Project Modularity - the Solution to the Housing Epidemic

Project Modularity is the solution to the ongoing housing crisis in Oakland, California. The location I chose to design my house around is near Oakland, California, specifically 10 minutes away from the city. Crime is rampant in Oakland; car break-ins, robberies, and assaults are common. I want my house to be able to address these issues and give the innocent citizens living in Oakland a chance to feel safe and the ability to adapt to their current situation or relocate.

The basic concept of this house is to be as modular as possible and use minimal parts. Modularity allows people to expand their homes as their income increases. The use of minimal parts also allows for sections of the house to be mass produced, for cheap. The use of prefabricated, minimal parts also reduces construction waste and carbon emissions, supporting Oakland’s local sustainability goals. This makes housing more affordable to those in low-income areas. Additionally, the added amenity of an enclosed garage allows for protection against vehicle break-ins. As a result of this, people will be able to save money and know that their assets are protected. This will allow them to increase their wealth and their quality of life. It also promotes racial equity because it gives those who are disadvantaged because of race a way to escape poverty through secure and affordable housing.

These homes can also be built in communities to promote economic development. More specifically, as homeowners expand their homes with the affordable parts produced by Project Modularity, it can be clearly seen in the community that the community is thriving as homes grow and give people more living space. The added advantage of having modular homes with affordable parts is that people do not have to pay for their house all at once. Rather, they can pay for what they can afford at the time and expand throughout time.

Not only that, but Project Modularity is not constrained to only being used for housing. It could also be used for schools and classrooms to provide children with the proper education they need to be able to escape poverty or increase their quality of life.

Come to think about it, Project Modularity also addresses the chronic homelessness issue in Oakland; since it provides people with affordable housing and the ability to expand their house as their income increases. Military veterans and their families can also take advantage of Project Modularity by purchasing affordable housing that will meet their needs.

I also calculated the cost to build one floor of the house, and it turned out to be around $15,000. More specifically, $2,520 in 2x4's for the wall framing, $1,520 for the roof and floor framing, $3,520 for plywood to cover the framing, plus an additional $7,440 for additional trim and necessities such as plumbing, interior, and electrical.

If you wanted to actually build this house in real life, which you could by following these instructions, the supplies you will need are:

1. Drill
2. Circular Saw
3. Miter Saw
4. Table Saw
5. About 168 25-foot 2x4's
6. About 38 25-foot 2x10 joists
7. About 176 4x8 ft pieces of plywood
8. Joist brackets
9. Torx Screws

However, before I get to the instructions for building the house. Here is a sketch of the initial design before I turned it into a CAD model using Fusion360. A standard house, comprised of a garage and a living space, requires six 24x12 ft walls with two windows, one 24x12 ft wall with a door, one 24x12 ft wall with a garage door, a floor, and a ceiling piece as well.

To build this frame, cut out two 24.33 ft pieces of 2x4. Then cut out nineteen 12 ft 2x4's. Then space them evenly as shown in the picture above. With a 1.176 ft distance in between each one. Then, to create the windows, cut out some of the 2x4s in the middle and place 2x4s around it to support it, as shown in the image. Repeat this 6 times to build the standard house. Also, ideally, these parts would be mass-produced and assembled in factories so that contractors can order and easily assemble them.

To build the back side of the house with the door, you will need to cut out two 24-foot pieces of 2x4. Then cut out nineteen 12 ft 2x4's. Then space them evenly as shown in the picture above. With a 1.157 ft distance in between each one. Then, to create the door frame, cut out some of the 2x4s on the side and place 2x4s around it to support it, as shown in the image.

Building the floor for the second level of the house is a bit complicated, but it is crucial to get this part right to prevent people from falling through the floor on the second level. I included a sketch with dimensions on it to help aid the process of building this. To begin, you will need seventeen 296 in 2x10 in joists. Begin from the right side of the building (opposite side from the stairs), and begin placing joists about 13.23 inches apart. Then begin framing the hole for the stairs using the dimensions from the sketch shown above. Additionally, this part also doubles as the roof for the top of the house. The only difference is that the hole for the stairs is removed, and the number of joists for the roof increases to 21. Additionally, since this house has a flat roof, it is modular and allows owners to expand their house to another floor, or install solar panels to improve the environment and support local sustainability goals

To create the stairs, it is a bit complicated. Let's start with defining the terms. The rise is the vertical component of the steps, while the run is the horizontal component of the steps. From experience, when building stairs, when the rise is not consistent and one rise is even a quarter of an inch taller or shorter than the rest, it will cause people to trip. So, it is crucial to get the rise correct on all of the steps to ensure safety and prevent tripping. The rise is 0.63 ft or 7.56 in for every step, and the run is 0.875 ft or 10.5 in for every step. Using the dimensions for the steps, create two stringers with 16 steps (a side profile of the stair as shown in the picture above). Then cut out sixteen 0.938x3 ft pieces of plywood for the run of the steps, 16 0.567x3 ft pieces of plywood for the rise of the steps. Additionally, cut out a 3x3 ft piece of plywood for the top of the first set of stairs in order to allow the stairs to turn at the corner. For the second set of stairs, near the corner, cut out the same stringers as before with the same rise and run, but only for 5 steps. Also, you will need 5 more of each rise and run pieces of plywood.

This part is a little complicated and has a lot of dimensions, so I included a sketch with dimensions, in inches, on it to better explain how to build it. I did not use ladder dimensioning because I felt like it was going to be very crowded with numbers and confusing to look at, so I just included the main dimensions that will guide the rest of the dimensions. This part goes under the stairs to create a small closet space for storage. To summarize, the way to build this part is to cut out the appropriately sized 2x4 studs and then cut some of them at a 55.53-degree angle using a miter saw. Then, place a 187.66 in 2x4 on top of that and build the rest from there. Also, once this is installed on the bottom of the stairs, you will need to cover the bottom of the steps using a piece of plywood, which is about 15.376x3 ft.

To build the wall to prevent people from falling down the stairs from the top floor, you will need to cut out two 12.792 ft 2x4's, four 3.438 ft 2x4's, and sixteen 3.087 ft 2x4's. The sixteen 2x4's are for the vertical studs, which are spaced apart 1.236 ft from one another on the long middle section and evenly on the shorter sections (two on the sides and one exactly in the middle). Then you will need to cover this with plywood of the proper dimensions.

Once you have built all of the parts listed above, you can begin assembly of the house. Starting with the first floor, the garage floor. To do this, first, you put the two 24x12 ft walls with two windows (Part #2412W2) parallel to one another and put the 24x12 ft wall with 1 door (Part #2412D1) in between. Then, you install the garage door, which can be bought off the shelf. Then, you install the roof/ceiling (part #17J1S0). Next, the stair wall (Part #11933S) and the stairs (Part #S16T50). Lastly, the upstairs wall (Part #SW2416).

After assembling the garage, you can begin assembly on the living floor. This is a relatively simple step. It requires four of the 24x12 ft walls with two windows (Part #2412W2) placed on the perimeter of the top of the garage. Then, the roof/ceiling (part #17J1S0) can be installed. There you have it! The standard Project Modularity House. The standard house can then be expanded in any way. Such as having three floors, or three garages, or 1 garage and 10 floors, or 4 rooms and only 2 floors. The possibilities are endless.