Posted on 05/28/2023 9:55:20 PM PDT by Morgana
The owner of a party bus company, Rikers Island prison guards and an Amazon worker are just some of the eclectic bunch who have formed a community of 'working homeless' people living out of RVs in the Astoria section of Queens, New York.
Similar communities have formed across the US from New England to California where people have chosen a nomadic lifestyle amid a national cost of living crisis.
Rising costs across all sectors have caused pain for Americans in every state, particularly those living in rural areas, over the past 12 months. Rental prices continue have risen eight percent compared against the same time last year. In New York, they've reached record highs with a median cost of $3,410 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. Mortgage rates have more than doubled since the Federal Reserve's key interest rate hike in March 2022, and last week hit 6.52%.
'Compared to an apartment it's better because it's my space, nobody's going to bother me,' Luis Quintero, 30, a party bus owner, told DailyMail.com.
Locals and businesses, including a Verizon repair hub and a Dollar car rental have complained about the presence of the campers on the street and residents say that RV dwellers leave mountains of trash strewn across the street, something Quintero denied.
The area around Quintero's home was immaculate, there were even two bottles of ammonia by his front door. DailyMail.com did see garbage as well as discarded furniture and a TV just left by the side of the street. A college student who attends school in the area said the street is often filled with trash because sanitation workers avoid the street because there are no homes or storefronts on it.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Ah-ha! Now lots of companies have picked up on the many advantages of laminated logs and are making them.
Pick your wood carefully: cedar is dark and gets darker over time. Cannot get large logs. Yellow pine is a strong wood structurally - but not pretty - not a good wood cosmetically. Best used for hidden structural needs.
Canadian white pine - lodgepole preferably - is ideal. Light color that stays light, bug-free.
Many, many historic log homes and barns were built with green logs. Had to. Needed shelter. Many still stand and are in use today hundreds of years later. So, I’m not worried about it. I like variation and the hand made look so I’m not going for perfectly straight logs or uniformity. In fact, I want to avoid that. I’m doing a hand crafted home. Spruce and lodgepole.
“Canadian white pine - lodgepole preferably - is ideal. Light color that stays light, bug-free.”
Awesome. Thank you.
“Many, many historic log homes and barns were built with green logs. Had to. Needed shelter. Many still stand and are in use today hundreds of years later.”
For sure. But even with dried solid logs you can have 2 1/2” of settling, twisting, warping after 5-7 years. Doors, windows, passageways - all need to be designed to compensate for this.
Good friends not far from us bought a beautiful log home of solid logs about 10 years before we built. They had tons of maintenance issues as noted above even tho logs were from a top name in the log home kit business. When they built a Master BR suite addition half the sq.ft. of the original house, the chose 2x6 framing with log siding - never wanted logs again.
I made a choice for the most maintenance-free log home possible and after 23 years, am so glad I did.
Yeah, I’ve read anywhere from .25 to .75” settling per 1 foot of wall height. Like you said...windows, doors, etc...
Good advice. Thank you!
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