Eco-Friendly Steel Home Helps New York Couple Save Money

Andy Weintraub and his wife, Linda, decided to build a steel home after spending a majority of their budget on their land in Rhinebeck, New York.

“We started looking at prefabricated steel structures, knowing that such construction was cheaper than stick built, wood construction,” Andy said. “We wanted a low maintenance, eco-friendly home and work space which also had some character, and, to our minds, beauty.”

Because the Internet wasn’t fully developed in 1995, the couple came across SteelMaster while searching steel buildings in libraries. That’s when they knew a Quonset hut would be the perfect option for their home.

One of the best parts of owning a SteelMaster Quonset hut home is the unobstructed interior space. The building is self supporting, meaning there’s no need for beams and trusses to support the structure. This creates an open floor plan that allows you to design the interior to fit your needs and style.

“Imagine, putting up an arched shell and being completely free to build whatever we wanted within it,” said Andy.

Andy and Linda built seven “conventional” homes before, so they felt comfortable designing their 35’ x 54’ Quonset home without the help of an architect.

The Weintraubs especially enjoyed incorporating the sweeping curves of their SteelMaster Quonset hut into the design. They chose to use natural materials found on the property within the house, including stone and trees. Andy did all of the interior woodwork in the home.

SteelMaster’s steel homes are a great option for the do-it-yourselfer. Many of our customers assemble their buildings without the expensive construction crews or contractors. Andy and Linda assembled the arches of the building in four days with the help of a few friends.

After the arches were assembled, the lower floor was framed out. The upper floor remained open to take advantage of the barrel vaulted ceiling. The home is heated and cooled with a geo-thermal system, making it incredibly energy efficient.

Every SteelMaster Quonset Hut home comes with a special coating, Galvalume Plus, which protects the steel from corrosion over time. The coating also makes the entire building more energy efficient. It shields it from the sun during the hot summer months and makes it easier to heat during the winter.

Andy says the house requires little maintenance on the exterior, with the occasional power wash to clear the Oak tree sap that collects from trees around the building.

“Our 3,000 square foot house, with two levels, came in at a cost less than two thirds of what it would have cost using conventional, stick built methods,” Andy said.

The couple also purchased a garage and workshop as a learning experience before making the final decision to build a steel home.

“Your engineers were extremely helpful and convinced us, along with our experience, to duplicate our efforts in our residence and garage,” Andy said.

Overall, Andy calls his experience with SteelMaster “outstanding.”

“The house has two openings in the walls – one on the north side and one on the south side – which required some extra engineering and lots of questions as to how to finish them with windows, et cetera,” he said. “Your engineers were extremely helpful in that regard.”

Over the years, Andy and Linda’s steel home and workshop have been seen by hundreds of guests and even featured in newspapers such as the New York Daily News.