Spray-on Roof?

Is there any kind of spray-on roofing system for those too lazy to lay asphalt shingles? I wish you could just spray some kind of sealant on there to prevent moisture from leaking through.

My house I designed is a bubble house. The construction method is to blow a bubble from plastic, then lay rebar, cover with concrete, and add spray foam insulation. The design isn’t done yet, but yeah… It’s still in the sketch stage.

Truck bed liner.

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This stuff? I’ve never heard of it, but it looks perfect! Thank you for the great suggestion.

Truck%20Bed%20Liner

Application

Black is a hot color though, so I might paint it beige or something to reduce cooling costs. I think they have other colors of truck bed liner too.

Liquid Rubber?

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That’s a great idea! I think that’d be cheaper than truck bed liner, but I’m not sure. Also, it’s designed for roofing which is a plus. I feel like truck bed liner might be more durable though…

At least it’s already white, that would save you a step. It also might have more elastically, in the scope of a truck bed it might not matter. But with a roof that’s larger than 8’ x 4’, it might come in handy.

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Here’s an update. Next up, windows…

I’m intrigued, is this something you are actually going to build?

Probably not, but I would like to build it.

Here in Europe, Sika is a big name in roofing. They make a liquid waterproofing compound for roofs, though it is rolled on not sprayed on.

Mind you, if you are unlikely to build it, does it matter? Use Snibbo*.


  • You probably have to have been around in the UK in the 1960s to understand the reference. Sorry!

Yes and no. I’m just trying to make a semi-accurately textured model, but I’m also exploring design concepts because I dream of designing my own home. I have gotten all the answers I needed for choosing a roofing texture, so thank you!

From what I understand Snibbo is a magical product that can do anything. If I understand the reference, then I wish I could use Snibbo.

if anything fails, we have got the juice for you:

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I added some furniture and lights.

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Yup, that’s the one. Either you’re a fellow Brit (of a certain age) or you’ve been Googling!

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I added some chairs, but can’t figure out how to put the point light into the glass sphere. It doesn’t let light through the glass, so I just put the point light below the light and it casts an undesired shadow. I’m going for an opaque shiny white sphere around the light bulb. I’m still learning this rendering thing.

Next up, appliances & furnishings (seat cushions). I’m not sure where to put the bathroom, but I was thinking of making a modern outhouse with a washer/dryer, bath/shower, storage, and trash/recycling all in one room (but maybe with a partition wall). Maybe the room could be a hemisphere and have roof over the path from the house to the outhouse… The bedroom would be on the bench in the house. Maybe there could be a spot that fits in a mattress. All in all, the house might end up only having two rooms, an inner yard & an outer yard.

Another problem I’ve having is figuring out an artistic looking driveway or garage plan… I don’t want to ramp up the costs too much, so I’d prefer a driveway. But I see merit to choosing a garage too, such as protecting your car from weathering and stuff. I’m considering making the driveway a ramp underground, then just putting a roof over the submerged area. But I’m not really satisfied with that design because of costs and I want the driveway/garage design to look cooler.

…I just realized the acoustics in an open space that big might be really echoey. Maybe it’ll get better if I add enough stuff inside… Carpet would help, but I’m not a big fan of carpet… And I want to keep the half-torus room open for walking around the roundabout.

In case you were wondering, the inner yard has a round seating area and a drain in the middle for when it rains.

Your “house” displays an interesting mix of a flight of fancy with very particular detail (like the type of roof finish and he drain in the courtyard. You must be thinking of practicalities because of your comment about garaging. But, as a house designer, I keep wondering about so many other things, such as…

If this is a house, where are the rooms? Your screenshots make it look like a modern airport lounge. How will you get from one room to another?

If the house is built in a temperate zone, is there an issue with the inefficiencies of the form? I mean the ratio between volume and exposed area of the envelope.

By modern standards, the house connects poorly with the outside. You only have single doors and quite small windows. It is likely to feel a bit cave-like. The low natural light could be helped a lot by introducing rooflights, maybe.

If you conceive that it might one day get built, are you bothered about how it would be framed? You have double curvature, the most testing thing to construct because nothing is straight or flat. A liquid roof finish will require something like a ply surface to adhere to.

What I think is positive is that it is quite low rise and the fact that it has no distinction between wall and roof means that, in the right environment, it could be made to meld into the landscape quite well.

There are two rooms.

Main room

  • Table/Counter/Sink/Dish storage/

  • Fireplace/stove/Food storage

  • Seating

  • Bed/desk/dresser/storage

  • TV

Cleaning room

  • Laundry

  • Cleaning supplies storage

  • trash/recycling

    • Toilet room (partition wall)

      • Shower

      • Sink

There will be a roof over an outdoor concrete path from the main room to the cleaning room. In the main room, there is everything you need to survive, so there’s no need for walls separating the bedroom from the kitchen from the living room, etc. The washer & dryer are noisy, so they go in the cleaning room. Maybe the dishwasher should go in the cleaning room too, so the main room is serene and relaxing. The house is designed for one person, so there’s no need for private spaces because the house is a private space. The bathroom is in the cleaning room, so that space gives privacy when you need it.

Dome houses are extremely efficient at maintaining the temperature indoors, but insulation thickness is variable depending on the climate zone. Also, monolithic domes are resistant to fires (concrete doesn’t burn) and hurricanes (reinforced concrete is very strong and domes are aerodynamic).

I prefer a cave like house with low natural light. I feel like the point of having a house is to protect you from the harmful UV rays. I wouldn’t want to get a sunburn indoors. But the house does have 12 windows. I think it’s not terribly dark in the daytime render I made. Also, the inner yard has no shade from trees, so you can go outside if you want some sun. But I am considering increasing the size of the windows, but windows are expensive.


And once it’s dry you can remove the plastic and add spray foam insulation on the inside, but I’m still trying to figure out an easy way to put a wall over the interior insulation.

I haven’t completely thought out the construction method yet.

Is this a post apocalyptic house or something?

Sounds lonely.

Sure but this ain’t a dome, nowhere near. Curvy does not a dome make. As I said, its the ration between envelope and volume that makes for efficiency. A dome complies but a torus doesn’t.

Hence my comment about temperate zones. Here in the UK we don’t have to worry too much about UV rays. We do have to worry about frost and damp. Concrete can be watertight if stable and made with the right mix and thickness. If that applied here, you wouldn’t need a roof finish other than the concrete itself.

No indeed because I suspect your method would have serious problems, starting with the weight of wet concrete on your inflated torus. I guess it must be theoretically possible to use a suitable material and inflate it enough to withstand the loads but I don’t know whether it would be practical in reality. Plus, how do you keep the wet concrete in place whilst it is drying? Even if you could make it dry enough to stay in place without a former, how would you walk on it to “smooth it with a trowel”? When you pour concrete in a foundation, the trench is the former and you pour it wet enough to be virtually self-levelling. It would be a mistake to try walking on it unless you want to disappear for ever.

What your house reminds me of is a very modern take on a Roman house or some middle Eastern houses which have largely blank elevations on the public side but are built around courtyards on the private side. They were designed for town living in hot climates. Maybe yours is too?

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It reminds me of old photographs showing how Middle Eastern craftsmen can build a vault like this directly without using any centering. They usually start from an end wall, and the stone or brick arches are at an angle so they rest on each other. The same technique can also be used for domes.

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No. It doesn’t have everything you need to survive yet, but it will.

A couple could live in a 1 bedroom house too. It doesn’t have to be lonely.

The section of the structure is an arch, which is still a strong structure even if it’s not as strong as a dome.

If it was built in a place with low sunlight, then adding more windows and changing the exterior to a dark color would help warm things up.

I thought concrete was porous without a finish. Also, concrete is extremely prone to cracking when the Earth shifts even slightly, so I would feel better with a roof finish. You might be right though, but I haven’t heard of watertight concrete before.

You might need to lay a thin starter layer of concrete before you add more weight. I don’t know. The air pressure in the bubble would have to be pretty strong. Think about how inflatable bouncy houses can support people jumping and how inflatable mattresses can support people too. So something like that, but with enough air pressure to hold wet concrete. You might have to do sections at a time to reduce the weight. If you get quick set concrete (with sand and aggregate rocks added in) and use a low moisture content, then it will be thicker and easier to adhere to the walls. As I said, I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but I’m giving you guys a sketchy idea about the construction method. Yeah, this house would be good for hot climates.

@Anssi Cool!