5 ms·

Hear me out: It may be possible to stack houses on top of each other in layers.

by woah 7y ago

chaostheory 7y ago
It may be physically possible, but if you’re in places likes the sf Bay Area, it’s probably not legally possible in most places.
- jyrkesh 7y ago
  Yeah, I think the joke is a knock on Bay Area (and SF) restrictions on building up
crashcrashcrush 7y ago
WHAT! Get out of here. That sounds like Soviet style communist housing! Everyone wants a front yard with a white picket fence to show off to their neighbors, no?
jiofih 7y ago
I heard they already started doing this in Japan! Jokes aside, it’s interesting that the article doesn’t mention city zoning rules - aren’t those the main cause of such shortage?
im3w1l 7y ago
I understand the joke, but let's take it seriously. What are the main reasons people want houses and how can we preserve them when stacking? * Noise. If you want to create the house experience you need to be able to jump and stomp the floor in the middle of the night without bothering anyone. Need thick and advanced floors, walls and front doors (easy to forget the last). * Garden. Probably would need artifical light, but might be possible. * BBQ in the garden. Maybe not impossible but might take some engineering to get the smoke out. * Parking. Just need to ensure it exists plentifully. * Multiple floors. Idk if people care too much for this, but easy to handle if so.
- rebeccaskinner 7y ago
  Noise is such a huge factor. I don't really care about having a yard or access to a garden, and for an apartment in a walkable neighborhood I would even be happy to give up parking. Unfortunately my spouse and I are looking at buying a house, which is much more expensive, less environmentally sound, and more inconvenient in nearly every way because it's essentially impossible to find shared living spaces with anything approaching sensible levels of sound isolation. I have sensory issues specifically around low frequencies, and I've never been able to comfortably live in a shared building without having to wear active noise canceling headphones nearly 100% of the time because other people in my building must listen to bass heavy music or buy large subwoofers for their televisions, and the low frequencies travel too easily through shared walls and floors/ceilings.
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    I've constantly encountered this problem in American buildings made of wood. No one puts that sandwiched layer of sound insulation in. In the UK, on the other hand, thick stone/concrete/brick where I lived and if I shut the windows I could barely hear anything. Quiet as a mouse. Never actually heard the neighbours.
    - AngryData 7y ago
      There are fairly simple ways to noise cancel very well with wood structures, the problem is nobody wants to pay to do it. Double drywalled walls, internally separated walls, internal insulation, better doors and windows,etc. And it usually is still cheaper than stonework, but it also still increases construction costs. People always, always, ALWAYS, try to skimp on construction costs, even when they are already getting a fantastic deal or something far superior is only like a few cents more. People will take a 50% reduction in construction quality, longevity, and finish if it will save them 10%. Even if it ultimately only accounts for a few months worth of profit, even if it will ultimately cost them more in maintenance, even if it makes energy costs twice as high.
    - pkaye 7y ago
      There is plenty of technology to do this. Well known brands like Rockwool or Quietrock. Its less labor intensive and probably better for earthquake country like California. But they do cost a little extra and many people are still not willing to pay the extra cost during house construction.
glangdale 7y ago
I wish I could upvote this twice. At some stage the tradeoffs in a tiny house start becoming overwhelmingly uneconomical. Naturally the barriers in most markets are legal or artificial financial constraints (in Australia, it is hard to get a loan on anything too small) rather than based on physics.
bitwize 7y ago
I know it's not what you were referring to, but we may legit see favelas in the Bay Area if the current madness continues.

Hear me out: It may be possible to stack houses on top of each other in layers.

by woah 7y ago

Hear me out: It may be possible to stack houses on top of each other in layers.

It may be physically possible, but if you’re in places likes the sf Bay Area, it’s probably not legally possible in most places.

jyrkesh 7y ago
Yeah, I think the joke is a knock on Bay Area (and SF) restrictions on building up

crashcrashcrush 7y ago

WHAT! Get out of here. That sounds like Soviet style communist housing! Everyone wants a front yard with a white picket fence to show off to their neighbors, no?

jiofih 7y ago

I heard they already started doing this in Japan! Jokes aside, it’s interesting that the article doesn’t mention city zoning rules - aren’t those the main cause of such shortage?

im3w1l 7y ago

I understand the joke, but let's take it seriously. What are the main reasons people want houses and how can we preserve them when stacking? * Noise. If you want to create the house experience you need to be able to jump and stomp the floor in the middle of the night without bothering anyone. Need thick and advanced floors, walls and front doors (easy to forget the last). * Garden. Probably would need artifical light, but might be possible. * BBQ in the garden. Maybe not impossible but might take some engineering to get the smoke out. * Parking. Just need to ensure it exists plentifully. * Multiple floors. Idk if people care too much for this, but easy to handle if so.

rebeccaskinner 7y ago
Noise is such a huge factor. I don't really care about having a yard or access to a garden, and for an apartment in a walkable neighborhood I would even be happy to give up parking. Unfortunately my spouse and I are looking at buying a house, which is much more expensive, less environmentally sound, and more inconvenient in nearly every way because it's essentially impossible to find shared living spaces with anything approaching sensible levels of sound isolation. I have sensory issues specifically around low frequencies, and I've never been able to comfortably live in a shared building without having to wear active noise canceling headphones nearly 100% of the time because other people in my building must listen to bass heavy music or buy large subwoofers for their televisions, and the low frequencies travel too easily through shared walls and floors/ceilings.
- scarejunba 7y ago
  I've constantly encountered this problem in American buildings made of wood. No one puts that sandwiched layer of sound insulation in. In the UK, on the other hand, thick stone/concrete/brick where I lived and if I shut the windows I could barely hear anything. Quiet as a mouse. Never actually heard the neighbours.
  - AngryData 7y ago
    There are fairly simple ways to noise cancel very well with wood structures, the problem is nobody wants to pay to do it. Double drywalled walls, internally separated walls, internal insulation, better doors and windows,etc. And it usually is still cheaper than stonework, but it also still increases construction costs. People always, always, ALWAYS, try to skimp on construction costs, even when they are already getting a fantastic deal or something far superior is only like a few cents more. People will take a 50% reduction in construction quality, longevity, and finish if it will save them 10%. Even if it ultimately only accounts for a few months worth of profit, even if it will ultimately cost them more in maintenance, even if it makes energy costs twice as high.
  - pkaye 7y ago
    There is plenty of technology to do this. Well known brands like Rockwool or Quietrock. Its less labor intensive and probably better for earthquake country like California. But they do cost a little extra and many people are still not willing to pay the extra cost during house construction.

glangdale 7y ago

I wish I could upvote this twice. At some stage the tradeoffs in a tiny house start becoming overwhelmingly uneconomical. Naturally the barriers in most markets are legal or artificial financial constraints (in Australia, it is hard to get a loan on anything too small) rather than based on physics.

bitwize 7y ago

I know it's not what you were referring to, but we may legit see favelas in the Bay Area if the current madness continues.