| Author | Message | ||
     Slate_man (Slate_man) Senior Member Username: Slate_man Post Number: 422 Registered: 01-2007 |
Irvine Ky as far as Bhaghan profili says, about 1 1/2 hr away. As far as your slate how about a picture of were you are quarrying and a pcs of what you plan to install. Are you using any power to build this building? How thick will they be? | ||
| Old_school (Old_school) Senior Member Username: Old_school Post Number: 155 Registered: 01-2009 |
Kentucky is not that big of a state. I think Frankfort is in the middle of the state, so wherever he is, we are only going to be a few hours at most from him. Sounds like fun to me! | ||
| Slate_man (Slate_man) Senior Member Username: Slate_man Post Number: 421 Registered: 01-2007 |
I would love, depending on where you are in KY. I would like to maybe stop by and see the project, I sure alot of us are will to take a look when we are down there in Frankfort KY at the end of this month for the SRCA CONFERENCE. | ||
| Mbazikos (Mbazikos) Member Username: Mbazikos Post Number: 23 Registered: 01-2007 |
It is incredible that you are quarrying your own slate. No offense, but are you sure what you are quarrying on your property is actual slate? What color is it? Did you have the stone tested by a lab to determine its quality? | ||
| Old_school (Old_school) Senior Member Username: Old_school Post Number: 154 Registered: 01-2009 |
Is this a great site or what? Talk about people thinking ouside of the box and willing to take risks. That kind of risk taking and construction will make all of us think of the possibilities instead of the limitations that are mormally thrown at us. Good bad or indifferent, I say Bravo to Bahghan. Post a picture if you can and lst us get our collective mind around your project! | ||
| Braymer (Braymer) Senior Member Username: Braymer Post Number: 114 Registered: 09-2008 |
That sounds pretty cool. Do you have any photos that you could post? If people saw the structure and roof surface and also pics of that slate it would help to give you some suggestions. If the slate is soft and just hand-quarried off the surficial layers, just embedding it in mortar may work, but if it the good stuff that lasts and lasts, you would want to install it so it can be maintained easilly later - fastened somehow. Joes book - the Slate Roof Bible has some good photos of Spanish /European slate roofs that are layed in a wild looking way but they still use headlap and sometimes a double headlap to shed water. Some photos would help. | ||
| Bhaghan (Bhaghan) New member Username: Bhaghan Post Number: 1 Registered: 06-2009 |
First, please bear with me as i have brain injuries and make mistakes on these post things so my apologies for improper netiquette. I am building an alternative set of structures on my property in KY using cob and earthbag, my dilemma is how to fix the slate(self quarried from my creek) to the earth plaster dome roof? Just slop it down while wet or put pins or some kind of wire holder under the tile? The goal is to use materials on site as much as possible but will consider anything that fits in our ridiculously low budget lol. | ||
| Jonma (Jonma) Junior Member Username: Jonma Post Number: 12 Registered: 05-2009 |
Whoa, I had never heard of The Egg before... the pictures I found via Google, though, are pretty impressive! It actually looks like an inverted dome balanced on a single column! Here's a link for anyone else who's curious: The Egg Thanks for that link to buildingscience.org as well, tons of neat info there! Old_School mentioned a pretty cool idea (the inflatable forms) -- that'd cut down on construction quite a bit, no? But yeah, I definitely agree that a mass of concrete domes would make for some ugly scenery. | ||
| Old_school (Old_school) Senior Member Username: Old_school Post Number: 143 Registered: 01-2009 |
I have read and seen pictures of domes that they built using inflatable forms. They pour the concrete on the form and then start inflating it. 5#'s per square inch of air = 720# per square foot of building. It worked pretty slick and every thing that was hard to do was done on the ground. When the concrete cured, the just deflated the form and the dome stayed up. I am not sure how it would work on a very steep slope dome. Another idea! | ||
| Braymer (Braymer) Senior Member Username: Braymer Post Number: 106 Registered: 09-2008 |
Hello Jonma, Have you seen pictures of the Egg in Albany?. That is a concert hall that is the shape of an Egg, the steel frame and curved cast panels were a sight to see going up- I saw them build that when I was a kid, there may be some google photos..That is a very efficient andf functional building.. I think you may like this site(it navigates a little funny though), it is pretty technical but has loads of engineering and building science stuff, etc... http://www.buildingscience.com/index_html I still think there is just as much or more work with concrete structures.. Even with precast panels, you still need quite a bit of frame work. "Pouring" concrete takes ALOT of work, think of the forms and support structure that is needed. Insulating concrete also takes work. Just like any building. When you look out your window in the morning, what would you rather see? A glimmering slate roof with blended mellow colors on top of a little wood clap board house, or just a dome of poured concrete. | ||
| Jonma (Jonma) Junior Member Username: Jonma Post Number: 11 Registered: 05-2009 |
Hi Braymer, How about using a dome as the entire structure, not just the roof? I have no idea about the cost, but I can't imagine that pouring concrete would be more expensive than a crew of guys framing, roofing, and insulating a traditional house. Would it? A couple benefits I can think of are a greatly reduced risk of fire and the benefit of all that concrete acting as a big thermal mass for temperature regulation. I wonder if it'd be possible to integrate steel beams into the dome to create multiple floors? Then the height of the dome wouldn't be totally wasted. It'd be ugly as sin, but functional! | ||
| Braymer (Braymer) Senior Member Username: Braymer Post Number: 105 Registered: 09-2008 |
It may come down to utility. What is the use of that space under the dome. Pouring Concrete as a dome on top of a building and properly structuring it would NOT be fast or cheap. Timber framing would be. Thats is why it has been done. Tradition and time proves what works. Domes are for rich people and municipalities and churches. Slate also just looks better than all that other stuff. | ||
| Jonma (Jonma) New member Username: Jonma Post Number: 9 Registered: 05-2009 |
Why do you think domes aren't a more popular shape for modern buildings? Is it because it's an inefficient shape (i.e. rooms with curved walls)? Difficulty of adding windows/doors? People just don't like how they look? I'd imagine that just pouring a concrete dome would be a lot faster and cheaper than traditional timber framing, too. Oh! And if you want to see the kind of dome I was talking about, check this out: The Pantheon, Rome Amazing! | ||
| Old_school (Old_school) Senior Member Username: Old_school Post Number: 141 Registered: 01-2009 |
A concrete "dome" or any dome for that matter is going to shed water fast. That is the most important aspect to keep a roof lasting a long time. I would imagine that the domes you are speaking of were open and ventilated well too. That would make a big difference. Fired clay tile will last for generations, as will slate. The thicker it is, the longer it will generally last. A "cave" is a building too, and the roofs of the caves in the world are rock and clay and such. They last for thousands of years. | ||
| Jonma (Jonma) New member Username: Jonma Post Number: 8 Registered: 05-2009 |
This is a completely hypothetical situation, but I was just curious... disregarding aesthetics and the longevity of the underlying structure, what would be the strongest, most durable, longest-lasting material to construct a roof with? The first thing that pops into my mind is concrete -- the romans used it, and their concrete domes are still protecting structures today. That actually makes me wonder... why is modern concrete so prone to cracking, whereas the roman stuff has held up for millennia without breaking? Are there any modern materials or construction techniques that might trump concrete, though? Or be equally effective but more versatile? What about a thick lead roof? Aluminum? How about a roof covered with a layer of that synthetic diamond? Better yet, how about plastic/rubber? It's waterproof, elastic, it doesn't rust, it's light, and it's cheap! |
