Grid Beam modular system builds anything, furniture to bikes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2017
- Grid Beam is a kind of LEGO, or Erector Set, for grownups who want to build real things. Its creators, brothers Phil and Richard Jergenson, have used it to create tiny houses, furniture, electric vehicles, bicycles and even a solar train car that made a 44-mile run on working rail.
The Jergensons grew up playing with modular toys- LEGOs, Meccano, Erector Sets, Lincoln Logs- and wanted to apply this technology to help people construct their own environments, whether car, bike or bed. Phil’s daughter, Rona, grew up with a set of Grid Beam (then called Box Beam) and constantly re-modeled her room. “My bed, I changed it out every week, my dad would come in and one time I would have a bunk bed with a slide, the next day I”d say I don’t really want another bed let me put a desk underneath it.”
The Grid Beam brothers operate an off-grid, solar-powered shop in Willits, CA (Mendocino County) where they manufacture and sell the hardware: 2x2 wood (or aluminum) beams with holes drilled through every 1 ½ inch, as well as, standard furniture bolts and accessories like wheels, bicycle pedals or feet for tiny houses.
Back in the seventies, the brothers were inspired by Ken Isaac’s idea of highly-customizable “living structures” (and his book “How To Build Your Own Living Structures”). “Matrix was what it was called then with an uneven hole pattern,” explains Phil of Isaac’s less-developed modular beam system, “And I knew what you had to do, you had to drill all the holes and you had to make it modular lengths of itself.”
They have been selling their Grid Beams since 2012, but they have always been open source and continue to encourage others to make their own. They have published “How to Build with Grid Beam: A Fast, Easy and Affordable System for Constructing Almost Anything” as a source of inspiration and a guide. And given the consistent pattern of the Grid Beams, designs are easily replicated. “If you just count the holes you can duplicate these frames just by looking at a couple of photos,” explains Phil.
“You can do anything for a fraction of the price. I see people being able to build their own tiny house and tiny electric car for easily 2 or 3 thousand dollars because that’s the cost of the components,” argues Phil. “And when you build it yourself, if something should go wrong, you are the specialist and you are the one who can fix it.”
www.gridbeam.com/
“How to Build with Grid Beams” www.gridbeam.com/grid-beam-boo...
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The original New 1st Edition GRIDBEAM book is now available right from the Makers, on their website...www.gridbeam.com/
So please go fund us! (aka - Buy the book)
Hey Annie! Are there any plans on scaling up gridbeam production and making it an internationally available product? I absolutely love the idea and believe it could be very useful, but the current price and ordering process seems to hold back adoption.
wish there was a PDF option so i can have it on my tablet. i love 'real' books aka dead tree editions, but for sure having a tablet helps me downsize my giant library. oh, i see on amazon that there is a kindle version. perfect!
I've got this book marked.
I bough the PDF version, it's wel written. Unfortunately, the pictures are very low quality to the point that they are sometimes almost useless -- no hole counting.
I just ordered a copy.
I get tears in my eyes watching people do what they love - these guys are fantastic.
From this woman's perspective Gridbeam is powerful. I have been able to build several different pieces of furniture without driving one nail.Construction is quiet and clean and so strong. I like that it is made in the USA with solar power, from recycled or holistically forested wood and American know how. Phil and Richard are to be praised for their years of work. What a great video, thank you, Kirsten
The "Nomadic Furniture" books completely changed how I saw surviving in the USA. This video about Phil and Richard Jergenson's contributions and advancements to this theme is a reaffirmation that sensibility and common sense will solve the problems the dominant culture create. I wish I lived closer. I'd volunteer to sweep out their shop every day just to be around these geniuses and their creativity.
Agreed. I've had the privilege of visiting their shop a couple of times and it does wonders for one's creative juices just being there. I'd love to see Phil and Richard have conferences or "Grid Beam Camps" there.
They are amazing.
Very cool! There are so many amazing people out there. Thank you for shining a light upon them!
Funny enough, I built my easel and shelves for painting storage with the same idea as this system. Never knew there was a company who were doing this.. Awesome!
Would be so cool to build a workshop with those. You can customize anything, build your own tools, shelves, furniture, and the best part is that you can change anything and reuse all the details.
Perfect for a kid's room as well.
I'm surprised this is not as mainstream as LEGO.
They aren't trying to turn a profit. Thus... the kind of people who latch onto things, marketing them in hopes of skimming off that profit, well they are no where to be found!
This is truly wonderful, exciting, empowering and brilliant stuff!!! Thank you to Kirsten and family for filming and finding these amazing people!! And THANK YOU Phil and Richard for coming up with a mind-blowingly simple way of building.
This is great! I can see myself developing it for myself and for my community.
These are good peoples with great researches . I hope the mother nature bless their vision and take care of them.
If I had the money, i'd love to build something out of this stuff!
This is so inspiring. I like the sentiment of 'nail and hammer are violent construction methods'. Plus points for making it open and collaborative!
I've been thinking about bunk beds for my three boys, problem solved. Thanks.
This is amazing
This is one of my favorite channels. I watch all the videos. But this, this is the best most useful thing I think I have ever seen, having just built, with MUCH difficulty, a tiny house A-frame, fold down camper on a small trailer base, out of mostly recycled materials. I wish I would have known about this. It makes me want to build another one and before this, I would have said no way in the world would I want to build another one. Thank for bringing this video to the web and thanks to Phil and Richard Jergenson for inventing Grid Beam.
Excellent, inspiring, innovative, forward-thinking....
Thanks for sharing the wonderful work of these generous people.
I find myself incredibly inspired by this concept. With their ingenuity, and some real money I have no doubt that actual buildings could be built; i'm fervently waiting for a time when structures can be crafted and taken down with no waste. Great video as always.
I cannot not say something but... Ken Issacs had eerily similar modular designs which i think should be acknowledged not only by this guy but the audience herein as well.
EDIT: I'll shut my dumb face now. @12:22 mad respect for these guys.
They do recognise his book and the Nomadic Furniture books in an earlier video.
We indeed all share the same hole pattern! So inspiring, my mind is awhirl with hundreds of ideas, starting with a secure tool box. Many Thanks!
Thought the houses were kinda bad, but the furniture is great! It's like Ikea but it actually comes apart.
This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. And the genius is in the simplicity. The earth is starved of resources and this is one of the best solutions...! Why do we not know about this ...!
This is my new favorite thing. Very inspirational.
I've watched and enjoyed ALL your vids! This is the best one yet! Thanks for sharing!
Just found this, kinda late to the party I guess, but I found this really, really interesting so thanks for making the video and sharing. I am definitely going to buy a copy of their book and make some GRIDBEAM to use for some projects. I absolutely love the concept of modular, reusable, reconfigurable! Thanks guys.
THAT IS AMAZING. THERE SHOULD NOT BE HOMELESS PEOPLE WHEN THERE IS THIS TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY.. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS WITH US.
OMG This is Amazing!
The website is gone but I hope the guys are still building. This is one of the most inspiring videos on the channel.
the website is gone?
@@lazarusrex9545 it was is it back. I got the book. It's cool.
@@AndrewHelgeCox And it is gone again, apparently. 😲
@@dovh49 😖
That is what I am finding also. :-(
I grew up playing with erector sets with my brother. We had a blast with it. You guys are brilliant. Our government could do well and save money using your ideas.
That train one! I really like that. Ideas for public transportation for sure. :)
Genius! Instant fan!
You are amazing!!!! Thumbs UP!
This is just awesome!!!!
This is fantastic, these would be perfect for all sorts of projects on the property.
Amazing. Thank you
Only issues I would see with the holes is if the structural integrity of the material. Wood will eventually rot, and those holes look like perfect breeding grounds. And with the metal, you'd want more supports for the larger projects.
Glad to see you got that gang drill working!
So simple. Genius!
This would be great for reconstruction in Mexico and other earthquake situations!!
I need this. Everyone needs this!
wow this is really really good. its not the most pretty system, but the adaptability and simplicity is just compelling.
I love the concept. A very great idea shared.
Wow, this is brilliant.
The best thing I see is an easy and inexpensive way to house homeless ones.
Yeah, but then people will complain & tear it down like they are out west. Have you heard about that?
In LA, this guy started building Tiny Houses for homeless folks. They were parked in the same spaces people had previously popped up tents... or made little shanties out of boxes & what not.
But as soon as these folks had something clean & nice... nope! Petition the city to tear it down!
Of course it's illegal, doesn't meet code & isn't zoned properly. But you're telling me a cardboard box & some garbage bags does!?
More of the same :[
Used this concept back in the 70s from the original book. I made a 2 -4 ft square structures to make a loft and desk. Back then there wasn't furniture hardware like today, just flat head bolts and nuts. The design extended also to using it as an exoskeleton for a small cabin or even a vehicle.
super neat!
simplicity, genius at play - thanks for sharing such varied and inspiring people and living solutions. I'm in South Africa where I' aim to inspire such thinking through youth skills development - the average citizen lives in tiny tin sheeting and odds from building sites 'shanty' dwellings and could benefit enormously from exposure to ingenuity. Blessed be! x
Love this concept, simple, comfortable. I need the tablet holder when I'm laying in bed 🐒
These guys need to be waaaay big!
Very awesome.
This was amazing
Wow this is great
Wwwow that is super cool. That looks like something to set my grandson up with. Imagine having legos that big. Thank you for this video! I'm surprised the world (well, ME) hasn't heard of this.
Kirsten how do you find these fascinating places? I love every single one of your videos.
Me too!
Awesome thank you
This is really cool... DIY build kit..
The company Arrival are making large electric vehicles from bolted together modular pieces in their microfactories. Similar idea.
Great video
Just think if he could make a solar/electric/pedal velomobile & a trailer out of that tiny house...
Fascinating!!!!!! ♥☼♥
Oh my goodness I can't thumbs up!!! 🙌🏿😍
what creative minds!
this is so cool
Ikea take note! Thanks for sharing another intriguing video!
Actually, most IKEA stuff are designed with common sizes, so parts fit together, even if they are not related.
Fantastic video. Has really sent me down a wonderful rabbit hole. I just finished my first Gridbeam project. Has anyone used gridbeam to construct a 3 drill drill-press in order to make drilling the holes faster??
This is genius. You could use one piece of aluminium box beam as a template to drill the holes in pieces of wood. So simple and so clever.
pretty cool.
It's like a real size Meccano model construction system.
Hey, I think these Grid Beamer folks are my neighbors.
opens the book at 11.23 maori carvers! we still carve like that in New Zealand!
Kirsten, thanks for showing us such a cool guy. I just bought his book on Amazon. Your internet pal, Lee
THIS IS THE DREAM.
Cool.
An alternative to this is a mig welder. You can connect cheap metal rails basically like with a hot glue gun.
Aluminium profile is another alternative. 3D printing connectors for aluminium profiles works too.
Thank you kirsten
It's like tinker toys for building stuff, this is really neat. Legos for grown ups :) This guy is IKEA's future. They will one day do something like what he is doing but for home furniture.
Just starting some research on woodworking and want to learn it. I would love to try building furniture using wood beam. However, can someone shed some light on how strong the wood grid beams are? My concern is when there are a roll of holes in them, they will not be as strong as they are solid. Aluminum would be great and strong but I might not have the budget for the material.
Love to get my hands on a bunch of this stuff, do you ship worldwide? Also have you ever considered making a murphy bed with gridbeam?
Loved the video and seeing all your ideas! :D
So I could use the same materials from my tiny house to build my kids furniture someday or a chicken coop or something
Or you could use 2x4s and save tons of money.
Yeah, you can truly build anything you need/want. Its open source as well, there is a book on amazon for approx. $30 that shows you how to drill your own gridbeam so there is no need to buy them pre-drilled.
That's amazing, I want to call and ask the brothers how much it would cost to build a lofted bed for a college apartment.
Still working in my entertainment center. Trials and tribulations led me to be impatient, and drill only some holes. Gotta go back and re drill
Metal sections are similar to street sign posts used everywhere.
gridbeam is nice !! ... other projects seem unlogic and even ugly .. .. but keep it simple keep it light .. always good
>wanting to connect the world by everybody using the same hole pattern
>imperial units
Don't you mean Metric?
I was pointing out the contradiction.
great idea, but I just keep seeing bedbug condos with all of those holes!
Any lumber can work the same way without drilling so many holes all at once. And how often are you really going to take something you build apart? My projects all have specific purposes. If someone wants to take one of those apart and use the materials for another object, that's wonderful. But I don't think that should be any ones first consideration.
Not to say that it isn't a cool idea :D
Not to mention that even if you had boxes and boxes of those GridBeams you would still need a shop to make stuff to mount on the GridBeam frame. (like those wheels, legs, chairs etc.) So if you need to visit a shop each time you'd want to make a new thing, you might as well just buy some new aluminium and 2x4's and not have a thing that has a whole lot of holes in it.
I guess GridBeams are better for prototyping than building the final product. You get your GridBeams, screw them together, check if the prototype is functional. Then you can quickly get all measurements by counting holes. Then you take the prototype apart and build the final product with newly bought materials.
and slotted aluminum extrusions are more efficient
The metal beams are stronger and more durable and don’t degrade the way wood degrades when you take it apart or when you put movable joints on it .They are ready made and multi use.
It requires a change in thinking. We change "things" often enough. If you had this, you could build the specific thing you need. When that isn't working for you anymore, change it. I totally get it. Amazing.
I want one for my chickens!
So fucking cool
Smart approach. On a smaller scale, the Chinese manufacturer M*kebl*ck produces technical / STEM toys for children (beams, rails, wheels, sensors, controllers). Great inspiration.
Expensive stuff at $7 a foot for 1 1/2 inch aluminum plus heavy at 1lbs per 2 foot, not including bolts.
Also, the joint efficiency is not good. I like this stuff, bought the book, was a big fan of Ken Isaacs and bought HIS book, but I strongly feel that this stuff is for prototypes and education only, the idea of making a VEHICLE like this seems really crazy! The book is loopy, talking about "post-carbon" civilization.
11:42 Good sight!
Indeed!
Cool documentary Kirsten! I noticed the title of the video is "Brick Beam..." when the product is called "Grid Beam. Would it be possible to re-title the video "grid beam"?
When did this get reedited?
Well that's interesting.
Wow
That first thing was pretty bad looking but I love the idea of this. I'm just a newbie to woodworking so I have spent a whole day making a small chair. Would have taken me way less time with this stuff.
What's the machine called for drilling mulitple holes @ 5:14?
gang drill. usually custom
Cool! Maybe a contractor can comment on its structural integrity under high winds. Why haven't they made a small home out of it already if they've been building for so long? 🤔 Sad to hear him say how they haven't made any money and spent so much time and money on it. Good luck Gridbeam!
It's basically just a plywood box, you would need to have walls with insulation, fit electrical, windows, plumbing for it to be anything like a house. Would be a neat tree house for kids though.
their purpose it not a money I suppose! "there's no monopoly here ... " th-cam.com/video/PIMESt9iLYg/w-d-xo.htmlm35s
look up t slotted aluminum
I was thinking.... with this gridbeam and other material one could easily build pretty cheap and easy/simple stand alone homeless shelters, for instance for homeless vets, give them something that is just their space, a spot for a (foam) matrass, a composting bucket as toilet and a little one burner camping stove and a metal mixing/salad/dog bowl as a little sink/ wash basin and tadaa you have a simple shelter for anyone that needs it...
Limited, but very cool. I would love to use this for my kids' furniture, or workstations in a garage. Definitely would not live in a house made out of it though, haha.
The stuff is reusable but how often would that be an advantage? You can buy an eight foot 2x2 for about five bucks. For them to round the edges and punch holes in it they charge 24 bucks. For that kinda dough I just don't see the point.
While you're right, I think the section with his daughter shows the best case scenario for this idea. She had a set of these components for her entire childhood that she changed into different things frequently for her needs, took them to college with her, built a bed there, built easels when she needed to paint, etc. All without ever having to buy another product or new raw materials which is pretty awesome. The price right now is too high for sure, but if this ever caught on and reached mass manufacturing, economy of scale would bring the price down significantly to where you'd only be paying ideally no more than twice the cost of the raw material instead of five times the cost, which means you could have the components to build several small pieces of furniture for the price of a video game console that you could easily break down into component pieces and rearrange into anything as your needs change.