State, local leaders gather to see unusual CAO project, hear of hopes for future

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, April 22, 2003

They knocked, patted, stared, and pointed. And they asked a lot of questions. It was, after all, their very first time seeing a house of soybeans, so to speak.

Local leaders and state government officials were invited to Ironton to see the building that Don Dunfee built.

Dunfee, a Lancaster entrepreneur, has developed a new method of construction he hopes will become the more environmental, easier alternative to traditional house and building construction. Dunfee makes blocks by blending soybean oil with a polyurethane through a foaming process. The result is a creamy, yellow, oblong block that looks like a children's toy. He is constructing a storage building for the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization to showcase his idea. Dunfee hopes this adult-sized lego look alike will be the wave of the future.

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"It's environmentally sound, it doesn't create volatile organic compounds, it can be made on site without a lot of training," Dunfee said.

"Are they impact resistant?" asked Jessie Richardson, entrepreneurial team leader for the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation. "How do you attach surfaces to it?"

"What is the cost comparison with the average house, say 2,000 square foot, using traditional methods?" asked Don Clark, Agri Industry Specialist with the Ohio Department of Development.

Dunfee said, right now, the material is 5 to 10 percent more expensive than traditional construction, but he hopes that will change in the future. His goal is to make this an affordable choice for people in what is referred to as the gray area of home ownership. Many people who make too much to qualify for government assistance, but who are unable to build using traditional methods.

Start-up costs for block construction equipment is about $22,000. CAO officials said they will spend approximately $35,000 on their outbuilding, but pointed out that figure is not an accurate representation of what such a building would normally cost since Dunfee is donating his labor.

Dunfee wants to eventually sell the equipment that would be used to make the blocks, dubbed EMEGA blocks for now, so that groups or organizations throughout the world could use his block system to provide low-cost, easy-to-build, affordable housing in areas where there is a great need, but not a great source of capital or manpower necessary for traditional construction means.

David Michael, associate director of special projects for the CAO, said he has something more local in mind. He said CAO officials have discussed with Lawrence County MRDD board members the prospect of having the blocks made locally by Tri-State Industries' workers for use in construction of transitional housing for the workers who make the blocks.

"It's a tremendous concept if we can get all the pieces to fit together," Michael said. "We would be having the people there make their own housing and then live in it."

Dunfee said his next step is to find an investor willing to foot the bill for a prototype house, something to prove the viability of his product. Dunfee said anyone interested in working with him on a prototype building may contact him via his Web site at www.emageblock.com or by phone at (614) 419-4563.

After answering questions about his equipment, techniques and product development, Dunfee led the group outside to see the nearly finished product. The CAO building should be ready for use within two to three weeks.

"It's amazing," said Kara McGraw, community development representative for the Governor's Office of Development Region 7. "I'm most interested in the fact that anyone can do this."

"I can build my own home now," Clark laughed as he handled a three-pound EMEGA block.

"To me, it looks like it could be something for the future," Lawrence County Commissioner Doug Malone said as he checked out the inside of the building.

D.R. Gossett, chief financial officer for the CAO, said the outbuilding will be used to store the agency's records.