Raycotechnologies
The evolution of the round concrete house
The building and design of this house was based on several factors. One, I wanted a house that was going to be long lasting, low maintenance, disaster resistant, inexpensive and easy to build, efficient to heat and cool. I did all the design work using Turbo cad, a cheap clone of Auto Cad, but did what I needed. The construction of the footings started with a stake in the center with a braided wired with a loop on the end. In the loop was a marker which drew the 40' diameter shape. That's all there is to it! Using the Quadlock ICF blocks, was fast and easy. It took about a week to make the first story. Cement trucks with a pump came by and quickly filled the 10" wide void with 15 yds of 4000 psi concrete with 3/8" pea stone. I also used extra rebar every where. 3/4" bar every 2' vertically and 1/2" every 2' horizontally. Once the first floor, or in this case a walk out basement was completed, I installed a steel center beam and girder supports designed and delivered by Hambro floor systems out of Quebec. They were unsurpassed with their service. Everytyhing bolted quickly togetrher . the floor was poured with 1000' of PEX radiant tubing in place and two layers of 6" 6g steel mesh. That was floor was poured using a pump as well, and meticuosly troweled to the smoothest finish, since the floors would be stained and finished later on. The second or main story went up faster . Pump truck again. The center compression ring was raised onto a platform at the correct height. all the pre-cut 3 x 10" 12 g steel rafters were raised in place, one by one , bolted in place and secured to an anchor bolt embedded in the top of the concrete wall. for one person, it was a lot of work. the proper way would be to have a crane on site and several guy to help. With all the steel in place, I covered the entire roof with 1/2"Ruff 11 aluminum foiled backed insulation, gluing in place with construction adhesive. then the underneath was sprayed with a a high density roofing foam. This makes the roof strong enough to walk on and pour the concrete on. I covered it with a layer of 9 g chain link fence, then had the pump once again deliver concrete with reinforcement fibers in the 4 1/2" slump. Started from the top and worked our way down to the eaves. Had several guys to trowel out the mix, 20 yards completed the roof. The outside walls were covered with an adhesive concrete designed for foam blocks, then a strong fiber mat and then a latex elastomeric stucco finished. The rest was conventional house construction. I had all the oak logs sawn into lumber which I later used for all the counter tops and
other finish wood in the house. I have drawn several other versions of the house and offer plans and a study video for sale.
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