US3640037A

US3640037A - Low-cost housing

Info

Publication number: US3640037A
Application number: US8466A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred S Renauld; Noemie A Renauld
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-02-04
Filing date: 1970-02-04
Publication date: 1972-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 1989-02-08

Abstract

Three-module, prefabricated or mobile homes are described in combination with a unique angular placement of the homes in a mobile home park which provides maximum privacy and enjoyment of the home site. The homes comprise a utility core module which is assembled to two additional modules on the lot. The substantially greater width of the assembled home permits use of shorter modules than the conventional two-module mobile homes without sacrifice of floor space. The shorter units permit faster and simpler positioning on the home site. Preferably, the units are placed at an angular orientation to the lot lines so that four triangular areas are thereby defined in the corners of the lot which provide increased off-street parking, greater privacy and more useful outdoor recreational areas than possible with conventional two-module homes which are positioned on their lots parallel to the lot lines.

Description

United States Patent Renauld et al.

[ 5] Feb. 8, 1972 [54] LOW-COST HOUSING [22 Filed: Feb. 4, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 8,466

[52] U.S.Cl ..52/169, 52/79, 52/67 [51] Int. Cl [58] Field of Search ..52/67, 79,169, 234, 237

OTHER PUBLICATIONS The Magazine of Building, 5-1951 pp. l32, 133, 52/234; Architectural Record, NA lA66 Sept. 1938, pp. 98, 99

52/169; Popular Mechanics, 1950, pp. 80, 81 52/67 Primary ExaminerAlfred C. Perham Attorney-Robert E. Strauss [5 7] ABSTRACT Three-module, prefabricated or mobile homes are described in combination with a unique angular placement of the homes in a mobile home park which provides maximum privacy and enjoyment of the home site. The homes comprise a utility core module which is assembled to two additional modules on the lot. The substantially greater width of the assembled home permits use of shorter modules than the conventional twomodule mobile homes without sacrifice of floor space. The shorter units permit faster and simpler positioning on the home site. Preferably, the units are placed at an angular orientation to the lot lines so that four triangular areas are thereby defined in the corners of the lot which provide increased offstreet parking, greater privacy and more useful outdoor recreational areas than possible with conventional twomodule homes which are positioned on their lots parallel to the lot lines. 1

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures mzmw rm- 8 m2 3540.037

SHEET 1 OF 2 FIGURE 1 INVENTOR.

FRED S. RENAULD BY NO MIE AULD T0 NE LOW-COST HOUSING DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to prefabricated housing and, in particular, relates to improvements in the design and construction of mobile homes and mobile home parks.

Mobile homes are finding increasing acceptance as low cost housing units. Recent improvements have included expanding units as well as two module units which are assembled at the park site. These homes are generally up to 12 feet in width for single module units and up to twenty feet in width for double module units with lengths of from 50 feet to about 70 feet. The module widths and lengths are limited to a maximum of about 12 feet and 70 feet, respectively, to permit roadability and the resultant homes are long and narrow, with width to length ratios of from about 0.3 to about 0.5.

To achieve maximum density of the homes in a mobile park, it is necessary to position the long, narrow homes at substantially parallel orientation to the lot lines.

The aforedescribed home construction and placement on park lots doesnt achieve the most desirable features for the enjoyment of the home. Since most of the homes are positioned in side-by-side orientation with narrow side and rear yards, privacy is sacrificed and the narrow side and rear yards are usually too small to permit adequate off-street parking and outdoor recreational use. Additionally, the relatively long and narrow home limits the interior room arrangement and prevents imaginative and new floor plans.

It is an object of this invention to provide a mobile home park which permits maximum privacy and enjoyment of the home site.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a threemodule home that is particularly adapted for use with said mobile home park.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide an arrangement of such three-module homes on said home park which achieves maximum site utilization.

Other and related objects will be apparent from the following description of the invention.

The aforementioned objects of this invention are achieved by the home and park combination which comprises a mobile home park subdivided into a plurality of separate and generally rectangular lots in a gridlike arrangement and, on each of said lots, a mobile home constructed from at least three modules having a width to length ratio from about 0.75 to 1.5, preferably from about 0.8 to L2 and, most preferably about 0. l and positioned on said lot at angular orientation of from about 30 to about 60 to the boundary lines of the lot to define a triangular open area in each corner of the lot suitable for recreational use and for off-street parking. In a preferred embodiment, the rear and one side of the home supports an overhead patio structure. In another preferred embodiment, substantially all the window areas of the homes are oriented towards the triangular open areas on which plantings are established to interrupt direct views between the homes.

The invention will now be described with reference to the FIGS., ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a section of a mobile home park with an illustration of a typical floor plan; and

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative park arrangement.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a view of a portion of a mobile home park having

contiguous lots

10, 12, 14 and 16 on which are placed

mobile homes

11, 13, and 17. The homes are formed from three modules which are identified on home 15 as

units

18, 20 and 22. These units are each about 10 to 12 feet in width, the maximum permitted for roadability and are from 24 to about 40 feet in length. Preferably, the units are 12 feet wide by about 36 feet long. Unit 18, which is attached to the central unit 20 is the front of the home and has an entrance porch 24 which is supported by unit 18. An optional feature comprises an extendible bay window 26 which can be retracted for transporting the unit.

The homes are placed on the lots at an angular orientation from about 30 to 60 degrees to the boundary lines. e.g., street A and line 25. This placement defines four triangular-shaped areas which are identified as 28, 30, 32 and 34 in the upper left lot 10. The area 28 can be used for off-street parking and can accommodate two cars on pavement 29 as shown or 'can accommodate three cars with a wider driveway as shown at 36, 38 and 40 on lot 16. The large comer spaces provide ample area for plantings 42 which can have sufiicient height, e.g., from 5 to about 30 feet to impart a high degree of privacy to the homes. This placement of the homes also permits installation of a continuous L-shaped patio structure 44 which extends over the driveway and rear patio 41. The driveway extends along the side of the house and into the L-shaped patio 41. The overhead shelter 44 thereby serves to protect the rear patio and also serves as a carport. Since the service porch 83 is at the rear corner of the house (see house 17 the structure 44 serves to provide a protected access from the car into the house. The structure 44 can be an integral extension of the roof of the house or can be separate structure which can be secured to brackets attached to the house. The entire structure can also be enclosed, if desired, with screens, glass or other protective walling.

Referring now to the house on lot 16, the view shows a typical interior arrangement. This interior comprises an entrance foyer 46, living room 48 and dining room 50 with a buffet 52 and closet 54 within the first module or unit. The second module is the utility unit with a kitchen 56, a service corridor 62 having a furnace 60, washer and drier 58 and closet 64. The corridor opens into a bathroom 66 which has a shower 68. At the end of the bathroom is a small hall closet 67. The master bedroom 70 has a separate bathroom 72. The third module attaches to the central module to define a hallway 74 and the remaining end of bedroom 70. A dressing room with closet space is provided in communication with bedroom 70. An outside closet 76 is provided for storage of yard tools and the remainder of the third module defines two

additional rooms

80 and 82 with a closet 84.

The centralization of the utilities also permits the construction of the unit that can isolate the noise and activities of the utility section from the remainder of the home. As shown, all the utility rooms, i.e., the kitchen, baths and service corridor are provided with doors to isolate these rooms when necessary. In addition, the walls of the utility unit can be constructed with sound proofing design, e.g., sound insulation and/or double walls to insure a minimum of sound conductance. The preferred use of a central utility core permits the installation of all the plumbing in the interior walls and thereby affords a definite advantage against freezing in cold climates.

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred park arrangement which insures maximum privacy of the homes. In this arrangement, contiguous lots are staggered in placement to provide a continuous succession of corner spaces that will support sufficiently large plants to provide a sense of separation not attainable in the ordinary mobile homes parks. As illustrated, a first row of

lots

90, 91 and 92 face on the street opposite a second row of

lots

93, 94 and 95. The contiguous row of

lots

96, 97, 98 and 99 are shown at staggered positions to lots 90-92. Three of the comer areas of each of these lots are shown with one or more large shrubs or small trees 42 while the fourth corner fronting on the street is available for offstreet parking as described in regard to FIG. 1.

It can be seen from the illustration that the boundry line a-a' is therefore entirely screened by a succession of shrubs 42 located on contiguous corners of the lots so that substantially all views between homes on these lots are effectively blocked. This results in excellent separation of the homes and maximum privacy to the occupants.

FIG. 2 illustrates another advantage of the three module home construction. This appears in the illustration at the lower left of the figure. In this view, a module is shown as it is being placed on lot 111 by a truck or tractor 112. The placement can easily be made from a street of a width from 18 to about 24 feet without need for the truck to drive over the curbs of the street. In contrast, placement of the longer, single or dual module homes often requires wider streets. This is shown by the broken lines which define the space 113 that would be occupied by a unit of about 70 feet in length, typical of the one or two module mobile homes. As shown, a street width of about 25 to-35 feet would be required for this placement.

The lot sizes shown in the illustrations are about 58 by 62 feet with a total area of 3,596 square feet. The size can be varied greatly, depending on the local zoning requirements. In general, the lot shapes are similar to that of the homes with width to depth ratios about 0.75 to about 1.5. importantly, the homes can actually be placed with a higher density, i.e., homes per acre, than possible with the conventional, long and narrow mobile homes of equivalent floor space. Since the homes can be placed on an angle in the park, the view from the windows can be directed to private courtyards or gardens rather than directly into the neighboring homes as now encountered with the conventional homes.

While the preceding description is directed towards the preferred three module homes, it is understood that the modules are not necessarily entirely detachable. To illustrate, the center module housing the utility core could telescope within one-of the outer modules, e.g., the front module 18 could retract over the outside of the center module 20, after removal of closet 54 and the inset walls that define the entrance foyer 46. The third module 22 could also telescope about

units

18 and 20, if desired; however, a more manageable assembly would result if the third module were separately transported to the home site.

The utility core of the home could also be located in either of the outer modules rather than in the center module as shown in FIG. 1. Preferably, the utilities are all centralized in a single unit as shown so that assembly of the home on the home site is simplified. This construction also permits greater fiexibility in the construction of the modules, tag, the construction of the utility module could be performed at a plant equipped to specialize in kitchen and bath fixtures.

The preceding illustration of the invention is not intended to unduly limit the scope of the invention but. rather, it is intended that all equivalent means other than those specifically described herein are within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. The combination of a plurality of prefabricated homes in a home park which comprises a home park subdivided into a plurality of separate and generally rectangular lots having width to depth ratios from 0.75 to L5 arranged in a gridlike division with street access to each of said lots and a prefabricated home constructed from at least three modules and having a width to length ratio from about 0.8 to about 1.2 positioned on each of a plurality of contiguous lots of said park at an angular orientation of from about 30 to 60 to the perimeter lines of said lot to define triangular open areas in each lot, opposite each side of the home on said lot and suitable for recreational purposes and off-street parking with windows of each unit facing said triangular open areas.

2. The home park of claim 1 wherein said prefabricated homes are mobile homes having a maximum width of about 12 feet to permit roadability.

3. The mobile home park of claim 2 wherein plants are established in said open triangular areas to interrupt direct views between said mobile homes.

4. The mobile home park of claim 2 wherein said lots are arranged with contiguous lots in a staggered side-by-side alignment and said triangular open areas of the contiguous lots define a continuous planting area for screening plants.

5. The mobile home park of claim 2 wherein at least one of the triangular open areas fronting on the access street of one or more of said lots is provided with a paved area to accommodate three cars in off-street parking.

6. The mobile home park of claim 2 wherein the driveway of atleast one of said lots extends along one side of the house on said lot and into an L-shaped patio with the other leg of said patio extending along an adjacent side of said house.

7. The mobile home park of claim 6 wherein said house has an L-shaped overhead shelter extending along said one side and adjacent side to form a car port and contiguous patio structure.

Claims

1. The combination of a plurality of prefabricated homes in a home park which comprises a home park subdivided into a plurality of separate and generally rectangular lots having width to depth ratios from 0.75 to 1.5 arranged in a gridlike division with street access to each of said lots and a prefabricated home constructed from at least three modules and having a width to length ratio from about 0.8 to about 1.2 positioned on each of a plurality of contiguous lots of said park at an angular orientation of from about 30* to 60* to the perimeter lines of said lot to define triangular open areas in each lot, opposite each side of the home on said lot and suitable for recreational purposes and off-street parking with windows of each unit facing said triangular open areas.

6. The mobile home park of claim 2 wherein the driveway of at least one of said lots extends along one side of the house on said lot and into an L-shaped patio with the other leg of said patio extending along an adjacent side of said house.