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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

#221

Post by 3838 »

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 like the look of earthbag homes http://home.howstuffworks.com/earthbag-home.htm

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#222

Post by brianobush »

ars_technician wrote: post #213
agilebyte wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is rent wasting money? I am not entirely sold on that idea. If you have a lot of cash that you do not need to access in a foreseeable future then maybe.

You are not building equity when renting. If you plan to be in a location for more than a year, it's worth buying a home. Mortgage payments (minus interest) are then just going back into your own pocket vs. rent which is going into your landlord's pocket. Even if you never want to do your own maintenance, you can pay a handyman and still be far ahead in cash.

I would say more than three years to recoup costs of buying.

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#223

Post by skriticos2 »

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)

European here! Here in Germany a great deal of people are renting instead of buying houses including me and I never felt it harming. To the contrary, I could freely relocate within the country several times in the past years without hassle. Owning properly in my mind seems like a chain holding me down which would have been very restrictive in my early adult years. I also see people that did buy a house and now have 3-4 hour commutes every day as their job is at a different location that their house. Buying just seems so inflexible. Are renting conditions here in Europe that much different that in the States?

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#225

Post by moconnor »

skriticos2 wrote: post #223
flovec wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

European here! Here in Germany a great deal of people are renting instead of buying houses including me and I never felt it harming. To the contrary, I could freely relocate within the country several times in the past years without hassle. Owning properly in my mind seems like a chain holding me down which would have been very restrictive in my early adult years. I also see people that did buy a house and now have 3…

Yes, renting in Germany is very different to the USA or UK. In Germany, if you pay your rent the landlord pretty much can't legally get rid of you. Similarly, the amount they can increase your rent is legally capped. It's very much set up to encourage long-term rental and your rights while renting are extremely strong and well-protected.

In the UK (and I assume the USA) the landlord can (with a few months warning in most cases) throw you out, raise the rent arbitrarily, pretty much whatever they want. It's their property, after all!

When I moved to Germany there was significant cognitive dissonance when I was asked to provide a copy of my work contract to prospective landlords, to prove I was worthy enough to pay them money. It turns out even if you stop paying them it's extremely difficult for them to legally evict you, hence the caution.

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#226

Post by contingencies »

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #173

You know what would be awesome. If everyone on Hacker News pitched into a fund, bought some land out in the middle a beautiful but isolated place in the rockies and created a weekend getaway for coders using something similar to these little Geodesic Dome houses.

I'm working on it in New Zealand.

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#227

Post by davidbanham »

sp332 wrote: post #122
saalweachter wrote: post #112

Is this significantly cheaper than a standard frame structure with comparable amenities? I priced out the materials for building a small "office shed" with no electricity or running water, and came up with a price tag of something like $2000 for a 10x10 structure, assuming completely conventional 2x4's, fiberglass insulation, and off-the-shelf doors and windows. I've not yet followed through on it, but I feel pretty…

10x10 is half the floor space of this dome.

Bear in mind that a square, straight sided structure will have a higher ratio of usable to unusable floor space than a dome.

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#229

Post by contingencies »

Goladus wrote: post #199
marknowotarski wrote: post #127

As I look at the dome versus the trees I wonder: Why do animals seek to isolate themselves from the environment and plants seek to permeate it? No judgement, just curious.

I wouldn't say that's an accurate generalization for all plants. But to the extent it's true, my theory is because most plants are by nature immobile. Sunlight is everywhere so moving much would be a waste of energy. So plants grow, shrink, open, close, turn, hibernate, but they can not move to a more sheltered location. They must stay where their roots are and face whatever hostile conditions they might encounter (w…

Neither of you mentioned fungi, which we are closer to than plants, and which truly permeate.

Re: The Frameless Geodesic Dome I currently live in

#230

Post by contingencies »

krmmalik wrote: post #36

I'm really interested in ideas like this. There isn't enough innovation in alternative housing. The cost of buying a house in the UK is astronomical. Even a flat-pack build is still very expensive although a fair bit cheaper than brick and mortar, but you still have to buy land and deal with regulatory policies with regards to construction.

There's loads of info out there on websites and torrents, which I've spent the last year or two devouring. The main thing is to understand where you might like to live and find a technique that's suitable. If you're happy to move somewhat outside of a city, I'd recommend checking out information around straw building in particular... it's pretty impressive in terms of cost, longevity, seismic, audio and thermal insulation properties and is well proven, and suits a surprising range of climates.
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