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The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

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Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#151

Post by bradleysmith »

SomeCallMeTim wrote: post #126
sp332 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Knowing that you don't need a big house gives you a lot more flexibility in choosing where to put it.

Actually, not necessarily. A lot of zoning regulations in cities require a minimum square footage of a house. And a lot of zoning rules also prohibit nonstandard construction. It's terribly frustrating when you're looking at alternative building methods. In some states you're pretty mostly stuck building in either really rural towns or in unincorporated locations. My own favorite alternative building technique is a "…

I looked at (made and redacted an offer) on one that was (probably is) finacially 'upside down' in austin (burleson and douglas) built out of preformed foam blocks. They are hollow lego-like blocks that are assembled and pumped full of concrete. poor fellow roofed it with stucco and no drip rails, so quite a bit of roof runoff ran down his foundation walls that the PFB concrete skeleton was built on.

crying shame, I was excited to live in a monolithic dome, they're certainly cool.

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#153

Post by saidajigumi »

flovec wrote: post #115
SomeCallMeTim wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I moved to Colorado from the SF Bay Area. I'm near Boulder and Denver, and can walk to a dozen restaurants, a grocery store, a bar, multiple cafes, and a big library with free Internet access (oddly enough, almost ALL of the above have free Internet access, now that I think of it -- even the grocery store). And if you like public transit, I'm really close to multiple bus lines, but the city I live in is also very bik…

But you're renting, right? Isn't part of the point not to be wasting capital on rent? (I'm a CO man myself)

"Wasting capital on rent" may be the worst nonsense in our financial folklore. Always run the numbers. Rent vs. mortgage calculators and spreadsheets are readily available. Understand the factors they use, and perhaps tweak for your own needs and priorities.

I'm glad that I did, as I completely dodged the disaster that was the housing bubble as a result -- my rent always looked like a killer deal compared to nutso house prices. On the other hand, I know those who "had to have a house" who are now seriously underwater on their mortgages. But good thing they weren't "wasting capital on rent!"

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#154

Post by Someone »

samstave wrote: post #130
finnh wrote: post #54

If you want to live in a city, it's not the cost of the house that kills you: it's the dirt. In Seattle, where I live, my property tax statement tells me that my (large, nice) house is worth roughly half as much as the land it sits on. Given that these domes don't float, you still need a place to put 'em. If your goal is to opt out of the cost of housing - an evil which this blog post expounds upon at length - your f…

> Given that these domes don't float This has been an idea I have been pushing around fro a while. Building a living platform floating in the SFBay. Admittedly, this has been nothing more than a day-dream - so I am unfamiliar with what imperial entanglements attach themselves to the reality of this.... But assuming that it can be done, what would be the barrier to entry for the following scenario: * Standardized depl…

For inspiration: http://www.rohmer.nl/?view=detail&pageAlias=projecten&subAli...

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#155

Post by enraged_camel »

tjic wrote: post #133
mpyne wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulatory stupidity is hardly limited to the government though. Have you never tried to implement a Microsoft "standard"? While UL is certainly nice enough, how many people know to look for it when they buy appliances? And how does this avoid in general the problem that if UL becomes too onerous, the affected appliance makers simply start their own voluntary licensing firm with better results? "Oh, but people would…

> Regulatory stupidity is hardly limited to the government though. Have you never tried to implement a Microsoft "standard"? Indeed, regulations can suck no matter who creates them. The great thing about the non-governmental world is that there are CHOICES. I vote with my feet (and my dollars, and my contributions). I switch from MSFT to Red Hat, from Red Hat to Debian, from Debian to Ubuntu.

>>The great thing about the non-governmental world is that there are CHOICES.

I don't know about that. Where I live, the only Internet provider available is Comcast. I would guess that many people here have the exact same problem.

Sometimes regulation can eliminate choices, but at other times it can enable them. For example, when the government forces cab companies (via regulation) to not discriminate based on neighborhood income, what it is doing is creating more choices for areas people can live in comfortably without worrying about whether they will have a fairly essential service (i.e. transportation).

Tell me: how would libertarianism solve that problem?

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#156

Post by effbott »

flovec wrote: post #113
monkeynotes wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly my dilemma. I've come up with numerous novel ways to live cheaply but all of them require a plot of land which always ruins the budget. Further compounding the problem is few banks will loan money for unbuilt land. Strangely the land is worth more than houses but in the eyes of a bank the house is what you secure the loan against.

Not true! I purchased 5 acres in Southwestern CO (with mountain views!) for 2 grand in cash. I built a small cabin, and program out of it. But, it lacks luxuries for my many "projects", so now I'm building a house. http://frank.lovecch.io/projects/walden-ranch.html

Wow.. this is amazing. I'm kind of blown away by how cheap it is. Is this your permanent residence or a vacation home? Does it feel weird to not have neighbors?

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#157

Post by icambron »

netcan wrote: post #117
icambron wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In some ways. The dome is great, but one thing it isn't is stackable.

Maybe it is. It's light. Maybe you could have giant shelves with domes on them.

But then you need structural supports to hold up the shelves, which is what the dome is designed to avoid. The low wall weight would help, I suppose, but you still need to hold up everything inside the units. Once you're pouring concrete onto rebar, it seems like you might as well just have an apartment block.

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#158

Post by jorgem »

flovec wrote: post #132
molsongolden wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SLV! I am strongly considering buying a plot there but the lack of water is the trade off. Can you provide a ballpark for your construction costs? Are you drilling a well, burying a tank and hauling water, or something else? What's the nearest town? Have you had trouble with burglars/vandals while leaving your cabin unattended for long periods of time?

The finite numbers I have are thus: Land: I purchased 5 acres for $2,000 of Craigslist. It's worth about 5-6 getting it from a real-estate company. Slab: 4" deep, 8" deep around a 1' perimeter..1100 sq ft total - 18 yards concrete, $2200 - Bobcat rental (days w/ gas), $450 - Rented tools (concrete blankets for cold, et), $150 - Rebar/tongue-groove insulation: $1000 Solar: Currently, I run off a generator, which was a…

How deep is the water table? Is that why the land was so cheap?

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#159

Post by tracker1 »

flovec wrote: post #132
molsongolden wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SLV! I am strongly considering buying a plot there but the lack of water is the trade off. Can you provide a ballpark for your construction costs? Are you drilling a well, burying a tank and hauling water, or something else? What's the nearest town? Have you had trouble with burglars/vandals while leaving your cabin unattended for long periods of time?

The finite numbers I have are thus: Land: I purchased 5 acres for $2,000 of Craigslist. It's worth about 5-6 getting it from a real-estate company. Slab: 4" deep, 8" deep around a 1' perimeter..1100 sq ft total - 18 yards concrete, $2200 - Bobcat rental (days w/ gas), $450 - Rented tools (concrete blankets for cold, et), $150 - Rebar/tongue-groove insulation: $1000 Solar: Currently, I run off a generator, which was a…

What about sewage/septic tank?

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#160

Post by NegativeK »

enraged_camel wrote: post #155
tjic wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Regulatory stupidity is hardly limited to the government though. Have you never tried to implement a Microsoft "standard"? Indeed, regulations can suck no matter who creates them. The great thing about the non-governmental world is that there are CHOICES. I vote with my feet (and my dollars, and my contributions). I switch from MSFT to Red Hat, from Red Hat to Debian, from Debian to Ubuntu.

>>The great thing about the non-governmental world is that there are CHOICES. I don't know about that. Where I live, the only Internet provider available is Comcast. I would guess that many people here have the exact same problem. Sometimes regulation can eliminate choices, but at other times it can enable them. For example, when the government forces cab companies (via regulation) to not discriminate based on neighb…

While I disagree with its premises (which makes me a devil's advocate, I suppose,) the response to something like Comcast is that the government is involved in setting up ISP monopolies/duopolies.
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