This Hurricane-Resistant Prefab Is Made From More Than 600,000 Recycled Plastic Bottles
In Nova Scotia, a prefab beach house makes history as the first-ever home built with PET core foam technology.
On a casual evening over beers, David Saulnier and Joel German were kicking around ideas for industry disruptors when they got hooked on the idea of building a home with recycled plastic bottles. The pair of Nova Scotians had experience working with composites—materials made from two or more items that, when combined, produces a material that’s typically superior than its individual components—and figured that if they were going to start a new business, they had a responsibility to help the environment as well.
A little over a year after they launched their startup, JD Composites, the duo realized their goal—a one-of-a-kind beach house made of approximately 612,000 recycled plastic bottles.
The exterior shell of the house is composed of nearly 200 panels made of recycled plastic bottles. Smaller panels were used for the eaves of the home.
Ben Green
Saulnier and German built the Recycled House on 1.46 acres of oceanfront property on family land in Meteghan River, Nova Scotia.
Ben Green
"It was a really fast startup from idea to full-proof concept in basically one year, with five months off during that year (due to work obligations in the winter fishing season) and the wrong equipment to do the job, but we made it work," says German. He and Saulnier held down full-time jobs while pursuing their passion project on the side. "Had we had a full team of eight to 10 people who could’ve dedicated themselves to production, we think start to finish we could’ve done the home in three months with the right equipment."
JD Composites clad the exterior with aluminum and vinyl siding for looks, however the composite prefab panels could have been simply coated with stucco.
Ben Green
See the full story on Dwell.com: This Hurricane-Resistant Prefab Is Made From More Than 600,000 Recycled Plastic Bottles
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