Home  5  Books  5  GBEzine  5  News  5  HelpDesk  5  Register  5  GreenBuilding.co.uk
Not signed in (Sign In)

Categories



Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
Green Building Bible, fourth edition (both books)
These two books are the perfect starting place to help you get to grips with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment.

PLEASE NOTE: A download link for Volume 1 will be sent to you by email and Volume 2 will be sent to you by post as a book.
Buy individually or both books together. Delivery is free!


powered by Surfing Waves




Vanilla 1.0.3 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

Welcome to new Forum Visitors
 Join the forum now and benefit from discussions with thousands of other green building fans and discounts on Green Building Press publications: Apply now.




General: Wikihouse

Bottom of Page

1 to 13 of 13

  1.  
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeMar 21st 2021 edited
     
    What do you all think of WIkihouse?
    https://www.wikihouse.cc
    • CommentAuthorjms452
    • CommentTimeMar 21st 2021
     
    When software developers set their sights on housebuilding :bigsmile:

    Can't comment on the details but an organised open source approach should be great for upping standards and commodifying self build.

    Wookey should be well placed to comment on this...
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 21st 2021
     
    I see I first noticed it in 2017. They seem to have some real reference sites now (dunno about before). It reminds me of one of the Grand Designs episodes - was it Facit? - a couple of retired university people building a prefab from plywood. Certainly looks like a good idea in principle. I'm not sure why they've set their sights so low with regard to U-values and airtightness etc though? It seems like an opportunity wasted to increase quality to PH levels?!

    I joined their Slack site - never used it before and it seems pretty idiosyncratic in how it works. I'll see whether any interesting happens.
    • CommentAuthorJeff B
    • CommentTimeMar 22nd 2021
     
    Looks brilliant. Not sure how you would get on during very wet weather though? The video of the Cotteridge Park Community Cafe gives a good overview of how it all works. I like the section from about 11.05 minutes onwards, where they are putting up the internal wall panels - those two guys look as though they are venting their frustration with those mallets. Looks quite comical as the video is being replayed at high speed!
    • CommentAuthorgravelld
    • CommentTimeMar 22nd 2021 edited
     
    It does look like that Grand Designs episode, right down to the onsite mini factory.

    The naming appears techwash to me - just like the OS building efforts that don't really understand OS... and all the companies that now do "agile".
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeMar 23rd 2021 edited
     
    I came across Wikihouse back when they launched in 2011 and thought it was a cool idea, but they've come a long way since then.

    One of things I find most compelling is their 'Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DfMA)' manual:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OiLXP7QJ2h4wMbdmypQByAi_fso7zWjLSdg8Lf4KvaY/

    But Alastair Parvin has now also formed Open Lab Systems, which is working on some *very* cool and related stuff:
    https://www.opensystemslab.io/projects

    I just joined Wikihouse's Slack group and there's a new building system currently being developed which they're hoping to realise this year. It will allow higher buildings and has simplified pre-assembled structural wall & floor parts that can be configured in many ways.

    You can view an example of their latest Blackbird system here (this is what the Cottage Park community cafe (UK) used):
    https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bced1afe265d371796491168/w/81e10007069c788819bd1d8d/e/237c78526f97ff582c7a8c4a

    But this system has also been abandoned and forked due to structural concerns for sheer and twist problems in higher buildings. Sounds like this new fork (Skylark) is what we can expect to see this summer.
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeMar 23rd 2021 edited
     
    Posted By: Jeff BLooks brilliant. Not sure how you would get on during very wet weather though?

    Yeah that's a good question. Swelling of joints or boards would be a big problem.
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeMar 23rd 2021
     
    Posted By: gravelldThe naming appears techwash to me

    Well except that the whole project was started to see what digitisation could do for the building industry. Seems pretty apt to me.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 23rd 2021 edited
     
    Posted By: Shevek
    Posted By: Jeff BLooks brilliant. Not sure how you would get on during very wet weather though?
    Yeah that's a good question. Swelling of joints or boards would be a big problem.

    I don't think it should be a major issue. Once the team learn how to manage tarps properly :bigsmile: They were lucky those they used in the cafe video didn't all shred!

    Keep everything covered up, tarp the building until you can get the external membrane on. Shouldn't be too difficult. For our build we went the paranoid route - scaffold with a tin roof, plus lots of tarps. But then it was exposed for a lot longer than these pre-fab component constructions should be.
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2021 edited
     
    Ah yes I see now. The floor gets wet once its constructed and as they work on the rest too.

    I like the self-adhesive breather membrane.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2021
     
    Posted By: ShevekAh yes I see now. The floor gets wet once its constructed and as they work on the rest too.

    We used CaberDek for our first floor. My wife helped to sweep out what rain water did get in, and religiously went round patching any tears in the waterproof film. She was quite surprised at the end after everything was closed in when I went round and ripped up all the film :bigsmile: She'd thought it was part of the finished product.

    I like the self-adhesive breather membrane.

    Yes, looks like a good idea. I think it's specced for up to 3 months exposure to the weather. The stuff we used was similar but not self-adhesive (except for a narrow bit down one edge to join it to the next piece) and was a bit of a nuisance because it blew around as we were laying it. Ours had a plastic 'brillo pad' on top as well, for use under a metal roof.
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeMar 24th 2021 edited
     
    Posted By: djhI'm not sure why they've set their sights so low with regard to U-values and airtightness etc though? It seems like an opportunity wasted to increase quality to PH levels?!

    I'm just about to ask about that on their Slack. One of their highest priorities is affordability, but these buildings are also generally smaller than typical buildings. So I think those two factors (and maybe structural challenges?) have lead them to that 0.15 u-value and thickness. As long as you get them airtight these buildings are going to perform extremely well either way.
    • CommentAuthorgravelld
    • CommentTimeApr 7th 2021
     
    Posted By: Shevek
    Posted By: gravelldThe naming appears techwash to me

    Well except that the whole project was started to see what digitisation could do for the building industry. Seems pretty apt to me.
    FYI - this is what a Wiki is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

1 to 13 of 13

  1.  
Add your comments

    Username Password
  • Format comments as
 
Back to Discussions Top of Page
   
The Ecobuilding Buzz
Site Map    |   Home    |   View Cart    |   Pressroom   |   Business   |   Links   
Logout    

© Green Building Press