offgrid bungalows
I grew up spending much of my time in the wooded mountains of Idaho. My family, like many American families had a piece of land we spent weekends visiting, 10 miles into the woods off a dirt road, past any utility services provided. The land remained undeveloped due to the extremely high cost necessary to bring out those utility services to the property. Not much has changed through the years and as a result, the land value has not increased much if any. It would still cost Tens of Thousands of dollars to the landowners getting utility services. I still get into those woods every chance I get, and so do millions of people who own land far away from utility services. This is where I realized a niche in the market that I could fill.
For 20 years now I have been in the construction business. From big box concrete structures to custom designed log and timber homes. Over the years, I have gained extensive knowledge of the industry and have a high standard of excellence that has become both a selling point and the driving force for myself to succeed. Since 2008, I have been developing different ideas for an online product line for my company, Lantz Concepts LLC. Based in Meridian, Idaho and registered General Contractor, we specialize in ground-up residential projects. With self sustainable living, along with independent energy development, our focus for the projects we design has changed to satisfy the consumers.
Our building system cuts out dozens of hands, hundreds of miles, thousands of watts, and hours of time that are not really necessary for the process of building to be a success. This is how we define “Energy Wise Construction”. By offering a totally “Off-Grid” bungalow, land owners can easily enjoy their property for extended periods of time.
Besides individuals and families, our bungalows can also provide the needed amenities for those groups who have summer camps, outdoor guides, and even mother-in-law quarters for those of us lucky enough to have company for extended periods of time.
About Us
Our Values
One thing we Americans let define us is our Individualism. We gained that individualism by hard work, personal drive to succeed, and planning because we possess the freedom and liberty to go after our dreams. Through the decades, that entrepreneurial attitude has created millions of jobs as well as technological breakthroughs taking our economy to the largest in the World. With that rugged individualism and “grit”, the generations of Americans from our past have made the story of Americana grow in every direction. Even beyond our borders, the stories help fuel the American dream we all have and play a part in. This American Dream is part of all of us. That American Individualism spreading all over the World controlled by our freedoms and liberty to do so is like a grass fire scorching the earth and bringing new life to ancient soil.
In many ways the American Dream has come full circle. From the exploring and populating of the country in the Nineteenth century, to the city building and suburbanizing of the Twentieth century. Now in the Twenty-first century, where the ideal of individualism and control of our own lives is in the forefront of our minds, some argue (with much success), that the Americana way of life is under attack.
We believe that the consumers in our target markets are not just looking for a weekend retreat but a way to help them live independently. We have taken note, the new trends based on downsizing and becoming more efficient and in control of what we consume and purchase. For example, trading in the monster trucks that once pulled our recreational toys, for a hybrid SUV and paddle board. Or finding ways to cut grams off our backpacking supplies.
Could the ideas of “home” also be morphing into a new streamlined basic needs concept?
Rebel Americana is the attempt to provide simple building systems that make “green energy” into more than a fee and sticker after inspection. For example, the smart design throughout the whole building process and utilization of bi-product materials reduces overall cost for our product.
Ever go a few days without energy?
Electricity has been a part of life for the majority of Americans for generations. This we have grown to take for granted is in many areas out of the question due to the high cost of installing power lines and connecting to the grid. Ask yourself, do we need utility services? Do I need to connect to the grid? In many cases the answer is no. The solution offered here is developed with the same approach as the way we get our materials. Provide it ourselves. The battery bank system we adopted is a combination of energy storage and energy generation, with a dual fuel generator that can be supplemented with wind or solar but most effective and dependable when used with propane. Propane is a fuel that is readily available in all American markets and can also be delivered to your location weather permitting. Now you will control the energy when and where you need it.
We harvest our material from the standing dead timber that is a renewable resource and fire hazard to the forests we Idahoans enjoy. After harvest, we truck the timber to be milled with specific purpose. After the materials are milled, the now rough sawn material is used in the construction of our bungalows. We prebuild the structure and then package and ship it to the location selected by the buyer.
Our system cuts out dozens of hands, hundreds of miles, thousands of watts and hours of time that are not really necessary for the process of building to be a success. This is how we define “Energy Wise Construction”
The more traditional way and means of constructing a building is to go to the building supply company(s) and have the materials shipped by boat, plane, train and trucked in from a warehouse somewhere in the world. A warehouse that received these materials from a wholesaler. A wholesaler who bought the materials from a massive mill or factory. A milling operation or factory that is so big it must buy millions of board feet of timber every year to be able to operate. The timber sales are awarded by bid to logging companies that harvest thousands of acres of forested areas all over the country and world. Can you begin to see the size of the footprint made? To say nothing about the waste, other than there is an exorbitant amount of waste - waste that is in many ways is out of control and unsustainable.
Now take a look at our waste.
Our waste material or (fall-off) as it is known in construction is bundled and sold as firewood by the cubic foot. The saw fillings are excellent bedding for livestock and is made available to local farmers and ranchers. Once the bungalow is built at our site, we load a small connex steel container (8 FT. x 8 FT. x 20 FT.)That can ship anywhere with the now panelized structure in order from top to bottom. We offer delivery and re-assembly for additional cost in Idaho and surrounding states. We think you the consumer, can control the cost from Point A to B to C if given the chance, and desire to control it. We are providing the way and means knowing we can count on that Americana spirit to seek our products out.
However, I am still a carpenter. I still love building clients dream homes and weekend getaways. So I decided, it's time to change the way I approach projects. I needed to change the way I looked at materials. The conclusions I came to were the low impact, energy wise, less-is-more designs of our Rebel Americana Bungalows.
By offering a totally “Off-Grid” bungalow, land owners can easily enjoy their property for extended periods of time.
