One Efficient Home
Edmond resident Wayne DeShazer doesn’t just think about being green, he lives it. His plan is to build an extremely energy efficient home, which will require less material and demand less energy
to maintain.
“It’s the way homes should be built,” DeShazer says. “Commercial construction has been built this way for years, why not residential?”
The way he speaks of is building metal framed homes, and a sheet metal outer covering. Once all the openings for windows are cut and placed, the outside walls will be covered in rock, brick and siding, having the look and appeal of any new, modern home.
“The material and labor required for building a home like this is less than half the cost and time of that for a conventional home,” he says. “One-hundred percent of the metal is recycled, and once the insulation is in place, this home is going to require only about �������� of the required energy to heat and cool a conventional home.”
Another benefit of a metal framed home is the strength. DeShazer believes his home could easily withstand 175 mph winds with minimal damage. Also, being mostly made of metal, fire is less of a threat.
He describes the the durability of using metal versus wood as taking a piece of 2 x 4 metal red iron, just like the material making up the frame of his metal home, and a wood 2 x 4, placing them in the elements for ten years and seeing which one holds up better.
“Even though the metal and wood are covered by exterior materials such as brick, stone, siding, etc., metal is not susceptible to water, termites, fire and other damaging aspects regarding wood,” he says. “To me, it just makes sense.”
DeShazer began building the metal home from a design and plan he created for his fine art shop. He is building the home for his parents, daughter and granddaughter, and reserving the right for him and his wife to someday grow old together in the same home.
He’s been a woodworker since the age of four, and has been an illustrator, art director and instructor in his art career which began 25 years ago. Keeping it in perspective, DeShazer methodically works toward completion one metal stud at a time.
“I’m proud of my work and I’ve tried to stay within my budget, even with the rising material cost. At times it gets overwhelming,” he says. “I told my wife, ‘It sure seems to go faster on Extreme Makeover’. I try not to look too far ahead, just to the next screw, the next sheet of metal and the next weekend I get to work on it.”
Edmond does not require special permits to build this type of home. Yet he does advise, “Do your homework. Learn all the ways this type of home is better.” In this age of energy crises, DeShazer is doing his part to help. He’s paving the way by example.
