Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

singularityhub.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 172 posts

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#151

Post by mywittyname »

sholladay wrote: post #137
ksec wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still dont understand why people keep talking about " House ". When 90% of area that needs urgent "housing" are in needs of Tower Blocks / High Rise Residential Buildings. We Need to find a way to quickly and cost effectively build a lot of mid to high quality apartments. Better heat isolation. Network Pipes ready rather than relying on WiFi. Note: Yes, I know zoning and planning etc are still the biggest hurdle.

I’ve had some pretty bad experiences living in mid size apartment buildings. Everything from a drugged out neighbor causing a fire, to bed bugs coming through the wall from a slob next door, to someone nearly stealing my car until I shouted at them from four floors up, to landlords who wouldn’t fix leaks for weeks/months after I left a voicemail on their high priority line, to dreadful indoor temperatures because the…

We can't have density without multi-family units. And density is what's required to make housing affordable in medium-size or larger cities.

> must be either paying for a ritzy place

Yes, a compromise for a more pleasant place to live is price. But a side-effect of more affordable housing is that nicer places also get cheaper.

Another compromise to get a nicer place to live for the same price is to move to less desirable location.

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#152

Post by mywittyname »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #124
orangepanda wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The universal solution is also great for spreading fire. In many places the trash chute violates fire code

I never really gave this much thought as I never lived in a building that uses a chute. But it does make sense. You can build a large building, but it usually has many firestops in it. When wiring crosses a firestop, it must be sealed up to some standards. Ventilation systems are kept isolated across firestops as well. Anything that could encourage a spread is forbidden. In contrast, a fire chute is basically a giant…

It's possible to apply the same fire solutions used for elevators and stair wells to garbage chutes. Build them separately out of cinder block towers and use UL rated doors.

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#153

Post by mywittyname »

analognoise wrote: post #136
badpun wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because Americans regard living in anything other than a detached house as a failure.

Being that close to other people sucks, and so do housing associations. You get neighbors screaming and fighting, playing music at 2am, apartments turned into meth labs with explosive toxic chemicals, dangerous predators can be right next door, people who don't take care of themselves and give your whole unit rats/bedbugs/insects, people who don't know you should fix water issues and cause mold, roof assessments that…

This is all stuff that happens with houses also. I've had a house down the street blow up, dealt with shitty neighbors blasting music at all hours (or fighting/insulting each other), had my house flood due to neighbor's construction. And have to deal with property line issues on top of it all.

We live in a society, and that means dealing with people. Even if you live in a place where the nearest neighbor is half a mile away, you're going to have issues with someone. We used to have issues with people riding dirt bikes and trucks on our land, kids breaking in to have parties in our woods, people with horses who shit on the streets, and lots of illegal dumping.

The world is full of shit heads.

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#154

Post by bergenty »

bumby wrote: post #140
bergenty wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean like a garden, a pool, a wood/metal working shop, gun range, kids play area, badminton court etc.

Are you saying you want access to each of those or you want your own private resource for each of those? They are very different questions with different answers.

Own private for each of those like I do right now…

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#155

Post by halffaday »

Monolithic Dome has been doing this for years. Precast concrete vaults are made very efficiently and can be used for this purpose with much better quality control. Neither are popular solutions.

Housing construction is pretty cheap. The materials are mass produced on thin margins and in the US we’ve insourced the cheapest labor available on the continent to put it together. If you’re really on a budget, you can get a pre-manufactured mobile home for very little. Even living in Soviet style concrete multi-family housing, like a human factory farm, is actually an option for most of us if we’re to move. People seem to avoid these choices when they have the option though.

I find it very conspicuous that in the commentary around this issue, finance and the market distortions they create never seem to get any blame.

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#156

Post by bumby »

bergenty wrote: post #154
bumby wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying you want access to each of those or you want your own private resource for each of those? They are very different questions with different answers.

Own private for each of those like I do right now…

That’s wonderful but I don’t think it’s representative. It’s basically just a weird flex at a certain point to use that as a societal goal post.

I’d love to have my own airport and marina, but I’m not sure that’s the goals we should be using to create a society.

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#157

Post by bumby »

refurb wrote: post #125
bergenty wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I prefer to live somewhere that lasts more than 30 years.

You should let the people in Boston who live in 200 year old wood houses know!

Have you ever owned a 150+ year old house? Everyone I know that has either hates the maintenance or is wealthy enough to constantly throw money at it and not care.

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#158

Post by sidewndr46 »

mywittyname wrote: post #152
sidewndr46 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never really gave this much thought as I never lived in a building that uses a chute. But it does make sense. You can build a large building, but it usually has many firestops in it. When wiring crosses a firestop, it must be sealed up to some standards. Ventilation systems are kept isolated across firestops as well. Anything that could encourage a spread is forbidden. In contrast, a fire chute is basically a giant…

It's possible to apply the same fire solutions used for elevators and stair wells to garbage chutes. Build them separately out of cinder block towers and use UL rated doors.

While you are right, that is easily circumvented by someone propping the chute door open.

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#159

Post by analognoise »

mywittyname wrote: post #153
analognoise wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being that close to other people sucks, and so do housing associations. You get neighbors screaming and fighting, playing music at 2am, apartments turned into meth labs with explosive toxic chemicals, dangerous predators can be right next door, people who don't take care of themselves and give your whole unit rats/bedbugs/insects, people who don't know you should fix water issues and cause mold, roof assessments that…

This is all stuff that happens with houses also. I've had a house down the street blow up, dealt with shitty neighbors blasting music at all hours (or fighting/insulting each other), had my house flood due to neighbor's construction. And have to deal with property line issues on top of it all. We live in a society, and that means dealing with people. Even if you live in a place where the nearest neighbor is half a mi…

One person in your apartment complex is filthy and has bugs, everyone in your building has bugs. I don't have that problem in my house.

Also a house blowing up due to cooking meth - down the street, which is not connected to your house - is a much better situation.

Dirt bikes and teenagers partying the woods is definitely the better option too, imo.

"We live in a society" - true but one of these things is clearly better than the other. It's just not very convincing to think people want to be stuffed into apartments.

Re: Startup Builds Houses by Pumping Concrete into Inflatable Forms

#160

Post by fragmede »

CyberDildonics wrote: post #103
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well would you want to share a wall and roof with most Americans?

What would possess someone to say this? You think there is something different about americans or that americans don't live in apartments?

American apartments in general are shoddily constructed and thus are a lower quality of living. There's no getting around that. Walls that are paper thin with no insulation so you can listen in on your neighbor's phone calls. Poorly done ceilings/floors so the upstairs neighbors' kids running around wakes you up in the morning. Single pane glass so heating/cooling bill is expensive, and the sounds of the street are audible throughout the day (you never want to live above a bus stop). Neighbors from all walks of life, which can be a nightmare if those walks of life include drug dealers and addicts and domestic violence, with norecourse from the police. No elevators up to the fifth floor. No trash pickup for large items. Shite public transportation and no good parking options. Horrible corporate landlord management company to contend with.

I would love to live in an apartment complex in, say, Sweden, but there's a huge cultural component to apartment living in America that would have to change before it matches apartment living elsewhere. Even if building codes changed tonight it would still wouldn't address the issues of city design/public transportation that hurt the very notion of living that tightly together to begin with. It's just not at all convenient to live in an apartment complex that's miles away from the nearest public transportation hub or even a strip mall.

Post reply on HN