Just like yesterday [1] I’m confused by that name: what’s the "wiki" part in Wikihouse? Anybody can modify your house? [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38915999
1. (stative) hasten, speed up.
2. (stative) be swift, speedy, quick.
Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
171–180 of 223 posts
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#172Note that the walls and interior floors are equally thick and as insulated as the roof. It is not a sensible or efficient use of materials, given how the physics of heat work. It is great, however, if your approach to construction was formed by playing Minecraft.
Does efficient use of materials matter compared to efficient use of labour/financing to get homes built?
Electron is regularly considered a horrible waste of "materials" in the tech world. It is still sensible to use as RAM is far more abundant than tech labour.
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#173The walls are the least expensive part of building a house.
What is the most expensive? The land? Permits? Appliances?
Land is only worth what you can build on it. The buildable site was 7% of new single-family costs in 2022 in the U.S., including permits, inspections, design, etc.
Construction costs (labor + materials) were 61%, with interior finishes 24% of construction costs, framing 20%, and major systems 18%.
Appliances were under 2%. Margin was 10%.
https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/news-and-economics/docs/ho...
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#174This costs about twice as much as an existing modular home even if you count the labor as free.
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#175Seems pretty expensive to make everything out of pure plywood. Does anyone have a sense of how cost compares to 2x4's plus drywall? I assume either construction method will need exterior cladding and insulation.
Since it’s a UK company/project they will be primarily comparing to brick costs since that’s what the vast majority of UK houses are (still) built with. They claim comparable cost as brick/block construction. £230/sqm. They also seem to be touting their accuracy and since plywood is dimensionally stable (well, more so that 2x4s anyway) that’s probably why ply.
> They claim comparable cost as brick/block construction. £230/sqm.
That seems quite unappealing for something with a certified life of 60 years (even if it lasts longer in practice, mortgage brokers won't be keen)
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#176One thing caught my attention. Cost: £2,540 - £2,950 per m².
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#177Note that the walls and interior floors are equally thick and as insulated as the roof. It is not a sensible or efficient use of materials, given how the physics of heat work. It is great, however, if your approach to construction was formed by playing Minecraft.
Note that it is an open source project and you are free to adjust the parameters to your liking
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#178Just like yesterday [1] I’m confused by that name: what’s the "wiki" part in Wikihouse? Anybody can modify your house? [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38915999
1. (stative) hasten, speed up. 2. (stative) be swift, speedy, quick. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wiki#Hawaiian
That begs the question, in what way are they speeding it up?
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#179Note that the walls and interior floors are equally thick and as insulated as the roof. It is not a sensible or efficient use of materials, given how the physics of heat work. It is great, however, if your approach to construction was formed by playing Minecraft.
Does efficient use of materials matter compared to efficient use of labour/financing to get homes built? Electron is regularly considered a horrible waste of "materials" in the tech world. It is still sensible to use as RAM is far more abundant than tech labour.
Labour costs in construction is highly variable and situational, but 30-50% is a typical range. Material costs are a serious consideration in construction. Tradeoffs of material vs labour/capital costs have to take into consideration the specifics of the application.
Re: Wikihouse: Open-Source Houses
#180Great idea, to design a house nowadays means you need to do a lot more mandatory calculations. For example a wooden beam between insulation has to be calculated, where a few years ago we could pretend they did not exist. Builders are now switching to some sort of engineered beams (two square beams connected with board). To offer this work in the public domain could reduce the cost significantly.
However, watching the video on the front page makes me wonder what code they are following. I can't imagine there is any country where you still can build with such low ceilings. It makes me wonder if you actually then save money using this approach when you still have to pay the full fees for your architect?