free.

I realize that their all-metal construction poses some challenges, but as with other types of steel home fabrication, the issues can be dealt with via use of other materials for cladding, etc. And you know they'll be solid in any earthquake or hurricane.


Prefab homes in a shipping container form factor would be very easy to transport.

 

[Yusuf]

Never heard of free shipping containers. When I get an import consignment I have to pay a deposit till I return the container.

Containers are good for making make shift offices on construction sites though.

 

[sanjay]

Well, now that the price of scrap steel is going up, the value of the containers is perhaps also going up.


Maybe somebody needs to design a shipping container so that it could later be used to specifically turn it into a cheap home. I wonder what design modifications would have to be made? I think the width should be increased, and the sides should consist of removable panels. Once you remove the panels, you'd be left with a strong skeletal frame. These frames could then be joined side-by-side or stacked on top of each other, to serve as the basis for a modular home.

Maybe materials other than steel should be considered. I wonder if a non-ISO shipping container could be made from bamboo? It would be for in-country use only.

 

[sanjay]

Here, also take a look at this Chinese company, the Broad Group:

Update on Broad Groups Plans for Taller Prefabricated skyscrapers

They can build massive buildings at ridiculously fast speed, using a prefab technology which they claim will revolutionize construction. Gee, maybe India should look at this idea more closely.

 

[sanjay]

Hey Yusuf,

Have you ever heard of the CoreWall concept, by architect Mike Rosen? He had the idea of pre-fabricating a central wall which would have all the important wiring/plumbing/etc inside of it, which could then be transported to the site where the house is being built.

Plug and Play - Electrical, Design, Walls And Ceilings, Business, Hvac, Plumbing, Projects, Kitchen, Modular Building, Mechanical Systems, Prefab Design - Builder Magazine

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So this one central component, the CoreWall, could be built to better standards in a factory, and then shipped out to the construction site. This central CoreWall would then provide the hookups for all utilities like bathroom, kitchen, and external solar panels or other power supply.

I think Tata should try to develop its own version of this approach, and do it much more cheaply. Suppose they could offer it for the more expensive deluxe versions of their "Nano" home. People might be attracted to it, even if they don't immediately have the opportunity for power supply hookup, etc.

I think you should investigate this CoreWall technology, because it's a sensible way to save costs.

 

[Yusuf]

No mate not heard if him. I don't follow Pre fab guys as I into distribution of fasteners to retailers. Though I intend to change that. I recently participated in a Pre fab exhibition. Nothing new came of it in terms of new technology. All the guys were the same steel purlin to CR sheets guys.

 

[sanjay]

I think the CoreWall concept should be looked at by Indians, because mass-production of it could really lower the cost manufacturing, and allow for cheap homes that come equipped with better features. Rosen's idea is a clever one which should not be ignored by homebuilders.

 

[sanjay]

Here's another interesting one - Bill Gates' foundation is trying to develop a newer cheaper toilet concept for the developing world:

Gates Foundation Launches Effort to Reinvent the Toilet