Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
shinybuildings.com
Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
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Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#2Hi HN, thank you for the chance to share. Shiny Buildings is meant to be a tool to tell the story of your house: how it got to where it is today, and where you'd like it to take it. It's inspired by both GitHub - which I (like many) think is an extremely fun and functional tool - and Stewart Brand's "How Buildings Learn", which I discovered on this site a couple of years ago [0]. Growing up, I was always completely enamored with actual "shiny buildings" - fancy looking glass boxes that I found downtown and on college campuses, which I've always thought were super exciting, new, technological marvels compared to all these clapboard relics up here in New England... With time though (and especially after reading this book), I came to realize that almost any standing building is somewhat of a miracle, and well-maintained, well-loved buildings that get patches and extensions and upgrades and just seem to grow organically are nothing short of awesome to look at and enjoy. I'd like to think there's some value in documenting all of these changes and sharing it with other people who help take care of your home, etc., but I'm mostly hoping this tool can just provide another source of pride and satisfaction for anyone who enjoys where they live and wants to keep making it better.
Anyway, this version definitely falls far, far short of the quality, functionality, and concepts of GitHub, and the ideas in the book, so any feedback and criticism is extremely appreciated. Here's a video if you'd rather not try it directly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGbqgmrv8m0
Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#3this is a really cool idea!! It would definitely help organizing knowledge for upkeep, even for myself let alone for others. I may or may not use it because I'm just renting, but I'll keep this in mind and may pick it up. It's kind of like a house-specific wiki
Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#4This is an interesting personal project, but as someone who would want to sell a house why would I want potential buyers to know issues that I have had with my property? If I don't legally have to disclose something about the house when selling, odds are that I would want the buyer to not know about it unless it was something beneficial like a new roof (which I would list anyhow).
This is an interesting idea, but if you are planning to try to make a business out of this (it's unclear if you are to me) I don't believe that people will be on the same wavelength as you about the history of a house.
Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#5This is an interesting personal project, but as someone who would want to sell a house why would I want potential buyers to know issues that I have had with my property? If I don't legally have to disclose something about the house when selling, odds are that I would want the buyer to not know about it unless it was something beneficial like a new roof (which I would list anyhow). This is an interesting idea, but if…
I really appreciate that, and this is one of the main pieces of feedback I was looking for. I would like to make it a business, so I've been studying the issue and it seems there is a gap in the market for homeowners who want to plan and document their work outside of Excel, paper, etc. I've also heard that there are some sellers who would like to transfer detailed "knowledge" about a house to future owners, and certainly many buyers who would value that information. But I certainly don't plan to force anyone to share anything about the house (issues, work done, etc.) that they don't want to share. Your perspective is extremely helpful.
If it doesn't make sense for homeowners, I'm also wondering if there's an interest in using a tool like this for the upkeep of buildings and structures in the public interest (schools, infrastructure, etc.), in which case transparency and ability to transfer knowledge might make more sense. But I know that's a completely different animal altogether.
Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#6this is a really cool idea!! It would definitely help organizing knowledge for upkeep, even for myself let alone for others. I may or may not use it because I'm just renting, but I'll keep this in mind and may pick it up. It's kind of like a house-specific wiki
Thanks, it would be awesome to hear if you use it! I'm actually a renter myself and use it for cleaning and managing some of my stuff. My email is dstein@shinybuildings.com if you have any feedback or suggestions.
Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#7This might be most useful in something like a condo that has board that handles collective repairs etc. Hell, something like this should be the law for something like that.
Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#8Awesome! Having recently bought half of a 100 year old duplex building in new england, I've frequently wanted something like this - why is there minor fire damage in one corner of the basement? What year was this porch updated into a full room? Is this window an original? Is there a reason the previous owner bought an electric dryer when there's gas hookups?
As a potential user, my biggest concern would be the longevity of the platform. Investing in using this platform might pay off for me after 5 to 10 years, much longer than the average startup or side project lasts.
Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#9This might be most useful in something like a condo that has board that handles collective repairs etc. Hell, something like this should be the law for something like that.
In my condo association (of 2 units) we have a shared google doc folder
I think something like this could theoretically be much more useful
Re: Show HN: Shiny Buildings – GitHub for Buildings
#10Awesome! Having recently bought half of a 100 year old duplex building in new england, I've frequently wanted something like this - why is there minor fire damage in one corner of the basement? What year was this porch updated into a full room? Is this window an original? Is there a reason the previous owner bought an electric dryer when there's gas hookups? As a potential user, my biggest concern would be the longev…
Thank you for the feedback! Obviously if I could get this to a place where enough people find it valuable, I would like to make it work for as long as possible... But in the meantime, I'm definitely planning to prioritize full data export functionality (and other ways of making sure you're not locked-in or empty handed after investing in it.)