To reduce the threat of a house fire, I propose roof pools. Combined with those ceiling sprinkler devices, your house is safe from fire.
Added bonus: This will be lots of fun in the summer. "Hey! No running on the roof."-- Worldgineer, Mar 12 2003 Roof Water http://www.halfbake...m/idea/Roof_20Water [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Yeeeesss... but (amazingly enough), water weighs about 1 tonne per cubic metre ..... are you looking to retrofit this to existing structures ?
(Yes, I know, a tonne is a unit of mass, the density of water varies with temeprature, OK, OK).-- 8th of 7, Mar 12 2003 As seen in "The Towering Inferno".-- waugsqueke, Mar 12 2003 In an earthquake it could automatically douse the potential ensuing fire.-- bristolz, Mar 12 2003 //your house is safe from fire//Apart from electrical fires caused by the roof pool leaking onto the wiring in the attic.-- angel, Mar 12 2003 Some large buildings have large water tanks mounted on hydraulic rams part way up the structure to dynamically damp oscillations from wind forces. The Sears Tower in Chicago may be one of these.-- 8th of 7, Mar 12 2003 That's less fun. Who wants to swim in a tank in the Sears Tower?-- Worldgineer, Mar 12 2003 thatthatthatthatthatthatthatthatthatthat-- my face your, Mar 12 2003 That's what I'm thinking of, 8th, water tanks on the top floor. They explode in "The Towering Inferno".
There's another movie I've seen recently that has a roof pool collapse inward and wash the bad guys out of the penthouse apartment, but I can't remember what it was.-- waugsqueke, Mar 12 2003 whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat?-- Worldgineer, Mar 12 2003 // water tanks on the top floor //
In The Towering Inferno they were the building's water supply tanks. The ones used as inertial mass for active damping are positioned one half to two thirds of the way up the structure, often at an oscillatory nodal point.-- 8th of 7, Mar 12 2003 The ones I've seen, read about, the damping load is very near the top and usually big air-conditioning units hanging on a pendulum thingy.-- bristolz, Mar 12 2003 Hmmm, maybe I'm confusing some of the stuff I've seen on earthquake mitigation with active wind damping. I suspect we're both partly right.-- 8th of 7, Mar 12 2003 [angel]//roof pool leaking onto the wiring in the attic// I would hope you'd construct it in a way that wouldn't leak. Most comercial buildings have a fire sprinkler system, and I'm not aware of leakage being a problem.-- Worldgineer, Mar 12 2003 I think its a cool idea, just don't be installing one on my roof.-- joshkouri, Mar 12 2003 my junior high had this, but i never got to go to it-- davidcreede, Aug 20 2003 [josh] Ok, no roof pool for you. And you can't play in mine either.
[dave] Really? For fire suppression? Which jr. high school did you attend?-- Worldgineer, Aug 20 2003 What if the pool were filled with light water...like nuclear reactors. Probably not as refreshing....-- Vexxy, Aug 20 2003 But useful if you have your own reactor. But there's problems there - sure you can put out a fire, but then you have to deal with a meltdown...-- Worldgineer, Aug 20 2003 (realizing quite late that I never answered [8/7]'s original question)
I was thinking of new houses. Using concrete or steel in construction is fairly common these days. A steel frame would definately work, though I'm envisioning concrete columns holding up a mostly concrete pool with large circular plexiglass skylights. The shell and rest of the house would be of normal construction. (sigh) If only I had the time or artistic ability to draw this one out.-- Worldgineer, May 06 2004 I see wet people...-- lostdog, May 06 2004 Generally, I like the concept -- although I agree it would not work in places prone to earthquake. (+)
How about a mini version of Roof Pool: Jaccuzzi in the Attic. Could be used to put out small fires.-- booleanfool, May 06 2004 I've seen houses with giant tanks of water on top of them for this very reason (in an area that experiences frequent forest fires. they're not just paranoid nuts). I like the pool part though-- schematics, May 06 2004 Very cool. Where were they? I'd love to see the design.-- Worldgineer, May 07 2004 Cool is the right word. A few inches of water on the roof would suffice to keep things a bit more livable in the southwest. And even with a little water, you could have a lot of fun. Running and sliding...."Matt, watch it, don't get too close...damn, he went over again."-- ldischler, May 07 2004 Ok, now I have to post my idea about tinted roof water pools. It's less fun but more practical.-- Worldgineer, May 07 2004 If you build your roof right (read: wrong) you'll get roof pools for sure!-- k_sra, May 07 2004 To keep cool cheaper the idea is good. Go up top and take a dip. Bring the body temp down. The roof pool could save lots of money on AC. The roof pool could be designed to drop down, 60-80 feet, starting a flywheel going. A prairie wind mill could pump up water. The wind mill would use the superstructure of the roof pool flywheel puller, to gain solid height.-- Steven J Scannell, Dec 30 2010 Almost followed you there [Steven]. Is the flywheel to generate energy?-- Worldgineer, Dec 30 2010 Are any of those roof pools hooked up a fire sprinkler system?-- Worldgineer, Dec 30 2010 I suppose the flywheel can take up the downward force and translate it to either electricity or compressed air. The Compressed air could power your car or washing machine. A good pull on the flywheel could give us an hours worth of juice, perhaps. The water could grow algae, for the oysters in the basement. Who doesn't love an oyster stew? What's to criticize about oysters?-- Steven J Scannell, Dec 31 2010 seriously though the oysters would be fed indirectly from grey water and urine, or as I call it gra-pee. This saves energy in pumping excess water and waste off-site, instead converting it to height, which translates itself into food, and electricity. The photosynthesis for the algae conversion would take place not just in the pool, but in arrays of cascades or closed glass tanks.-- Steven J Scannell, Dec 31 2010 //What if the pool were filled with light water...like nuclear reactors. Probably not as refreshing....//
Light water is Perfectly Ordinary Water; that is, Water that is Not Heavy Water. The term is only used in the context of nuclear reactors to avoid ambiguity. (Light water can also imply deuterium-depleted water, but usually it doesn't).-- spidermother, Dec 14 2011 random, halfbakery