Finalizing the Slab Forms

The following pictures show the final stages of completing the slab and footing forms. This step includes utility stub-ups, placement of reinforcing bars (rebar), welded wire mesh, and the foam inserts used to form the cistern gutters.

Mrs. Q checks the stub-ups and moisture barrier.

The crew assembles the cistern gutter form.

 A footing corner showing the cistern gutter form, rebar, and geo-tube

A side benefit of the Quonset's construction is its highly efficient precipitation run-off. The galvalume metal finish is very smooth and since the roof and walls are a continuous corrugated plane, all of the moisture that falls on the building is directed quickly to the gutters which drain into the cistern. In areas where snow is a possibility, heavier live-load specifications are required.

If it snows here, we're moving to Cuba!

The concrete trucks arrive early and the action begins. Concrete was pumped into place in parts of the slab because the trucks couldn't get into a position to pour.

The morning sun greets the cement trucks.

The cistern gutters begin to take shape.

A cement finisher forms a slope to the drain.

Cement begins to harden within a half hour, so the men work fast to get everything in place.

Using the long trowel pole, a finisher works the concrete.

Seven truck loads of cement later, the slab is formed and takes on a smooth finish. Finish troweling burnishes any imperfections and after a couple of days of curing, stress grooves will be cut to minimize cracking. Our contractor assured us, however, that concrete cracks, but with all these precautions they should be minor hairlines. Within three to four days, we'll be ready for the Quonset shell to be erected!

Beginning to take shape

More compact-able base is added

7/14 - Slab pads are basically complete, geo-thermal tubes are in place, and the concrete forms are under construction.

From the driveway

From this perspective the placement and size of the carport structure are materializing but it seems smaller that the actual 40' x 50' dimensions might imply.

The exhaust end of the geo-tubing extends above the slab surface

The intake end of the geo-tubing just outside the Quonset's skin will be attached by brackets and will rise to about seven feet

The four, 100-foot long, geo-thermal tube coils are buried about seven feet in the ground and will be more than eight feet deep after the slab is poured. We project this will preserve our estimated 70-degree F soil temperature and help cool (or warm) all incoming fresh air. If our plan works the way we intend it, there will be no grid energy required to heat, cool, or circulate the air inside the structure for at least nine months of the year. If the plan doesn't work, we just buried about six hundred dollars worth of plastic pipe that will confuse the heck out of a team of archeologists a thousand years from now.

To give you a better idea of our overall plan, This sketch shows how the buildings will be positioned in relation to each other and to major features.

For those that might question the placement of the septic tank relative to the pond and cistern, our soil is so sandy, percolation is fast and straight down, and the drain field extends north, well away from any chance of contamination.

The pond will be lined with a rubber liner to prevent the pond water from being absorbed by the soil. From the pond bottom at eight feet of depth, we are only ten feet above the ground water table.

A tropical downpour

The misty haze is a heavy downpour that lasted almost an hour, and as you can see, there is no puddling on the ground. Frequent rains over the past couple of weeks have slowed our progress by a day or so, but the rain is much-needed and we can deal with the delays. Things have been going well otherwise so we're still on schedule. The slab will be poured next Friday. The building will be delivered by the 23rd and we plan to put it up over the July 30-31 weekend. Be sure to watch the step-by-step assembly and erection of the Quonset arches. We've invited a bunch of friends to help and we plan to video the action. This is going to be fun!

Beware of Levitating Cisterns

 Word to the wise!



This is what a cistern looks like when it is properly planted in the ground.













This is what a cistern looks like when you don't fill it with water before you have a heavy downpour.

This is what a cistern looks like when you plant it a second time.





A minor setback, but a good reminder that you have to expect the unexpected. Our well pump was stolen shortly before this happened so we had no way to fill the tank. We also couldn't bury the cistern completely without water in it because the weight of the soil would collapse it. Just another minor Catch 22 to work around.

Prepping the Site

The pond begins!

We used the dirt from the pond to build the pad for the slab.

For the next few days, our site prep contractor is finishing the pond, burying our geo-thermal-conditioned air ducts, building the slab pads, installing utility stub-ups, and building the forms for the concrete slab on our 40' x 50' Quonset. The slab will be ready to pour in three days, so I'll have more exciting details and photos then.

It's amazing what this little guy can do!

Movin' dirt!

During this time, I'll fill you in on more details of our overall plan.

As I mentioned before, we purchased a 40' x 70' x 18' 'S-Series' Quonset. Normally, this structure would be erected intact, as designed and specified by the manufacturer. However, my natural tendency to tweak things a bit has taken over and we are building, what I can best describe as, a compound. Our compound will basically feature:

•  a 40' x 50' garage which will contain our RV, car, and pick-up; laundry, bath, office, and workshop;
• A 40' x 30' cabin with two bedrooms, two baths, living room, large pantry, and kitchen; (To get the extra ten feet of depth we ordered another five arches from Pioneer.)
• Additionally, we will have a small pond stocked with talapia, lots of garden space, and room for whatever small livestock (chickens, geese, ducks, goats, etc.) we eventually may add to the mix.

There are other features in the plan, but I'll fill you in on those as we progress.

We are starting with the garage. Once it is up and we have utilities connected, we can move onto the property and live in our RV while we work on the rest of the project.

For some of you, this is where it gets interesting

There are a few wrinkles in this story that may start some juices flowing for those techno-geeks among you looking for self-sustaining synergy that can only be found in a Quonset hut. We plan to bring home construction to a whole new level by making certain features, unique to Quonset huts, produce multiple benefits:

• Benefit #1: Free Air Conditioning & Heating - using the unique corrugations in the galvanized skin of our Quonset, we will circulate heated and cooled air throughout the building using only the power of the sun's heat. 
• Benefit #2: Free Hot Water - Solar heated water is not new, but it's never been cheaper or easier. 
• Benefit #3: Free Electricity - Photovoltaic-charged battery systems without the high cost of expensive PV panels. 
• Benefit #4: Free Water -The Quonset hut's skin design makes it ideal for collecting and directing rain water, and even dew, to your cistern or reservoir.
• Benefit #5: Free Groceries - Okay, maybe that's going a little too far. But we do plan to surround our home with permaculture gardens, so maybe there will be some 'free' groceries.

Our goal is to be off-grid as much as possible without sacrificing basic comforts in our quest for a passive life-support system.

Our Quonset Hut

An example of what you can do with the interior.

Our Quonset hut was purchased from a Craiglist posting. It's 40' wide x 70' long  x 18' tall and came with one end. The original purchaser bought it to expand his business but the county building inspector gave him so much trouble, he cancelled the project. Our Quonset was built by Pioneer out of Canada and is designed to stand up to 150 mph winds, a feature not wasted on those of us who have seen our share of hurricanes.

Q-Series

Although Quonsets have one thing in common (they are all clear-span with no supporting columns to get in the way of your interior layout) and they can be ordered in one of several configurations:

• Q-Series - the original half cylinder with no straight walls (except the ends).

S-Series

• S-Series - Very similar to the Q model, but with side walls that go straight up to about 5.5', then begins to curve. As luck would have it, this is the model we bought and it fits our needs perfectly.

A-Series

• A-Series - More in keeping with the traditional pitched roof image of your normal residential architecture.

Some manufacturers offer variations on these themes and several will even build custom designs. The important thing to keep in mind is that any of these models can incorporate the same passive, self-sustaining principles we are designing into our energy-efficient Quonset home.

Choosing a Site

If you already have a place, great, but Mrs. Quonsetman and I live in a townhouse condo, in a major metro area, on a golf course, just a stone's throw from I-95. We checked the condo documents and since they specifically prohibit Quonset huts, a new location was mandatory. Our criteria required that our new home be relatively remote, but close enough to civilization where we can get to vital services: doctors, hospitals, Costco, and a reliable hair dresser for Mrs. Q. (Even though we're committed to a self-sustaining life-support system, there are some things you just can't ask us to live without.)

Money is always a concern, but we were able to purchase 5.64 acres of pristine wilderness in what was once a swamp just 40 years ago. It was more than we could afford, but the sacrifice is worth it.

This is our driveway

What a view to see when coming home! It's important to have a place that supplements the essential with the aesthetic.

Paradise found

Smack-dab in the middle of a pristine tropical forest, deer, wild hogs, turkeys, and an occasional Florida Panther have been seen meandering through this neighborhood. The trees are majestic, the land is sandy and flat, and the only access is a dead-end dirt road about a mile and a half from a paved highway. We're five miles from the nearest town which boasts two restaurants, one grocery store, one gas station, and over 100 front-yard flea markets. What more could anyone want?

Our cistern

Having access to an ample water supply prompted us to plant this 3,000 gallon cistern to collect rainwater from the roof of our Quonset hut. When our compound is complete we will have over 3,000 square feet of water collection surfaces directing the flow of rainwater to the cistern. Overflow from the cistern will spill over into our pond, giving us total of around 50,000 gallons of water storage to support us, our gardens, and our livestock (when we decide to add them). Because we don't want to spend all our time working, our philosophy is to have every element in our homestead be completely passive in its operation.

How to Build a Quonset Home

Mrs. Q (left) & Me (the other one)

Starting at the beginning, follow us through the adventure of building a high-quality, low-cost, low-maintenance, cost-effective, passive and self-sustaining life-support system that offers economy, comfort, and security. The plan is to design and construct a home that will benefit from the best use of materials and space.

This project has been decades in the making, but less than a couple of months in execution. It begins in my early career as a draftsman and architectural designer when I discovered that in the construction of 'stick-n-brick' homes the monumental waste of time and materials is staggering. Early on, I started looking at the alternatives: geodesic domes; foam homes; earth ships; pole barn houses; berm homes; tree houses; and shipping container condos. All have their good points--and drawbacks.

The premise for this project is that we want a home that will be cheap to build, virtually maintenance-free, offer economical living, be flexible in design and use, and keep us dry, and warm in winter, yet cool in summer.


For this project, we have chosen the lowly, homely Quonset Hut. Usually relegated to more utilitarian occupations as barns and industrial buildings, the Quonset hut is slowly ascending to a higher station in life: the family home. Although most of the people choosing Quonsets for their next home are on the outer fringes of society: retirees and adventurers; our current economic outlook and social uncertainty (not to mention the crashing housing market), is driving many to look at Quonsets in a different light.