Octagon / Round House Concept

Octagon / Round House Concept

Mockup

Layout

  • A regular octagon wall - with all sides the same length in the range of 8'-10', or a cylindrical wall with radius 10'-12'.
  • All appliances and fixed furniture are along the outside walls
  • Bed Loft with Bathroom underneath breaks this rule somewhat.
  • Another exception is the kitchen island with 2 stools under across from the sink for eating
  • This maximizes space for a large central area that can be easily used for many purposes with folding tables and chairs/yoga mats and minimizes "going-though" hallways
  • Having the "stuff" on the outside walls also increases the insulation a little.... Maybe shelves and such things could be made of foam composite like the van box that carries the bikes.
  • Put the closets behind hidden door bookshelves.
  • Majority of windows on south-ish facing sides. Door, Bench, Stove, Kitchen
  • All of the plumbing should be easy to drain for when we are away in the winter.

Roof

Roof is an octagonal cone supported by 8 posts, not unlike the woodsheds that Bob made.  One major difference is we would like a skylight at the peak. A "ring" would be needed at the top for all of the beams to attach to and make a hole for the skylight. I vaguely remember reading about someone cutting up an old steel car wheel to make the ring, but it might have been another common steel ring.

Floors

Option 1: My preference is to level and compact the dirt, then install all of the plumbing and electrical conduit in the dirt. Then cover it with plastic that is tape-sealed to the wall vapor barrier. Then put a floating floor on top.  That way it isn't too hard to repair or make changes to the plumbing and electrical. The masonry stove weighs over a ton, so it will need a foundation under it.

Option 2: Alternatively, we could pour a slab, but I don't see why it's necessary. It's a major expense and makes the floor too hard to walk on.

Walls

Option 1: If we can get approval, it would be cool to wrap the posts in an insulating "aircrete" aka cellular cement.  Like a "True circular barn." this would take the form of 4.5 inch thick blocks that are stacked in a cylinder. "Finish the outer surface with a thin layer of latex cement and reinforcing fabric. This works very well to produce a crack proof surface and very strong structure. Here's a link to one type of fabric that works well." I think cabinets can been attached to these aircrete blocks with woodscrews.

Option 2: If aircrete won't work, then we can use purlins and siding like a normal pole building.

Insulation

If the "pole building" walls are used I like this insulation technique with 1.5 in polystyrene boards foamed in between the purlins and rockwool between the studs. Will ours have studs? Cellulose insulation might be almost as good. From the comments that's what he put in the ceiling. For the roof an alternative is to put 3" or 4" extruded polystyrene boards on top of the beams and a layer of boards but under the tarpaper, so that the beams stay exposed. I think that would be a lot more expensive, however.

AGS

Instead of insulating the floor insulate 4'-12' of the ground around the perimeter with the same type of extruded polystyrene. Slope away from the house and cover with pond liner as an  "umbrella" or "cape" to keep the earth underneath dry. This makes a huge dirt thermal battery to moderate the temperature similar to a bermed home.

For fun

Anna Lisa requests a large balcony that cantilevers out from the walls. I'm not sure how practical that is for a 1 story building. Maybe it could go over the door to make an entryway?

Another fun thing might be a part of the loft that cantilevers out into the center of the building so that we can look out from the skylight

 

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