Friday, January 23, 2009

Internal Dialog about Solargons


Love this - it's a house made from a kit.

Problem is, once you pay for a foundation and land, it's cheaper to just buy a good old bungalow in Glenwood.

But this Solargon is probably much more energy efficient and low maintenance. It looks so cool.

But so what, they'd never give you a permit to build this in the city anyway, even if you could find and buy a lot to put it on.

Well then, to hell with the city, I'll move out to Rockingham or Stokes or Randolph County and live in a Solargon.

You better invest in a primo TV and a satellite dish then, 'cause there won't be anyplace nearby to hang out, and any neighbors you have will probably hate your hippie ass. And you should build a still because you'll likely be living in a dry county. And buy lots of CDs 'cause you'll be spending a lot of commuting time in the car going back and forth to work, and oh by the way you'd better buy a newer car without so many miles and get a job you'll hate so you can make your new car payments and buy gas. And if you're going to do all that you might as well live in a tent because you won't actually be spending much time at home. And figure out how to make your own tofu because grocery stores where you will be living won't have stuff like that, or wheat-free bread.

This sucks.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

These look like the Dome Homes that became so popular in the 1970's and went out of style just as soon. Why? Because they were impossible to furnish and live in. There was just a lot of empty space that nothing could fit into. Mankind used the round house when he had no square stationary and permanent furniture to put in it. Round was very nice to dump furs and a few clay pots against the walls and sit and sleep around a fire pit in the middle.

That said, I was one who went batty over dome homes and just had to have one. So I know all about the problems with them. After 3 years I went back to the old tacky square or oblong house. BB

verona said...

Anything this small is going to be a challenge to furnish and live in. I've studied domes a lot too, and I like this better because it has flat walls and a more conventional roof. Domes are hard because you have to cover them in shingles, which isn't cute and would be hard to replace. I've seen them covered in something called elastomeric paint, too, but I don't know how that holds up.

Still I think more people would buy domes, but it's too hard to get financing for one. And if you don't want a mortage anyway, you need to buy something it's easier to just pay for. For most people, that's going to be tiny, and I think round is the best way to optimize tiny.