Replies

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Sep 17, 2017 05:24am | #1

   Andrew,
   Here's my reaction: When used for walls, this is a forming system. You end up with an uninsulated concrete wall (in other words, a conventional basement wall). Whether this type of wall form makes any sense depends on whether your concrete contractor has any problems with his or her conventional forms.

   It looks like SpiderTie marketing likes to emphasize the fact that the system allows curved walls. That's interesting, as far as it goes. But most homes don't have curved walls, and I'm guessing that these single-use forms are more expensive than conventional forms that get re-used.

   There is one aspect of the system that is interesting: It allows the construction of a sloped roof made of reinforced concrete. In an area where natural disasters are common, that's intriguing -- although probably not cheap.

2. 
   SwitchgrassFarmer | Sep 17, 2017 06:16am | #2

   Cocktail party chat with one of Penn State's emeritus architecture professors the other day; somehow we got onto the topic that at one point in his career he had worked with Buckminster Fuller. So I asked him, "Do you live in a geodesic dome home?" The answer was "no".

   Curved walls are unappealing to most it seems. Is it because they are uncommon due to the difficulty of construction? Or have techniques for straightforward construction not been developed because curved walls have other fundamental challenges like furniture placement? Are there even higher level subliminal problems with curves, along the lines of Feng Shui like issues? (We had a "nothing round, nothing shiny" rule when we built our home.)

   BTW, that emeritus professor, he had driven one of Bucky's Dymaxion cars. That is pretty darn cool.

3. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Sep 17, 2017 06:42am | #3

   Andrew,
   A friend of mine built a dome home. Lots of problems: furniture placement; kitchen cabinets; of course, roofing.

   Curved walls look good, but they are usually impractical.