GECKO STONE™

The following table illustrates the comparative attributes of double wall (not insulated) wood and steel framed structures with steel reinforced Lightweight Composite of 6" thickness and regular concrete of 6" thickness. The rating system is on a scale of four with one being the lowest desirable value. Cumulative points were totaled for a final score. Readers are encouraged to examine these numbers closely and draw their own conclusions.

Attribute

Sound Absorption

Insulation

Fire Resistance

Building Units

Modification

Building Lifespan

Termite Resistance

Compressive Strength

Shear Strength/wt

Tensile Strength/wt

Weathering Ability*

Design Flexibility

Initial Cost/Square Foot

Maintenance Cost

Aesthetics

Total Points

*Including water penetration.

The innovation of Lightweight Composite mixed with conventional technology will inevitably usher in a new age of concrete design and construction, especially in Hawaiian residential development and low cost housing. Wooden structures are simply not suitable to a tropical environment for a myriad of reasons, none which are applicable to concrete. Alternating wetting and drying, together with poor air circulation, produces conditions for rot to develop. Termites love wood, and even treated lumber becomes tasty after a while. Untreated cut ends are open passage to any termites coming up from the ground.

With LWC construction comes the potential for reduction of extraneous structural elements - no studs, insulation, dry wall, shingles, nails, bolts, hardware, etc. are needed. The average wood house today has hundreds of thousands of small parts which need to be fastened together, then usually topped with a gabled roof and composition shingles, creating a structure and roof membrane which can easily fail from wind shear in a hurricane. Wood framed structures attached to concrete foundations depend on a few dozen bolts to keep them from flying away in a major storm. Gabled roof systems tied on with hurricane clips can be neutralized by severe twisting forces, also known as racking. Wood homes resting on posts over foundation blocks can be knocked over by any flood, hurricane, or earthquake.

Fewer parts means decreased labor costs during construction and reduced failures from extraneous elements.

All things considered, including amortizing set up costs, construction using LWC may run only about 20% higher than stick-frame structures with gypsum interiors and plywood exteriors. However, the average wood structure in Hawaii needs remedial work by the time the building is ten years old, if not sooner. In 20 years the costs of maintaining a wood home will far exceed the initial cost of LWC. After 30 or 40 years, about the time the mortgage is paid off, a wood house will need extensive repairs, have gone through two or three roofings, or worse yet, ready for the bulldozer. The real estate market has helped foster the concept of apparent value over real value at the expense of uneducated home owners.