Geodesic/monolithic domes - efficiency, ventilation, etc. in various climates

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Related: that's another thing I like about shed roofs. Not even two facets, just one!
 
It is like anything else style suits some areas better. A-frames look out of place in a subdivision as do log homes. ... at the lowest cost they can get.
There's one A-frame in the 80 year old subdivision about 4 blocks south of me... doesn't really look out of place, probably because the lots there aren't minimum sized, and the housing varies widely in styles, but it does catch your eye when driving by... and it looks small... in an area of 2 story houses...
"lowest cost" prolly explains the popularity of conventional houses...
 
"lowest cost" prolly explains the popularity of conventional houses...
That can't be quite right; all those fake dormers and extra roof facets and four different types of siding material on the facade alone (these are all popular features on conventional houses in subdivisions these days, it seems) don't lower the cost, they raise it.

And aren't A-frames supposed to be relatively cheap and simple to build? Isn't that why a lot of kit houses are A-frames? (Personally I wouldn't want an A-frame house; they look charming from the outside but I find the interiors claustrophobic, and I hate all the wasted floor space.)
 
A-frames were popular, for a time, until during forest fire, they were relabeled as chimneys.

As a framer, multi faceted, complex roofs were a puzzle to solve and a challenge, which, depending upon the complexity, I didn't charge extra for, because solving the puzzle, was the challenge.

It helps when you can do plain geometry in your head.
 
Complex framing involves
"descriptive geometry"

This was at first a military secret.

It drove me nuts, the smallest error on paper becomes a large error when you actually make the 3D thing the paper drawing tells you how to make.
The thickness of a pencil line gets amplified by 10x or more.

Now I just make cardboard mock-ups & zero in on what fits.
 
In carpentry work one measures and notes when cutting whether to cut the line off, leave the line or cut the center of the line. A friend brought a piece of molding or paneling (I forget) to be cut and gave me a baffled look when I asked. After two trimmings I asked him what he measured with, he replied "a ruler". Fortunately he had measured it too long. I measured with my tape measure and we got a fit.
 
Spent two summers as a carpenter's apprentice in Jersey.
Also eventually ran my hand thru a table saw.
 
In carpentry work one measures and notes when cutting whether to cut the line off, leave the line or cut the center of the line. A friend brought a piece of molding or paneling (I forget) to be cut and gave me a baffled look when I asked. After two trimmings I asked him what he measured with, he replied "a ruler". Fortunately he had measured it too long. I measured with my tape measure and we got a fit.

Rules of engagement:cool:
 
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A=frames can be a challenge for things like kitchen cabinets. You need a section with vertical walls. In a mountain or lake setting they can look kind of cool, but not great in the 'burbs. There is one near me that 25 years ago was in the middle of the country, now subdivisions are butting up against it. It has a fairly nice large Georgian Colonial next door with a 200 foot driveway.
 
A=frames can be a challenge for things like kitchen cabinets. You need a section with vertical walls. In a mountain or lake setting they can look kind of cool, but not great in the 'burbs. There is one near me that 25 years ago was in the middle of the country, now subdivisions are butting up against it. It has a fairly nice large Georgian Colonial next door with a 200 foot driveway.
Yup, same exact thing here. All the farmlands are being made into subdivisions, and one A-frame around the corner from my neighborhood used to stand in the middle of corn fields, now there are cookie-cutter subdivisions around it. Fortunately it sits on a 1+ acre lot with a decent number of trees so it still looks nice from the road, but more odd than it probably did before.

Often for kitchens and bathrooms it seems they wall straight down from about 6' to the floor, and use the space behind there to run pipes and electric, or sometimes they'll go the other way and extend the room outward so it just out from the A-frame, but living rooms and bedrooms and dining area you get the roof/wall sloping over your head. Like I said, I find it claustrophobic.
 
Yup, same exact thing here. All the farmlands are being made into subdivisions, and one A-frame around the corner from my neighborhood used to stand in the middle of corn fields, now there are cookie-cutter subdivisions around it. Fortunately it sits on a 1+ acre lot with a decent number of trees so it still looks nice from the road, but more odd than it probably did before.

Often for kitchens and bathrooms it seems they wall straight down from about 6' to the floor, and use the space behind there to run pipes and electric, or sometimes they'll go the other way and extend the room outward so it just out from the A-frame, but living rooms and bedrooms and dining area you get the roof/wall sloping over your head. Like I said, I find it claustrophobic.
There are ways around the vertical wall problem. Personally, one as a vacation home might be OK, but I wouldn't want one as a primary residence.
 
That can't be quite right; all those fake dormers and extra roof facets and four different types of siding material on the facade alone (these are all popular features on conventional houses in subdivisions these days, it seems) don't lower the cost, they raise it.
By conventional house design, I meant simply the usual rectangular overall shape... flat or 2-sided roof...
Of course, anything can be optioned up in price... the Jeep Wranglers they build here in Toledo start at about $20K but can be optioned up to $100K for people who wouldn't be caught dead only paying $20K for a vehicle...
 
After two trimmings I asked him what he measured with, he replied "a ruler". Fortunately he had measured it too long. I measured with my tape measure and we got a fit.
I worked with some guys who measured where to put the wall studs 16" at a time... by the time they got to the end of the wall, the studs were 3" off from where the joints between the paneling would fall...
Saw a boss tell a carpenter to box in a chimney pipe for covering with drywall... he meant a stud at each of 4 corners... but the guy solidly upholstered it with studs...
 
As a framer, multi faceted, complex roofs were a puzzle to solve and a challenge, which, depending upon the complexity, I didn't charge extra for, because solving the puzzle, was the challenge.
I usually just mount the ridge boards where they belong and then fit the rafters to them... of course, have to figure which rafters to put in first to which ridge board...
 
By conventional house design, I meant simply the usual rectangular overall shape... flat or 2-sided roof...
Of course, anything can be optioned up in price... the Jeep Wranglers they build here in Toledo start at about $20K but can be optioned up to $100K for people who wouldn't be caught dead only paying $20K for a vehicle...
Hah, this is off topic but it's a pet peeve of mine apparently: the Jeep Wranglers that are supposed to look like something out of Mad Max, with all the extra modifications (I'm sure it's a 3- or 4-digit price tag for that piece of plastic to make the headlights look angry) and $1000/each for those huge knobby tires, used mainly to drive to the grocery store and gas station.

This relates back to the over-complicated houses, too... The money people are willing to part with just for a "look". I can wrap my head around a lot of things, but not that.
 
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