OK How much is cheap ? $2000. for brand new? or are these used ? Who sells them ? You add your windows and doors on the ends . Abington , Mass. had a very lenient building code and there are still some there with people living in them since the second world war . That town allowed buildings that were not allowed in any other town in the state . If you need light I would (attach if ytou wish) a hoop piped green house .these are also economical to put up . They are the kind with flexible plastic that comes in rolls.

florey,

1.These are VERY cheap to put up, what features make them livable?

None, they are industrial shop space and storage.

2. How can they be made elegant, not ugly? What features or proportions are helpful?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, failing that, natural perspective helps, outwards viewing windows at "natural" eye height, good porportions. For example, I have a mix of 4 foot square and 3 foot by 4 foot two pane windows, as they both form similar rectangles, the eye says that all the windows on the house are the same size.

3.How do you add an ell,a quonset addition, to a metal arch, quonset building? How do you get the curvey parts to go together?

You don't. Quonsets are engineer buildings. Modifications require either factory modifications, self taught engineering or re-engineering and expect to have to "prove" every modification to the Building Code, to the "satisfation" of your local Inspector. "Satisfation" means just that, he-she can deny just on gut feeling.

4. Do some companies make kits?

Lots of companies make kits. Google "steel buildings, kits".

5. How hard is it to put a window or door on the side-A cut to the ground is needed, and walls that stick in or out, from the curve. Is extra support necessary?

Weather tights and water tight, reasonably hard. Anybody can cut wood, steel requires special tools. Extra support is necessary.

6. Is it possible to add a line of ceiling vents, along the top of the curve? There can be a wicked heat buildup.

Kits can be ordered with vents. Retrofit of vents is possible, but more difficult due to the curve.

7.What kind of insulation is used now?

Spray foam is most common, but, for any insulation to work properly, vents need to exist along the base, and vents at the top, to provide airflow along the inside skin of the steel, and the insulation must allow fo that airflow. To turn a true Quonset into a house, an iside fram needs to b built to hold the insulation, 2" away from the steel, and support interior finishings.

8. Love all glass window walls at the ends, is there any inexpensive way to do this? OK, a less expensive way?

Gable the ends so that there is overhang, use vynel double pane windows and sliding glass doors in stock sizes to provide maximum glass on a 2" x 6" stud wall.

Cheapest is to scrounge cosmetic blemished odds and ends, including pane panels from manufacturers. Keep in mind, you will be "collecting" for a year or two and will have to make do with what is there. Remember the bit about beauty being in the eye of the beholder?

9. How are the arch shaped windowpanes cut and the high pieces secured?

Expensively if double pane, uselessly if single pane.

10. Would a 'green roof' with plantings, work? or would it rot the metal?

Yes.

"Green roofs" on Quonsets are typically the conversion of the Quonset into an inground home, with a layer of sealant on the steel, a layer of 4" to 6" steel reinforced concrete shotcreted or troweled on to the steel, the concrete sealed again and then buried.

11. What areas are easier to get zoning, for alternative structures?

Places that don't care, or places where others have done the legwork, educating the Building Inspectors in alternative materials and structures.

Thanks farmfreedom and Jay, That is very helpful. Abington is pretty close to Boston, with lots of fancy houses now. Those buildings, were probably grandfathered in, in easier zoning times.

Jay, Engineer buildings eh? Pretty much thoroughly, have a darn good idea of what you are doing before you start? glad I asked.
An inspector's 'Gut feeling', as a standard of satisfaction, is pretty tough to do. That's such a succinct way of putting those concepts.

Do the vents come with operable openings?

For interior finishings, I was thinking lengthwise bead board, tongue and groove, or bendable luan ply, or maybe cork sheeting. Bunches of gathered poles/rods, can be braceleted, twisted and added to, to extend, as supports.

Gable the ends.? Do you just mean extend the roof line beyond the end wall? , or add a smaller layer? I could use a pyramided layout of rectangular windows in the flat end wall. A rounded curved masking, of plywood, covering the corners, might give the effect of a shape of arched windows,

What size, or proportions are good for adding usable,
loft space?

There are translucent panels available for light.

I'm thinking above ground, with a walk out basement, and a midsection where the basement opens to above. A greenhouse area for guava and lemon trees, would also allow for a lot of solar gain. I have ideas to distribute and move the heat, for winter. For summer, HELP! How to dump a LOT of solar gain?

Might like to plant the back and top[assuming a northern aspect].

florey,

1).Do the vents come with operable openings?

The stock vents will not come with closable openings. The idea behind vents is that they remove heat buildup and moisture on the sold side of the insulation, preventing moisture condensation on the skin, preventing water buildup in the insulation, (which renders it ineffective) and stops the growth of mold.

Closed vents result in too damp and cold in winter, to hot in summer.

2).For interior finishings, I was thinking lengthwise bead board, tongue and groove, or bendable luan ply, or maybe cork sheeting. Bunches of gathered poles/rods, can be braceleted, twisted and added to, to extend, as supports.

Some steel buildings have steel framing. Insulation can be fit between the framing and an interior sheathing can be bolted to the frames. On the heavy duty buildings, holes will need to be drilled and tapped to fasten the sheathing. On lighter built buildings, where formed light guage sheetmetal froms the frame, self tapping screws can be used to drill the hole and pull a thread ridge. On Traditional Quonset buildings the corrogated skin provides the structural framing, and so, a "house" inside a house needs to be built to provide space for the insulation, wiring, plumbing and attaching the interior sheathing.

Light weight luan plywood outgasses horrible amounts of formadhyde and is a major fire hazard. Due to the glues, the stuff burns like rocket fuel.

Beadboard, tongue and groove and cork are all expensive and labour intensive with minimal thermal mass. One aspect often neglected or forgotten is that after we heat or cool a space, some materials, ( stone, drywall, concrete, tile) all retain and slowly release the heat, or if cooled, slowly warm up. Other materials, like wood, cork, etc, quickly heat or cool. So when we open the windows on a cool summer night, some materials retain that cool inside the house into later in the heat of the day than others. When we heat the space in winter, some materials retain and slowly release that heat during the night, as the fire goes out.

3).Gable the ends.? Do you just mean extend the roof line beyond the end wall? , or add a smaller layer? I could use a pyramided layout of rectangular windows in the flat end wall. A rounded curved masking, of plywood, covering the corners, might give the effect of a shape of arched windows,

a gable is merely a roof overhang above a window or door space, so on say a 40' x 20' traditional quanset, to "gable" the ends to fit windows and sliding glass doors, the end walls would simply be inset 2', 3' 4' or so, providing a 36' x 20' living space for example. A common example of a converted Quonset is a 60' x 30' Aircraft shelter Quonset from WWII, with a 6' gable on the "front" of the house, providing a porch, and a 14' gable on the rear of the house, providing a sheltered deck with an overall interior living space of 30' x 40'.

4).What size, or proportions are good for adding usable, loft space?

You need a minimum of 8' headroom, 10' is better. To support a floor, you will need a minimum of a 8" joist, 10" is better, with a build up floor thickness of 1.5" to 2", and of course, a minimum of 8.5" for framing and insulation and vent gap.. So, the bare minimum to provide functional loft space is a peak height of 18 feet. This provides either a loft space or second floor with a usable central walkspace and a maximum of floor space.

Shorter quonsets can be used, if your idea of a loft is a crawlspace used only for sleeping or sitting on the floor.

5). There are translucent panels available for light.

As noted in the previous post, quonsets and other "instant" metal buildings are engineered and designed as storage and rough industrial space, not living space, so any translucent panels for letting in light, with be not be insulated or insulatable. Better quality windows have an R20 rating, the same as a 6" insulated stud wall, the equivalent of a little more than half the insulating value of a 16" thick cordwood wall, or almost a third of the insulating value of a straw bale wall.

The translucent panels provided are usually molded FRP and will have a R value of less than 0.05, still, better than the steel skin. Corrogated Lucite panels, used for commercial green houses, can be molded with a steam bath and a heatgun to fit the curve of the Quonset, sealed with foil tape, crewed and caulked in place. They will provide up to R10 insulative value, but they cannot be molded to fit both the curve and the coorigation of a typical quonset.

6). I'm thinking above ground, with a walk out basement, and a midsection where the basement opens to above. A greenhouse area for guava and lemon trees, would also allow for a lot of solar gain. I have ideas to distribute and move the heat, for winter.

Quonets are designed to fit a slab or perimeter foundation wall. They are not designed to fit ond a joist and sheathing floor. The end loads of the quonset wall will over time, rip the joists apart. The "only" way to fit a basement is as a "grease monkey pit" 4' minimum inside the perimeter foundation. A slab foundation, the cheapest option is out of the question if a basment space is desired.

7).For summer, HELP! How to dump a LOT of solar gain?

Tons of ventilation, air conditioning, geothermal cooling big electric fans.

Passive solar homes are designed to accumulate and store passive solar gain in winter, yet through shaded overhangs protecting windows from a higher in the sky sun,, prevent passive solar gain during the summer.

We are thinking of using the T model quonset for a two story and enclosing the flat side with glass, and the ends, not sure yet. Anyone seen any good examples of this idea? We are in the south so concerned with heat, wind and termites. Slab is standard here. might be able to encoporate an L somehow with the T model.

We are thinking of using the T model quonset for a two story and enclosing the flat side with glass, and the ends, not sure yet. Anyone seen any good examples of this idea? We are in the south so concerned with heat, wind and termites. Slab is standard here. might be able to encoporate an L somehow with the T model.

Hi elizal, The biggest problem with a quonset, is the enormous heat build up. Think of a huge solar oven, that recirculates. If you live in the south, I doubt if it will work for you.
Heat - You would need HUGE openable vents at the top, and bottom.
Maybe a sun shade, like a tent's rainfly, but that doesn't sound doable with the strong gusts that can come in before a rain.A heavy rope net might help, for shade, but probably not much, and might start to look awful.
A round house is a good shape for high wind, there is a company that makes and ships them.

I didn't know there was a T model. Something out the side side, is what I meant by an Ell, so a T shape sounds great.
I love the look of that glass end, but have been warned that the glass should be double thick insulated. A curved mask, to hide those corners, might make that more do-able.
What companies do people like?