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Northern New England doesn't have those major, dangerous earthquakes. I wouldn't build one of the big central brick and stone chimney masses you see here on early houses out West, but I don't think it takes an engineer to understand that issue.
I have seen folks talking about Russian design masonry woodstoves that are centrally located in a home. They have a massive amount of stone, concrete and sand in them; along with an extensive labyrinth of baffling for the smoke to travel through.
I can see that point of view. A large thermal mass to slowly give off the heat and all.
I do not think I would ever build one. I prefer regular woodstoves that heat water so I can have a heated floor.
Start with radiant heated floors, towel racks, boot dryers, and whatnot; you can always go to solar-thermal later.
Quote:
... There are still towns in my state with no building codes, zoning, etc. The only regulations that are statewide pertain to septic systems and are fairly simple.
The majority of towns here are like that. Then again the majority of towns here are so rural, they do not have a large enough tax-base to support hiring: planners and code enforcement inspectors. My town burned their town charter for that reason. With nobody on payroll, taxes drop in a hurry.
To be fair, this state does administer 'zoning' regarding a couple things [other than septic systems].
'Shoreland' protection [land within 250' of any river or lake], and 'Tree-growth' status [in a state with over 90% 'forest', they do track which parcels are forest and which are not].
Number two worst-NYC
-8 million people on a 14 mile island?
- looting, riots etc
- no way to fend for myself.
In order to have an appropriate discussion, one has to begin with correct information. The above is not correct. NYC is not limited to the borough of Manhattan on a 14 mile island; it contains 5 boroughs on 2 additional islands plus mainland ( (borough of Richmond on Staten Island - and Brooklyn and Queens are on Long Island while Bronx is on the mainland). So while you claim NYC has 8 million people, it is on a much larger land mass. If, however, you limited your worst case for living area to the Borough of Manhattan, the looting, riots, and inability to fend for yourself would be more plausible. You see, there are farms on Staten Island and, IIRC, some still in Brooklyn. I really have no idea about da Bronx.
Number two worst-NYC
-8 million people on a 14 mile island?
- looting, riots etc
- no way to fend for myself)
Just for future reference, not all of New York's 8 million residents live on Manhattan Island. That would certainly make it the most crowded place in human history. There are just over 1 million people on Manhattan, with the other 7+ million spread out on Long Island, Staten Island, and the US mainland (The Bronx).
If houses were built to last a hundred years, the industry would work itself out of a job. No more construction, no more lumber, no more transportation, all these jobs and businesses gone. How likely is that to happen and what corporation would do that to itself?
Most neighborhoods are built to "recycle" where what was once a "hot neighborhood" for the rich passes within X years to middle class and then within X more years to low income class etc.
If people built their own homes, most of them would last a 100+ years.
Building a house is no rocket science, people have been led to believe that it is. Plus, the building codes make it a tedious task to satisfy all the formal requirements to satisfy some bureaucrat inspector. I live in a county where there are no building codes - there is no statistical proof that the houses are any better or worse on average than the next county where building codes are enforced up the wazoo.
Building codes sole purpose is to protect the mortgage and insurance industry, not you, the owner. Indirectly the codes set the minimum for the next owner of the home to know that the home is built against SOME SET of requirements. It is about "standardizing on a minimum", not about highest quality.
Inspectors have almost no legal responsibility, they can do a good or a bad job and there is usually no consequence. A regular inspection of a home does NOT include a structural inspection, that's extra and involves a structural engineer. I would venture to say that most people don't do structural inspections because they take more time and cost a lot more. The story that the market will regulate itself and good inspectors (or any other tradesmen) will prosper and bad go out of business is defeated by the fact that our country is TRANSIENT. As a newbie to the area you don't know who is who and can easily get the incompetent and the lazy dude. The locals may know who is who but they wont tell you 'cause they don't know you
The whole construction system revolves around insurance premiums and mortgages [and taxes]. The bank needs to know that it is lending money on something built to some kind of a standard and the insurance company needs the same. IT IS ALL ON PAPER. It is all based on calculations that most homes will be alright and some will fail.
Modern homes are chemical doused junk that generally is not meant to last past the length of the first mortgage - 30 years.
The modern culture is transient, homes and land are commodities and everything regarding both is monetized in one way or another. Just like health or anything else that cannot be monetized but is, you get what you get...
Think about this: building codes from 20-30 years ago are VERY different from the ones today. In fact, many times the latest ones will obsolete or completely change the requirements on something. Yet, they are both OK - how come? That's 'cause it's all on paper, both homes will be insured and mortgaged - the higher costs of insurance may be passed on to you (hey, who cares, you are still paying anyways) etc.
OD
CD won't let me rep you again, but you're right.
"Modern homes are chemical doused junk that generally is not meant to last past the length of the first mortgage - 30 years."
I would qualify that at 10-15 year point, you will begin to need substantial repairs / maintenance. Builder Grade hardware will fall apart around the 7th year.
...
" If people built their own homes, most of them would last a 100+ years."
This presumes that the owner - builder is not a slum dweller throwing up a tar paper shack.
Also, we live in a transient society where the average person "flips" homes like women used to go through hairstyles. Way back when, an owner built a home on his land and it was intended that he would be there until he died, and probably his children as well. A house was a home. A permanent home. Not typically the case anymore, thus few care that the home will be a pile of toxic waste in 30 years.
My location is a good place in Amish country Ohio. What I can not grow is being grown all around me, and the Amish understand bartering {silver,gold,etc}. We are a just a short walk to a good size lake that is on the states top bass fishing list. The bad part is the winters are long,there has been snow on the ground here for 2 months.
Same with the Amish in the Southern Tier of Western NY State ( west end of the state)
Anyone get a 53 ft shipping High Cube container in that it is 9 ft 6 in (2,896 mm) tall on the exterior. It is 1 ft (305 mm) taller than standard height containers. It is 8 ft 6 in (2,591 mm) wide which makes it 6 in (152 mm) wider than standard containers. The bigger boxes have 60% more capacity than standard 40-foot (12,192 mm) containers and the reinforced 53-foot boxes are built specifically for international trade and designed to withstand ocean voyages. To provide reliable power to the refrigeration units, these containers are often fitted with one or more diesel generator sets.
In San Jose....pretty much f'd. The only good items is that I may be able to get solar energy and that I have fruit trees if the water doesn't stop.
California has had many dry years. In the 1940s they built the world longest aqueduct, to supply water to the growing population. Since then the population has grown over 100X what it had been.
Consider Victor Valley in the Mohave desert. A hundred years ago there was less than 100 people living there, and they did not have enough water. Today: Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Adelanto, Barstow, have 400,000 people.
It is hard to picture self-sufficiency in a region of perpetual droughts.
I am happy for you that you have been able to get fruit trees to grow. You water supply is extremely stressed. You have water because there is a massive, complicated and expensive Municipal infrastructure operating to give you water.
In San Jose....pretty much f'd. The only good items is that I may be able to get solar energy and that I have fruit trees if the water doesn't stop.
Install a rain water catchment system for your house as well as a graywater recycling system and you'll be able to survive even if the water is off. Add a small amount of home storage for drinking water and consider drilling a well (permit or no permit). You're water problems are then largely solved.
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