new plan request

[akemt]

Hey John,

(Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this!)  I'm requesting/suggesting a plan that is circular (and possibly able to be panelized).  I don't need plans for permitting where I am, but while I find I can do square/rectangular construction planning myself fairly easily, I'm way out of my league with the circular bit.  We're looking to get the most square footage for our buck, and don't mind the asthetic qualities of the circle or possible lower-cost for wall materials and thus would like to look into the cost to build and draw up some houseplans.  I love Dorothy Ainsworth's "piano studio", if that helps.  I have no idea how to figure out the number of sides necessary, how big those sides can/should be (we'd love to do double-walled balloon-ish framing with 16' 2x 6's whether square or circular) or how to diagram the roof.  FYI, I could care less about having to have an internal post/wall for the roof support (I honestly think that'd be simpler to build than trying to do the cable-support/tie bit for the roof rafters).  And we'd LOVE to do your sonotube-type foundation (we want to do the foundation work ourselves) for severe weather areas.  Please email me or post here if you have a price for custom designs, suggestions on places I could get what I need plan-wise, etc.  We aren't ready yet to pay for plans, we're in the "saving for land and building" stage and trying to make a plan so we know when we should buy and when we can build.

Thanks in advance,

[John Raabe]

You won't be seeing a round plan design on this site. We are not trying to make construction harder for people

Buckminster Fuller played around with this in his dome and Dymaxion House designs. These were interesting designs but difficult to build and maintain and also not easy to live in or efficiently use the space created.

The idea surfaces and creates a flutter of interest every few years (most recently with "Hobbit Houses" after Lord of the Rings).

That said, here is one interesting attempt at doing a very primitive type of round housing: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/simple_living_i.php

[glenn kangiser]

Check out Oregon Yurtworks.  Harry 51 is doing a 50 foot dia from there - house type - not a tent - and a bit complicated I think as John mentioned.  Kind of a kit home....

[MountainDon]

I prefer to remain square on this subject...




http://www.eaglesnesthomes.com/house_plan_m1700-2story.aspx

[considerations]

I'd love to have a studio with the "yurt style" roof.  The skylight right in the middle lets light move down the radiating rafters.  The lighting is virtually perfect. 

As far as living in that shape, I did spend some time playing with the idea, but the floor plans all seemed sort of awkward, unless the diameter was quite large.

[pagan]

This is Simon Dales house in Wales. Although I question the longevity of straw bales for insulation on the roof, I do like the reciprocal design.

http://www.simondale.net/house/

[rwanders]

In the past, I have been involved with building using "non-square" and unusual angles----they make layout of everything, including foundations, a really challenging and frustrating experience. When you get to the finish work stage, it gets even worse. Unless someone is a very skillful and very patient carpenter, I would not recommend it at all.

[Squirl]

The first thing that came to mind to me was cordwood construction. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordwood_construction
If I remember correctly it needs a beam structure if built square but not if built round.   Don't they have lots of softwood in AK? Just throwing out an idea.