[papercreters] Reciprocal Roofs- 16 sided house

Reciprocal roofs are strong , beautiful and can be built with rough
poles to save money .
They are stunning , cool , unique etc. etc. etc. but they are also
extremely labour intensive and heavy. It is very important to protect
the end grain from water intrusion, insects etc.
To build one with dimensional lumber or metal takes superior math
skills and lots of time.
Usually these roofs are used to support earth roofs. To waterproof an
earthen roof requires the purchase of a pond liner which is quite
expensive as well. I have never seen such a roof on the Gulf Coast and
I believe that there is just too much rain and heat to make them
practical there. I am not qualified to say. I am somewhat of an
expert when it comes to roofs but not these.

My 2 cents worth is that papercrete and sodden reciprocal roofs are
better suited for either cold , dry areas or hot and dry ones. A
dimensional reciprocal roof would be fine if you can afford it, it is
the most beautiful roof I have ever seen bar none!






The Gulf Coast has material I think would be much better suited
and is absolutely a lot cheaper., Rice Hulls. Rice Hulls are much
lighter , 9 lbs per cubic foot and are fluid so that can be installed
with a heavy blower similar to one used for installing loose
cellulose.

The walls ,floors , and roofs are all built with a cavity to
accommodate a larger amount of rice hulls. The r- factor is similar
to papercrete and in Louisiana near the coast there are several of
these houses that have been standing for the better part of a decade
w. no worries. The houses are pier and beam with a 12" cavity under
the floor , in the walls , and in the ceiling. Personally I would
go at least 18" on the roof seeing that is 80% of the heat load and
heat is the enemy on the coast. The floor cavity can be built with
manufactured floor joist {OSB} clad with either OSB or plywood and
squeaking will be minimal . Other advantages are the consistency of
size and the price is very competitive. The walls are built with 2 x 4
's on edge with (3) 12' gussets made from whatever scrap plywood
or OSB you can scrounge placed about 8" from the top and bottom.
The roof if the same as the floor but with a pitch, facia board etc.
In the houses I mentioned earlier the cost of framing increased by
less than $1000.00 and the increase in wind resistance, critical on
the Gulf Coast! is impressive!. You can use just about any
roofing over the rice hull cavity . There is a great benefit to
using reflective insulation {aluminium foil} on the coast as it
reflects a great deal of solar radiation . A metal roof would work
fine , just lay the foil on top of the cavity , lay sleepers to
elevate the metal and with a proper ridge vent convection will help
remove the heat that is being reflected.
Lowe's , for one. sells a corrugated cement roof in 40" by 40" panels
for a buck a square foot. If you are adventurous you could even make
your own.

In LA they used a geothermal a/c and a Franklin Stove and it cost less
than 600.00 a year to heat and cool. You could use papercrete for
stucco , garden walls etc. but for less than 10.00 a ton for a
lightweight insulation that is more fire resistant that treated
cellulose , pest resistant, does not retain much water and packs down
only slightly rice hulls are hard to beat!

http://esrla.com/pdf/ricehullhouse.pdf
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/earthbag.htm#ricehulls
http://small-scale.net/stash/2008/08/11/preparing-for-building-the-reciprocal-roof-frame/
http://www.mts.net/~sabanski/pavilion/pavilion_design.htm




Forrest Charnock


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