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Depends on the type of roof, the type of elevation of the home.
Some years back, the solar units put on roofs stuck out like sore thumbs. They would take up the whole roof. Now they are more compact, colors can be blended in to the roof colors etc.
And one must remember that not everyone is into caring about reducing the amount of energy they use. They simply want a nice looking home with nothing sticking out to destroy the look of that home.
In communities with upscale housing, cloths lines can be esthetically displeasing - then you combine the laundry hanging for a couple of days and yes, it can be very offensive.
I live in an upscale housing area ( in fact one of the most expensive areas in Britain) and we all have washing lines. Even our new Prime Minister's home has one in his Oxfordshire home....
I grew up in Embassies and my Parents have two Manor houses and yep , still washing lines in the garden.
And I do realise most people do not give a pig's snout about being greener. It just bemuses me still that some prefer wanton waste to something which is natural, cheaper, better for the environment and better for the clothes.
Hence my line about fiddling whilst Rome burns.
It's all about me, me, me , style over substance. I simply do not get it.
Solar Panels are not the most attractive feature ( though they have improved greatly in terms of visual impact, you can even get photo-voltaic roof tiles now ) and I woudl say in Architecturally important areas ( such as "listed" buildings as we call them in the UK) I would agree they are not really suitable.
But the idea that someone objects to a solar panel on a brand new house is to me utterly ludicrous. I am not surprised the US outrank every single other country in terms of energy usage. It is not because European countries are less developed or do not have the benefit of technological appliances like driers but because our attitude is completely different.
I have all the modern comforts I could ever want but I do try to think about other things than what just what I think is best for me, more convenient for me etc... I try to see a little further and look at the big picture. We are on a runway train and it seems some people are simply not willing to apply the brakes.
Heaven forbid anyone should see their neighbour's laundry swaying in the breeze. Far more important for something to look "neat" than to apply common sense and try and behave like a responsible specie.
Who cares if the oceans rise and level entire natural habitats and displace entire communities around the world or whether our dependency on oil and oil related rubbish leads us into the abyss ?
As long as my neighbours socks are not in my eyeline it's Ok...
We all have to share this planet but most of us behave as though we own it all and hang the consequences if some people on the other side of world suffer as result. Once again I am completely astonished at the self centered attitude of some people. It should not be about "me" but about "us" . And let's face it even we in the developed world will have to pay the bill when it comes. And it will.
The Planet can survive just fine without us and in fact most likely will. Biting the hand which feeds you seems so incredibly silly to me especially when such small gestures as drying your clothes outside or lowering the temperature in your house can make such a difference.
It really would be easier of folks would just pay their bills and follow the rules that they agreed to follow. (What bunch of deadbeats also!) Personally, I grew up where there were a lot of clotheslines and think they look kinda 'trailer park'.
We're not rules-Nazis measuring peoples lawns or dictating what shade of pink the tulips in their yards can be. Behavior has to get pretty egregious before we act. Most people like having a nice neighborhood and agree on the rules that keep it that way. Then there's the other 5%. (Duct tape over broken windows?? Is that really acceptable!?!?)
But, go ahead and put one up. Your success depends on the community and how they react to it.
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BULL. And if there's duct tape, its MY damn window, and I'll put polka dotted effin duct tape on it if I want to. HOA wouldnt pay my mortgage...I do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Workin_Hard
And we all agree that clotheslines are tacky.
Uh, no we dont.
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Originally Posted by sailordave
I second your motion.
I third it. Clotheslines are cheaper to dry clothes with, and the laundry smells better. Put your unmentionables inbetween the sheets for privacy and you're good. I'd have no objections to one at all.
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Originally Posted by sailordave
Some HOAs won't even allow children.
I might consider one that did this...
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Originally Posted by beldenmeg
If bill can have his car and Joe his clothes line, I see no reason why I can't have my Pit Bull raising business in the back yard. I know dogs crap and bark, but, hey they are dogs, what can I do about it!!!
People crap and bark too. Only you have the misfortune of knowing what they're saying when they do so, AND they come and knock on your door.
I'll take the Pittie anyday. They're sweeter and much more attractive.
I live in an upscale housing area ( in fact one of the most expensive areas in Britain) and we all have washing lines. Even our new Prime Minister's home has one in his Oxfordshire home....
Washing lines are UNCOMMON here in the US. Here in the Southwest US, while I cannot say they are non-existent, washing lines are very, very rare. One reason for this is during our summer season, the temperatures can rise above 110 degrees - so hanging out the laundry would be done before dawn!
When all the homes in the neighborhood have reddish mission tile roofing, and all of a sudden a HUGH black solar panel takes of the whole side of the reddish now making it blackish roof - yes, we will look at it - it is hard not to!
Great visual to put it in perspective Solor panels are another thing that aren't allowed in many HOA developments. Are you a home owner ChrisC? You do tend to notice someones rotten moldy roof they are neglecting, for example, when you know how much you just paid to maintain your own.
When all the homes in the neighborhood have reddish mission tile roofing, and all of a sudden a HUGH black solar panel takes of the whole side of the reddish now making it blackish roof - yes, we will look at it - it is hard not to!
This, to me, is the giveaway here. All the homes must look alike!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hothulamaui
seems simple enough.....if you don't want an HOA dictating to you what you can do in your yard then don't buy a home that is part of an HOA. move to an a neighborhood free of them but then don't complain when your neighbor has 6 yard cars in on the side yard, and a brown lawn.
Where I live, no HOA, no yard cars, and reasonable looking lawns. We live on a lake, so no fertilizing is allowed, hence the lawns do turn brown at times. Big deal. Lack of an HOA does not turn a neighborhood automatically into redneck central.
Washing lines are UNCOMMON here in the US. Here in the Southwest US, while I cannot say they are non-existent, washing lines are very, very rare. One reason for this is during our summer season, the temperatures can rise above 110 degrees - so hanging out the laundry would be done before dawn!
I know they're uncommon. We do home exchanges to the US every year and are always amazed that we have to use a drier to dry our clothes... Which seems ridiculous when it's drier and warmer outside than in the uK.
And as for the heat reaching above 100 degrees, what do you think Italy, Southern France, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Croatia, etc...
To me it is simply an indication that American "upscale" areas feel every house should be identical, everything look like a "perfect" Stepford Identi-kit model of blandness and we should all conform and behave like selfish robots just because...
Human beings are not meant to be identical , we are all individuals. Home owners associations obviously think there is a mould we should all fit in. Sounds like the 50s where we were all repressed , racist, homophobic etc... but on the surface everything was just pretty and just fine and dandy. Brrrrrrr.
I thought America was the land of Freedom and yet I keep hearing of these super restrictive ( and environmentally damaging) rules as well as things like not being able to have fences, paint your door a certain colour etc... Sounds like that one episode of the X-Files "Arcadia". Chills me to the bone. Like gated communities ... Sounds like a little bit of hell to me !
I thought America was the land of Freedom and yet I keep hearing of these super restrictive ( and environmentally damaging) rules as well as things like not being able to have fences, paint your door a certain colour etc... Sounds like that one episode of the X-Files "Arcadia". Chills me to the bone. Like gated communities ... Sounds like a little bit of hell to me !
HaHa. I remember that episode. For some reason it has always stuck in my mind, you cant have a dog that weights over 4.2 lbs!
I will never understand why anyone wants to live in a development with an HOA either but whatever floats your boat, I guess. There is one across the hwy from me and I hear residence complain all the time. I was planning on putting up a clothes line, but the chickens will probably poop on my clothes.
HaHa. I remember that episode. For some reason it has always stuck in my mind, you cant have a dog that weights over 4.2 lbs!
I will never understand why anyone wants to live in a development with an HOA either but whatever floats your boat, I guess. There is one across the hwy from me and I hear residence complain all the time. I was planning on putting up a clothes line, but the chickens will probably poop on my clothes.
Chicken poop on clothes, not good ! Though my Great-Grand Mother had a host of chicken, ducks and other creatures AND clothes-line and I don't remember any unwelcome addition to the laundry !
I guess a lot of this is down to some cultural differences too between Europe and the US but I do find it downright bizarre that clothes-line are almost seen as a class divide thing.
I can't be sure but I would be willing to bet that there are clothes line outdoors and indoors in all the Royal Palaces the Queen & co own... They might not be in full sight of the general public or her Maj but they will be there...
She is apparently quite green minded and a little parsimonious too !
If you have small kids/grandkids I woudl recommend "The Queen's knickers" a cute little book.
...don't complain when your neighbor has 6 yard cars in on the side yard, and a brown lawn.
I'm by no means a dirty person. I have no desire to have junk cars around my dwelling. But, truthfully, I just don't care what the neighbors do with their yards. That's their problem, not mine. If they want old cars or brown lawns or whatever, so what? It's not my property. As long as I don't have an illegal meth lab going on (or some other illegal activity) over there or a bunch of morons with big mouths or loud music, then it really doesn't matter to me.
And back to clotheslines... well if I see a clothesline, I just know they are smarter and more thrifty than those around them. Same thing if I see someone with a manual push reel mower.
I'm by no means a dirty person. I have no desire to have junk cars around my dwelling. But, truthfully, I just don't care what the neighbors do with their yards. That's their problem, not mine. If they want old cars or brown lawns or whatever, so what? It's not my property. As long as I don't have an illegal meth lab going on (or some other illegal activity) over there or a bunch of morons with big mouths or loud music, then it really doesn't matter to me.
And back to clotheslines... well if I see a clothesline, I just know they are smarter and more thrifty than those around them. Same thing if I see someone with a manual push reel mower.
You are correct that whatever anyone does is up to them - people have taken that to a whole new level... My ONLY problem with the Volvo graveyard is that is will adversely affect the chances of sellling my house - when mine is ready for sale. The other neigbors have decided that "we will outlive him". Nice but with state benefits he may well live past what anyone would think. Then what will happen when he dies - his kids have no interest in the house - with the mold and crap in garage, house, yard and cars - it would cost more to clean it up than just "forget it" How bad do you think it must be inside - when you can easily see mold growing on the inside of the windows
But there are laws against crapping out your yard, fire hazard etc but little has been done to clean it up.
My plan is:
To win the lotto.
Rent a Cat D12 and 6 dump trucks
Level the lot and house
Dispose of everything
Make the lot into a neighborhood park for the kids
Deny all knowledge of everything
Let "THEM" take me to court HA HA
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