Easy Assembly Framing Kits
Another impressive aspect is I WOOD's foolproof simplicity. By providing these components as ready-made kits, an I WOOD home frame or furniture can be assembled very quickly by few unskilled individuals. It requires simple hand tools, so that anybody who can read the simple instructions can assemble an I WOOD product rapidly, with minimal effort.
Such savings on labor costs are added to significant savings on material costs. The lighter, more compact building materials offer a multitude of opportunities to lower the total cost of a construction project. The components themselves require less trees being cut, reducing their price tag. Pre-cut kits are shipped in more compact packaging: I WOOD lumber ships cheaply and more easily, takes 30% less floor space and stacks more safely because of its interlocking nature.
The design of I WOOD lumber results in the wood itself producing strength at all important connecting joints of a building. In a conventional frame structure, the fasteners take the full load. Tests show that I WOOD joints are stronger than the conventional nailed system.
I WOOD can allow low-income families to own a small starter home, which can be expanded as needs and finances dictate. I WOOD structures can be added to create extra rooms, a longer house or a guest cottage. It is well worth noting how simplified is the process of installing electric wiring, plumbing and other services as well. There are endless possibilities to improve an existing home kit with ingenuity and good taste. A creative use of I WOOD building materials can develop interior ornaments, intelligent furniture, yard and garden facilities, towards a sustainable off-grid lifestyle... or a more elegant urban setting.
For the nomadic types or for families who don't own land property, an interesting benefit of I WOOD structures is their ease of disassembly. As rapidly as a home can be built, it can rapidly be deconstructed, re-packaged in a kit to be transported to greener pastures... and re-built again!
Simple and Easy Assembly
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Delivered in a flat-pack kit with an assembly manual
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Very few tools required
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Very little building skill necessary
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Can be assembled in a day by few people
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Interlocking components fit together
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Framing with flexibility for doors and windows installation
Homelessness Relief
Several projects have been experimented involving low-cost, quickly assembled I WOOD building to address homelessness problems.
I WOOD emergency shelters can be delivered to areas recovering from a natural disaster or facing homelessness issues. A small group of social activists, in partnership with the victims they are aiming to help, can build a fair amount of small structures to be offered as temporary shelters to people in need. The structures can be upgraded over time to more permanent dwellings, or be disassembled rapidly. Pop-up manufactures are not only possible but simple and affordable, requiring only a small investment in equipment. They can be located at community centers, churches, woodworker's properties, or installed temporarily on-site wherever electric power can be made available.
The production, assembly and furnishing of temporary structures with I WOOD materials may also create employment amongst the residents of emergency shelters, who are recovering from homelessness. Because such low-cost shelters can be upgraded and expanded over time to more permanent dwellings, it blazes a trail going straight from homelessness to home ownership - a similar approach may eventually help young families and low-income individuals to access home ownership without the heavy price tag of mortgaging their future for an expensive mansion.
I WOOD has been featured in multiple efforts aimed at homelessness relief. In San Diego, California, an association with Amikas and St Luke's Episcopal Church have resulted in many units built to assist individuals in a housing crisis. Proving I WOOD's ease of assembly, a group of high-school teenagers from High Tech High (San Diego) have assembled a unit as a school project. Another effort in Tecate, Mexico, built tiny homes for families in need. I WOOD solutions have been also exhibited as a proposal to help solve housing issues on Salt Spring Island, Canada.
Homeless to homeowner
A small on-site workshop can manufacture a multitude of dwellings very rapidly
Shelter kits can be transported by pickup truck and assembled quickly
Shelters can be disassembled or upgraded to a more permanent unit
A low cost, temporary solution to urban homelessness that can result in ownership by resident
