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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> What we now have is not a proof that metal homes can't be built right.

What is your criteria for being built "right"?

> >They tend to be cold
> > and lifeless. Metal conducts heat and cold very quickly so needs special
> > insulation and ventilation design to disallow condensation and 
> subsequent rot of interior wood.
>
> I don't agree. I like metal a lot.

What is it that you don't agree with, the first or second sentence?

> What is special insulation?

Don responded to that. Any insulation next to a metal skin must be 
unaffected by moisture or it loses its insulation value. When warm, moist 
interior air hits cold metal, the moisture condenses out of the air and 
clings to and runs down on the metal. Any untreated wood--like 
purlins--that is continually wetted will rot, and informed people do not 
want treated wood inside their homes. Any insulation such as fiberglass 
becomes soaked and looses its insulation quality. One solution is to leave 
a dead-air space next to the metal and to have adequate insulation and 
interior air-tight barrier to keep the warm, moist air inside the structure 
and away from the metal. I suspect that in a humid climate there will be a 
problem in certain weather conditions unless there is good air flow just 
under the metal skin. But, unless the residents are willing to live in a 
totally metal structure, there will be wood connected to the metal at some 
point, and almost certainly at doors and windows because metal frames on 
doors and windows are highly energy inefficient.

> Availability is the number one factor(some shelter is better than no 
> shelter). Safety is number
> two factor.

Well, as to availability, tents go up much faster than metal buildings and 
can cover much larger areas.

> After that, it's anyone guess.

Are you serious? Far from guesswork, many factors are well known. The 
design features of homes are vitally important to human health and 
happiness. There are a large number of factors that make houses homes. 
Architects spend much time studying these factors and learning how to 
incorporate them into the houses they design.

Back to my question that you did not answer: Have you spent much time in a 
totally metal building?