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Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
51–60 of 262 posts
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#52Consider: - buying some architectural books. Many (good ones) have plans in them from excellent architects. A sample from a good one is at [0]. If your tastes are not so 'architecture school' there are others. - looking at the development approvals in your local area. Plans are often open to all. And they will (assumedly) be up to code in your area today. Imo the concept of 'open source' doesn't translate to houses a…
> Imo the concept of 'open source' doesn't translate to houses as well because regulation, construction approaches and tastes can be so locally specific and also change over time. I think that's the biggest problem. You can draw up a house in free apps in a couple of minutes or hours but that doesn't mean it's structurally sound or that the walls will have the right dimensions for the pipes and cables that need to ru…
I would add that an architect’s job is to find the little details that make your big investment better. One thing I associate with off the rack house plans in big developments is having the shades drawn all day because otherwise the sun will shine right in your face. An architect looks at the site and the sun and adjusts window heights and overhangs to suit. Amongst many other details. A house being such a big investment, hiring an architect seems wise.
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#53Here's the thing: The idea of planning a house without taking into account the site where it will sit will never produce a good house. Would a pre-existing plan account for the sun exposure of your land? Would it have a roof that makes sense for how much it rains or snows? Would getting sunlight in the bedroom also mean facing traffic? Would it take advantage of elevation for views or make sure to block a nearby neig…
While you are not wrong, those requirements are the same for all houses. Your typical signal family neighborhood has the following requirements: There will be room to store at least 3 cars, and at least 2 of them will be indoors. The path from the street to where the cars are stored will avoid hitting things with the car. All this means that every house will have a 3 car garage up front with a straight driveway to th…
How many cars? 8-O
Our house will have a space for one car (under a roof but not in the garage) a motorbike and some bikes (all bikes in a shed). If some of the kids will have their own car before they move out (IMHO 40 % chance), they can park on the street.
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
While you are not wrong, those requirements are the same for all houses. Your typical signal family neighborhood has the following requirements: There will be room to store at least 3 cars, and at least 2 of them will be indoors. The path from the street to where the cars are stored will avoid hitting things with the car. All this means that every house will have a 3 car garage up front with a straight driveway to th…
How many cars? 8-O Our house will have a space for one car (under a roof but not in the garage) a motorbike and some bikes (all bikes in a shed). If some of the kids will have their own car before they move out (IMHO 40 % chance), they can park on the street.
> they can park on the street.
If the HOA allows it... ;)
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
How many cars? 8-O Our house will have a space for one car (under a roof but not in the garage) a motorbike and some bikes (all bikes in a shed). If some of the kids will have their own car before they move out (IMHO 40 % chance), they can park on the street.
> they can park on the street. If the HOA allows it... ;)
In our city, that's the responsibility of the city council and their traffic signs.
Actually, there is only an equivalent of HOA for apartment blocks. House owners are usually only bound by law and personal relationships with neighbors (I'm in CZ).
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
> they can park on the street. If the HOA allows it... ;)
In our city, that's the responsibility of the city council and their traffic signs. Actually, there is only an equivalent of HOA for apartment blocks. House owners are usually only bound by law and personal relationships with neighbors (I'm in CZ).
Check street view to get an idea how such a street looks like. Not my place but fairly similar feeling.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AUurWkVyhLMxzmHWA
My point is that the needs may be very different according to context.
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#57Here's the thing: The idea of planning a house without taking into account the site where it will sit will never produce a good house. Would a pre-existing plan account for the sun exposure of your land? Would it have a roof that makes sense for how much it rains or snows? Would getting sunlight in the bedroom also mean facing traffic? Would it take advantage of elevation for views or make sure to block a nearby neig…
While you are not wrong, those requirements are the same for all houses. Your typical signal family neighborhood has the following requirements: There will be room to store at least 3 cars, and at least 2 of them will be indoors. The path from the street to where the cars are stored will avoid hitting things with the car. All this means that every house will have a 3 car garage up front with a straight driveway to th…
> Your typical signal family neighborhood has the following requirements
Maybe in your city.
A home designed for Texas is not a good home in Calgary.
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#58I just got side project idea, dribble/GitHub for Architects. What do you guys think?
There's no such thing as good "generic" architecture. Context and location are key.
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#59Not completely what you are looking for, but still open source plans of house: Wikihouse https://www.wikihouse.cc/ Earthships are also said to be open source, but the plans are (definitely) not free https://earthshipbiotecture.com/ You can also check Open Source Home, by Studiolada (those are free, but the plans are in french) https://www.countryliving.com/remodeling-renovation/news/g46... Open Source Ecology is now…
The earthship biotecture project is really neat, thanks for sharing.
Its best to take and use the principles of it in another house. I personally don't want a bunch of tires breaking down and leaking chemicals and fumes into my house over a couple decades. Also much of the savings are from using your labor or volunteer/intern labor rather than paying someone else.
Re: Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?
#60I want the plans for a bog-simple square house with boring peaked roof. I want it to be designed to minimize cuts and make building simple. I want the roof to be two slabs with no fancy protrusions, angles, gables, etc. I want something that is easy to build and maintain. As far as I’ve been able to find out, bardominiums are the closest to what I want.
Other terminology would be shop house or shouse. Not a lot of options for large windows, but durable and easy to heat.