# How to build a home These are various tips for designing a home. ## Structure You do *not* need anything elaborate, though a larger dwelling allows you to do more without any distractions. - We tend to be distracted by adverse conditions that make us feel unsafe. - The amount of protection we need is *highly* contextual to [culture](people-culture.md), but [living well](people-goodlife.md) requires either accommodating those preferences or changing them. ## Design In order of relative importance, you need several dwelling rooms: 1. A bedroom to sleep (since it's typically when we're affected the most by the elements). 2. A bathroom (since we value privacy and hygiene). 3. Storage room (to protect our things against the elements). 4. A kitchen (food preparation, since we're typically already protecting our food nearby there anyway). 5. A relaxation room (for us to enjoy time indoors during adverse weather). 6. If there are more people, more bedrooms (for more privacy). Throughout the dwelling, you'll need a few key interior components: - Doors permit partial entry while maintaining insulation and protection, and when possible should face east (toward the sunrise). - Windows make the building more pleasant, and should *always* face east or west (toward the sun). While *we* need water, it's the enemy of every building: - It consumes wood, erodes masonry, corrodes metals, and peels paint. - It also expands when it freezes (affecting plumbing) - *And*, it also permeates everywhere when it evaporates. - It warps, swells, discolors, rusts, loosens, mildews, and creates odors. - Even when you build the house on poles, capillary action will mean it'll *still* enter the house through the foundations. - Design with water in mind. - Generally, the prevalence of water will mean a house will deteriorate from the bathroom outward, followed by the kitchen. - Presume the water *will* penetrate the exterior layer, and make a system that intercepts it behind that and returns it outside again. - Only use siding that vents out the moisture. Old houses are not usually better construction. - The reason they lasted better is because they focused on permitting natural ventilation to travel through the house, which also dried out any moisture in the process. - Now, houses are built to be airtight for HVAC systems, meaning any water that *does* get in will utterly destroy a home. Use materials that can steadily withstand a long-term barrage of decomposition. - Ideally, roofs should require no maintenance, but walls should be low-maintenance to accommodate the lifestyle changes we adopt. - If you can, make a main frame of the building that can last 300 years. - Wood is the most adaptable, but the worst for maintenance because it always absorbs moisture. - The only exception to this is timber-framed buildings because the wood is protected from the weather, massive, and exposed enough that it's easy to keep dry and inspected. - Use hardwood pegs instead of metal bolts for timber frames. - Stick frame or stud construction buildings wear down *very* fast. - Bricks are *amazingly* durable, and simply need repointing (replacing the mortar 1/2 inch into the brick) every 60-100 years. - Most brick walls are often *not* long-lasting because they have an outer layer of decorative brick with an inner layer of cheaper brick or concrete block bound together with metal ties, which corrode and make it fall apart. - Vinyl and aluminum siding hide existing problems, which make them very risky as an outer layer (e.g., they trap moisture behind it). - Concrete is *very* long-standing, but it can't be changed later or easily repaired. - Insulation can be stuffed in between the inner and outer layers of the building, and can be made of various materials. - To keep the house insulated, tightly connect the windows and doors. Water's ubiquity means the roof is *the* most important part of the building. - The roof's effectiveness is defined by its pitch and its shape, and then by the detailing. - The simpler the roof, the better, and chimneys or skylights can invite further problems. - The best metal roof is standing-seam, terne-coated stainless steel or copper. - The lighter a roof's color, the more it can also withstand solar deterioration. - Fasten with stainless-steel screws, not nails. - Use hanging metal gutters to catch and redirect water from affecting the base of the building. Whatever dwelling you design, make sure it's accessible later: - Have 2-5 different possible scenarios for how you might use the building, then use a strategy that accommodates *all* of them. - You should be able to easily clean windows, reach light fixtures, access electrical panels and plumbing controls, access ducting, and open up the walls if something needs [repairing](https://adequate.life/fix/) or [improving](home-decorations.md). - If you design it correctly from the beginning, you will save a *lot* of time and money later. ## Contracting Spend more money than you'd expect on the building's basic structure. - If you get low-quality building materials, you *will* have to [fix it](https://adequate.life/fix/) later. - However, don't obsess too much about finishing materials, since they're more for [design](engineering-design.md) than [use](purpose.md), and you may easily want to change it later if your preference [leans toward it](people-trends.md). - If you're hiring an architect, you'll probably need to rein them in on the finishing, since they typically get carried away with their [creativity](mind-creativity.md) where it [shows the most](people-image-why.md). If you're building something larger, adapt your strategy as constraints arise at [each phase of the project](mgmt-2_projects.md): 1. Building permissions must conform to [legal requirements](legal-safety.md). 2. Preparing the site may have certain constraints on what you can do or how much. 3. Construction often runs into problems with materials or [supply chain](logistics.md) issues. 4. When finishing, it's easy to see [design issues](engineering-design.md) you may have missed earlier in the project. 5. Finally, once you live there, you'll often discover issues you wouldn't have realized otherwise. 6. Over the long term, the building may start representing [patterns](symbols.md) of specific [issues](https://adequate.life/fix/), so [improve](home-decorations.md) as you go. Pay close attention to the risks associated with the building's geographical climate: - Earthquakes mean the foundation must be particularly durable. - Hurricanes mean the roof and windows must be more secured to the structure of the house, and the walls must be more secured to the foundation. - Snow means the roof must be stronger. - Heavy rain means more sealant everywhere. While you can use CAD software to create construction drawings, builders work off a PDF set of plans. - You can find plenty of open construction diagrams online, then adapt them according to [local code](legal-safety.md) or necessary specifications. If you're hiring a [contractor](people-contracts.md) to build (which is a good idea if you don't have a background in construction), hire good help, or they'll install things poorly. - Note who you can [save on](money-saving.md): cheap siding installation isn't as devastating as cheap masonry. - Your building is a [creative outflow](creations.md) of your [personality](people-personality.md), but becomes less "yours" proportional to how disengaged you are with the project. - Try to be physically present through *all* stages of the construction, since you may miss something important about your preference (e.g., placement of fridge or sinks, counter height).