Comment by datashovel | Hacker News Reader

Comment by datashovel | Hacker News Reader

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I have a project that I eventually want to get off the ground. It has to do with improving how we build houses by making all interior structure modular.

I don't necessarily think "small" is the way to think about it. Instead if a family lives in a house for decades their priorities / needs change. So, for example, the retired couple who still live in the house with 2 bedrooms for their children when they first bought the house.

Or what about the house that's available and in an ideal location and has all the right things, but it's a one-bedroom with plenty of square feet, but where will the kids sleep?

If you had a modular way of reconstructing the interior of the house, and they redo the walls using inexpensive modular components, all of a sudden maybe now their master bedroom is twice the size it was, or maybe that space becomes a loft / sitting area instead.

Suddenly it makes sense that a family could reasonably expect to live in the same house over long periods of time comfortably, if it suits them, no matter the changing circumstances that life presents them.

EDIT: And make far better use of the space they have over time as circumstances change.

A place here in town builds modular office environments that have snap-together walls, etc. Sort of like huge cubicles that are grown all the way up instead of slapped together. They have giant metal base plates that you install on the exterior walls of the floor and then you click your "fake walls" into them at right angles. You can even get sound deadening panels or colour inserts that slide inside the walls.

I asked one of the guys on the tour why they don't do it for houses. He replied that the problem with houses is that it's rare to find houses that are actually built with enough precision to have perfectly square corners and perfectly vertical walls. It doesn't really make sense to go to that extent for a narrow-margin stickbuilt 2- to 3-storey dwelling that doesn't support the immense weight of an office building.

The modular idea could still work. You'd just have to add this little hacky layer in between to adapt the out-of-plumb house bits to the injection-moulded modular walls or whatever. I dunno what that layer would look like and still be cheaper than making changes to a home the traditional way.

Good luck if you do it, I can't wait to buy it.

USM, a Swiss modular furniture company built a modular building platform back in the late 60's. It was based on the same idea as their furniture - a scaffolding+panel design.

Unfortunately it didn't take off then, only a few buildings were built with it. It's a shame because it looked very modern, very cool, and frankly I'd like to own one of those buildings.

Thanks for the comments. I definitely agree, the construction of the perimeter would likely be more expensive because of the need for more precise measurements for modular components. And even without the extra work on the exterior it may be doable.

I guess the question really is whether the additional expense is manageable.

And of course I definitely think the way to go with modularity would be open source. That way the market becomes immediately inclusive of all potential manufacturers or DIYers.

Knocking down or throwing up the structure for a partition wall isn't that expensive. If you want to build something like 16 linear feet of wall, you need 4 panels of drywall ($40), about 16 2x4s ($43), some tape ($2), joint compound ($15), a gallon of primer ($20), and another of paint ($30-60).

All in all, you can do that for about $200, if you're willing to do it yourself. This neglects doing the electrical (you don't need plumbing for a partition, but you do need outlets every 12 ft so that there is no space on the wall with more than 6' without one).

Until you get into moving structural walls, or doing kitchens and bathrooms; you can change the interior of the house fairly cheaply. Depending on where you live, you may not need any permits either if it isn't a structural change.

That's true, except perhaps you're not calculating in all the extra tools you use to do that work that (as far as I know) the average homeowner may not have laying around their house.

If you're building up a tool inventory from scratch and all your power tools, etc. that will be needed, this won't be free :)

Then there's also the fear that an inexperienced person would have: "am I buying the right tools for the job?". Or, "will I ever do this kind of project again?" If not why don't I just hire a contractor to do the work for me instead of investing in tools I may never use again, and remove the fear of doing it wrong or causing more damage which in turn will end up costing more money.

The way things are done today it's relatively intimidating to someone who doesn't know the first thing about it. On the other hand I would argue that perhaps it's not necessary that the process of redoing the interior layout of the house should be intimidating or inaccessible to the average home owner.

It is true that I didn't include tools; trim and finish also add to it depending on what you're doing. When you're doing demo, you may also need to fix or match existing finish work (e.g., you might have interrupted hardwood floors or carpet where there was the old bottom plate).

But building a wall actually requires fairly few tools. You can get buy with a hammer, handsaw, square, and level to do the framing. For the drywall you need a utility knife (for cutting the drywall), some drywall taping knives, a paintbrush and a roller cover.

You can certainly add a drill (to screw it together) or rent a nail gun/compressor to make things go faster. A circular saw is also one of those things that it makes sense for a homeowner to have.

But even if you aren't doing it yourself, you can pay someone who has those tools, and it shouldn't take them that long. Stick construction with drywall is easily modifiable (as compared to e.g. concrete).

Also, I think that now with the advent of Youtube and online forums; things are a lot easier for someone who wants to do it themselves. You can see videos of people doing it, you can ask questions related to your specific situation (which even if you read a book may not be covered, because everything presents just a little bit differently).

It's very empowering to be able to improve your living environment.

I've always wanted to do this kind of thing with LEGO-like wall tiles containing plumbing, electric, and ventilation sections.

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