9 ms·

Show HN: Igloos That Don't Melt

81 points by peterwallhead 10y ago

peterwallhead 10y ago
OP here. I'm the younger son of the late inventor of these igloos and I just want to share this product with a wider audience. Of tech interest, 2 Igloos are being used as meeting rooms in Google's Zurich HQ. Would love to hear your thoughts on other possible tech related uses too.
- JohnKacz 10y ago
  I'm curious about the approximate price range. I'm imagining it's by part, but what would you say a basic cabin for 2 runs vs the winter quarters for 6 before shipping of course.
  - peterwallhead 10y ago
    Prices start from $22,560AUD (about $17,236USD), for a basic cabin without furniture. Because every Igloo is made to order and can may include additional wall panels and furniture then there is no set price range. Best to contact directly for further info. http://www.icewall.com.au/about/faqs/ http://www.icewall.com.au/about/faqs/ and http://www.icewall.com.au/contact/ http://www.icewall.com.au/contact/
andrewflnr 10y ago
So, how much does one actually cost?
- peterwallhead 10y ago
  For a basic Igloo (8 wall panels, without furniture) prices start from AUD $22,560 (current as of Dec. 2014) - http://www.icewall.com.au/about/faqs/ http://www.icewall.com.au/about/faqs/
  - antisthenes 10y ago
    And what's the actual cost to make one?
    - peterwallhead 10y ago
      That's a number set by the licensed manufacturer, which I'm not party to. Sorry.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - rmason 10y ago
    Or about $17,236 in American dollars
bpicolo 10y ago
> Light enough to be flown fully assembled by helicopter. Kind of an amusing phrase, though I imagine it makes more sense out in the Australian bush.
- igf 10y ago
  Even out there, it's a pretty rare use case. If you're somewhere so remote that you can't get there with any kind of land vehicle, then... what are you even doing there, that you need a semi-permanent solid structure?
  - Turing_Machine 10y ago
    Happens all the time here in Alaska. There are many medium-sized towns and villages that are accessible only by air or water. Heck, not even the state capital (population 31,000) is on the road system.
  - chinathrow 10y ago
    The page itself has some good examples - really remote on montain tops e.g.
p1mrx 10y ago
Challenge accepted. Everything melts under the right conditions.
- paulmd 10y ago
  Counterpoint: you can intermix an insulatory and a crystalline material to form a resistant composite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete Pykrete-reinforced igloo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete#/media/File:Ice_Dome_-_foto_Bart_van_Overbeeke_28484.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete#/media/File:Ice_Dome_-...
- TJSomething 10y ago
  Wood doesn't melt; it just burns. Not that these don't melt; they're mostly fiberglass and polyurethane.
  - leni536 10y ago
    Well it certainly can't burn if there is no oxigen around. edit: It seems it doesn't melt even then. https://m.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1rwxne/could_i_melt_wood/ https://m.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1rwxne/could_i_me...
  - sevenless 10y ago
    You can dissolve wood, if you have the right solvent. That sounds like as close as we'll get to melting the stuff. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17907779 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17907779
- vacri 10y ago
  Lots of things sublime into gas rather than melt.
  - pasbesoin 10y ago
    Yeah, but then I remembered pressure. ;-)
kurthr 10y ago
The Hexayurt: http://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_playa http://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_playa Not nearly as solid, but inexpensive, easy to pack, and quick to set up. Tape down to a tarp to keep out the dust. Stake out to survive 50mph winds. Pressurize in bio-warfare environments- assemble 2 together sharing a wall as an "air lock"... enjoy! Warning- Does not keep out "rage zombies"
- falcolas 10y ago
  The yurt is a great and timeless design, but it's not really designed for the same longevity or environments as an Igloo. Yurt: Protection from sun and wind Igloo: Insulation from cold and wind, structurally protected against weight of snow on top of it The modern iterations on both of these ideas will have similar constraints (though modern materials can push the constraints further).
Animats 10y ago
We'll probably see some of those at a Burning Man VIP camp.
- peterwallhead 10y ago
  I hope so!
mrob 10y ago
Misleading title. Igloos are made out of ice. This is made out of fiberglass and PET. I was expecting something like a better version of Pykrete. The "don't melt" qualifier is especially misleading because it implies that under normal circumstances it would melt. Nobody talks about "non-melting fiberglass" - that's normal fiberglass so you don't need to specify non-melting. This is just a prefab dome building. Domes buildings are interesting, but not as interesting as true non-melting ice would be.
- Turing_Machine 10y ago
  "Misleading title. Igloos are made out of ice." Nope, though that's a common misconception. "Iglu" just means "house". It can refer to any type of dwelling, made of any material (even a modern wood-frame, brick, or concrete house). Only a few groups of the Inuit/Inupiat/Yup'ik people actually lived in iglus made of snow (not ice), though many groups used them for temporary shelter while on (e.g.) hunting trips. Other groups made their iglus of hides, sod, driftwood, or whatever other local material was available (some of the southern groups, such as the Alutiiq, dug pit houses in the ground).
  - mrob 10y ago
    "Igloo" is an English word. It doesn't have the exact same meaning as the Inuit word it's derived from. And snow is a type of ice.
    - Turing_Machine 10y ago
      '"Igloo" is an English word." No, it is not. "And snow is a type of ice." No, it is not. Snow (of the type used to construct shelters) is a mixture of ice crystals and air. The air is extremely important for the purpose under discussion. Snow is a pretty good insulator. Ice is not. Also, "Inuit" is the name of only one group of people. Using their name for (say) Yup'ik is like calling an Italian or Romanian "French" just because they all speak a Romance language.
      - 10y ago
brudgers 10y ago
Often times, it's bulk rather than weight that determines transport feasibility. That's historically been a significant limiting factor in the practicality of prefabricated structures for general use...the difficulty of prefabricating a foundation being perhaps the only more significant one.

81 points by peterwallhead 10y ago

OP here. I'm the younger son of the late inventor of these igloos and I just want to share this product with a wider audience. Of tech interest, 2 Igloos are being used as meeting rooms in Google's Zurich HQ. Would love to hear your thoughts on other possible tech related uses too.

JohnKacz 10y ago
I'm curious about the approximate price range. I'm imagining it's by part, but what would you say a basic cabin for 2 runs vs the winter quarters for 6 before shipping of course.
- peterwallhead 10y ago
  Prices start from $22,560AUD (about $17,236USD), for a basic cabin without furniture. Because every Igloo is made to order and can may include additional wall panels and furniture then there is no set price range. Best to contact directly for further info. http://www.icewall.com.au/about/faqs/ http://www.icewall.com.au/about/faqs/ and http://www.icewall.com.au/contact/ http://www.icewall.com.au/contact/

andrewflnr 10y ago

So, how much does one actually cost?

peterwallhead 10y ago
For a basic Igloo (8 wall panels, without furniture) prices start from AUD $22,560 (current as of Dec. 2014) - http://www.icewall.com.au/about/faqs/ http://www.icewall.com.au/about/faqs/
- antisthenes 10y ago
  And what's the actual cost to make one?
  - peterwallhead 10y ago
    That's a number set by the licensed manufacturer, which I'm not party to. Sorry.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- rmason 10y ago
  Or about $17,236 in American dollars

bpicolo 10y ago

> Light enough to be flown fully assembled by helicopter. Kind of an amusing phrase, though I imagine it makes more sense out in the Australian bush.

igf 10y ago
Even out there, it's a pretty rare use case. If you're somewhere so remote that you can't get there with any kind of land vehicle, then... what are you even doing there, that you need a semi-permanent solid structure?
- Turing_Machine 10y ago
  Happens all the time here in Alaska. There are many medium-sized towns and villages that are accessible only by air or water. Heck, not even the state capital (population 31,000) is on the road system.
- chinathrow 10y ago
  The page itself has some good examples - really remote on montain tops e.g.

p1mrx 10y ago

Challenge accepted. Everything melts under the right conditions.

paulmd 10y ago
Counterpoint: you can intermix an insulatory and a crystalline material to form a resistant composite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete Pykrete-reinforced igloo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete#/media/File:Ice_Dome_-_foto_Bart_van_Overbeeke_28484.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete#/media/File:Ice_Dome_-...
TJSomething 10y ago
Wood doesn't melt; it just burns. Not that these don't melt; they're mostly fiberglass and polyurethane.
- leni536 10y ago
  Well it certainly can't burn if there is no oxigen around. edit: It seems it doesn't melt even then. https://m.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1rwxne/could_i_melt_wood/ https://m.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1rwxne/could_i_me...
- sevenless 10y ago
  You can dissolve wood, if you have the right solvent. That sounds like as close as we'll get to melting the stuff. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17907779 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17907779
vacri 10y ago
Lots of things sublime into gas rather than melt.
- pasbesoin 10y ago
  Yeah, but then I remembered pressure. ;-)

kurthr 10y ago

The Hexayurt: http://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_playa http://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_playa Not nearly as solid, but inexpensive, easy to pack, and quick to set up. Tape down to a tarp to keep out the dust. Stake out to survive 50mph winds. Pressurize in bio-warfare environments- assemble 2 together sharing a wall as an "air lock"... enjoy! Warning- Does not keep out "rage zombies"

falcolas 10y ago
The yurt is a great and timeless design, but it's not really designed for the same longevity or environments as an Igloo. Yurt: Protection from sun and wind Igloo: Insulation from cold and wind, structurally protected against weight of snow on top of it The modern iterations on both of these ideas will have similar constraints (though modern materials can push the constraints further).

Animats 10y ago

We'll probably see some of those at a Burning Man VIP camp.

peterwallhead 10y ago
I hope so!

mrob 10y ago

Misleading title. Igloos are made out of ice. This is made out of fiberglass and PET. I was expecting something like a better version of Pykrete. The "don't melt" qualifier is especially misleading because it implies that under normal circumstances it would melt. Nobody talks about "non-melting fiberglass" - that's normal fiberglass so you don't need to specify non-melting. This is just a prefab dome building. Domes buildings are interesting, but not as interesting as true non-melting ice would be.

Turing_Machine 10y ago
"Misleading title. Igloos are made out of ice." Nope, though that's a common misconception. "Iglu" just means "house". It can refer to any type of dwelling, made of any material (even a modern wood-frame, brick, or concrete house). Only a few groups of the Inuit/Inupiat/Yup'ik people actually lived in iglus made of snow (not ice), though many groups used them for temporary shelter while on (e.g.) hunting trips. Other groups made their iglus of hides, sod, driftwood, or whatever other local material was available (some of the southern groups, such as the Alutiiq, dug pit houses in the ground).
- mrob 10y ago
  "Igloo" is an English word. It doesn't have the exact same meaning as the Inuit word it's derived from. And snow is a type of ice.
  - Turing_Machine 10y ago
    '"Igloo" is an English word." No, it is not. "And snow is a type of ice." No, it is not. Snow (of the type used to construct shelters) is a mixture of ice crystals and air. The air is extremely important for the purpose under discussion. Snow is a pretty good insulator. Ice is not. Also, "Inuit" is the name of only one group of people. Using their name for (say) Yup'ik is like calling an Italian or Romanian "French" just because they all speak a Romance language.
    - 10y ago

brudgers 10y ago

Often times, it's bulk rather than weight that determines transport feasibility. That's historically been a significant limiting factor in the practicality of prefabricated structures for general use...the difficulty of prefabricating a foundation being perhaps the only more significant one.