Floating commune????

I am starting a float house community!!!

this summer me and five friends are building float homes!

I want to welcome anyone interested in communal lifestyle to come and join us! we will need your help!

floating homes start around 500$, but for something you want to live in for a while I would say spend about 2000$ +!!!

ever wanted a rent free, tax free home?

I live in tofino bc, the weather stays nice here all year round! and it's perfect for surfers!

 

What type of home do you know of that floats and costs $500.00?

 

a VERY basic home! there is a floating aritists community here, they built a floating guest house (two rooms 10x20) out of completely salvaged items, cost them 0$

the biggest cost is the floats, where I live it doesn't get cold enough to require insulation. you could build a float dock and stick a tent on it. of course I wouldn't want to live in a tent...

I am personally budgetting 3,500$ for my float house...but I am going to have extra floats, and drywall!

 

best of luck to you

 

thanks tom! I'll post pictures this spring when construction starts!

you're welcome to come this summer!

 

thanks for the link, but I am building a float house community.

float houses, don't really move much, unlike houseboats that are designed to be drivable.

I don't plan on moving around very much, so I don't need the extra capabilities of a houseboat (or the added costs).

 

If you've got 3.5k to drop on it, I'm sure you can do better for a float house than drywall, it doesn't seem to be quite the ideal material... at all.

You should also consider the reality of storms, and how deadly they can be, or even tsunami style things... You could easily die a very unplesant death because of a planning error, I hope you're competent at making it stable and seaworthy.

 

you know, about an hour after posting, I had this same thought. dry wall might be too heavy aswell. most float homes, are the same as normal homes inside, they don't usually get wet inside. the materials inside the house, don't need to be water proof. the outside of the house is going to be covered in this roll out back stuff that you apply with a torch, and that should keep out 90% of the water

I think I might actually spend less on my float house, and build more float docks. my original plan was to build one huge floating dock. less important (meaning people aren't living there) float docks, won't need as many floats, water proofing, etc... the floats are the biggest expense.

I live in a very calm waters, I will be building our float community on the other side of the peninsula (one side is ocean, one side is a peaceful bay) but you are very right, death is a possibility living on the water the community will be anchored to land. there are many tiny island here that aren't big enough for a dwelling, but could be used for dock anchors. these small island are usually closer to larger chunks of land. worst case scenario we could swim to land (but if the storm is big enough to trash my house, it'll trash me in the water)


I would love to hear anymore suggestiong you may have!

what would you use instead of drywall?

 

I'm no engineer, but I was thinking something waterproof and light. Perhaps some sort of composite Or the like. I guess it also depends if you're insulating, how big it is, etc.

I bet if you could find drywall size sheets of that recycled plastic that they use to make benches and stuff out of, it would be an awesome material for lots of this project.

 

Home Depot and Lowes both sell blue board or pink board that is closed cell insulation-very waterproof. For the walls use their bathroom wall panel-it's got a bumpy design on one side and it flat on the other.

I live on a sailboat it you have any questions.

 

You live on a sailboat? That's awesome!

 

hmmmm...I don't plan on insulating because of the climate I live in, I need basic wall covering that doesn't need to be entirely waterproof, but the lighter the better. the outside of the house is going to be waterproofed and sealed very well.

that is pretty frickin awsome!

 

Hey Roo, you're right about all that. Hey Maki, I think I might want to come there and live. Let's chat sometime. Just food for thought...Dead-air space is the best insulator known, and is also BUOYANT. This is a cool thing, because it would be really easy to trap air in a lightweight material and get the best of both worlds, so-to-speak. Also, styrofoam peanuts are usually free, if you know where to find them (I.E. UPS store, or the like).

heyhowie@yahoo.com

 

Dead Air Space R- Value is approximately 0.80 per inch

Other Materials per inch

Batts or Blankets

• Mineral fiber (rock, slag or glass) 3.25
  

Loose Fill

• Mineral fiber (rock, slag or glass) 2.2

• Cellulose (milled paper and wood pulp) 3.4

• Vermiculite, exfoliated 2.13

• Perlite, expanded 2.7
  

Rigid Board and Slabs

• Expanded polystyrene, extruded (cut-cell surface) and molded bead-type 4.0

• Expanded polystyrene, extruded (smooth-cell surface) 5.0

• Expanded polyurethane, refrigerant 31 exp. 6.25

• Polyisocyanurate 7.04
  

Building Board Sheathing, regular density 2.64

Natural Materials R-value/ inch

• Cotton 3.4
• Sheeps Wool 3.4
• StrawBale 2.5
• Hemp 3.5

Dead air space is cheap and light, yes... but it is not even close to being a 'great insulator' and most definitely is NOT "the best insulator known" or even close to it.

And it is only bouyant if it is sealed into a container.

 

hmmm, good stuff guys!

I don't really need the walls to float... uhm...the floor needs to float, but it's gonna take a little more than dead air

TOM: which of the materials you listed is the lightest/most insulative?

 

Lightest/most insulative are the 'poly' ones, either sheets or spray foam.

Check out;

http://tigerfoam.ca/

It isn't the cheapest option by far in terms of buying it, but when you consider everything it is an amazing deal.

The best part (especially for you), is that it acts as the vapor barrier as well as insulation and also will increase the structural stability of what you build AND will do more to cut noise transference then anything will.

Even though you may not 'need' insulation where you are, you will quickly regret it if you try to ignore it. A quick spray coat of the tiger foam stuff and your building will actually be sealed and remain that way without sagging or compacting insulation.

 

yeah, I'm gonna insulate, it's cold today, and I couldn't imagine how cold it would be in the water!

 

This would be an awsome idea aha, but if it's a commune, how are you guys gonna grow veges and the like (or is there some other type of commune?)

 

Very cool!
A good covering that's cheap and not to difficult to work with is steel sheeting. The kind you put on the exterior of barns. Not to heavy and looks nice too. Lots of campers have it. You can rent a break to cut and form it. Spray can foam insulation called 'Good stuff' works well for sealing and is waterproof. Find it by the case on sale.
Good luck. Post pic's.

 

I'm having a bit of trouble with what materials to use actually, the basic structure is just going to be 2"x4"x8' I was going to side with the 2x4's aswell, but I was thinking of using metal, or particle board.

The problem I am having is getting the materials to the building site... it about 200kms but water or... 100km by car and 30km on water :S I can't afford a boat and a truck...beside what would I do with a truck when I'm done with it? (I don't have a credit card to rent a truck either)

I decided on using large 55gallon blue plastic drums (they have about 450lbs bouyancy)

this might take a few trips? lol

should I build a big barge and tow it all out?