Posted on 04/11/2009 9:50:53 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
I like the looks of your old house FRiend :-)
But I’d stay out of that scary root cellar!
I hates spiders....
I guess I’d go in if I actually saw a tornado coming...but that’s the only thing that would get me in there :-)
Sounds like a great plan for a retirement home.
(Your tag line is sorta scary :-)
Yes, getting the straw wet would result in mold and mildew.
Fine Homebuilding magazine featured a straw bale house built in northern California a few years ago. First thing I thought of was that it couldn’t be built anywhere the rainfall is measured in feet rather than inches. Forget Seattle, or Portland, Oregon.
I have a lot of elderly relatives that have lots of issues with simple things like 2 steps on a porch, in and out of bathtubs, door knobs versus just a lever style door latch. Wide pocket doors if one is exiled to a wheelchair after a surgery or disability etc ....places to exercise like life cycles, treadmill, bow-flex, jacuzzi etc .....make all those old sudden stops in life feel better.
... easy maintenance designs breed something I see in them that I feel is important to.... independence, comfort and security without feeling like a burden on others for as long as possible .
That is what I plan for in a home .......
Scary but simple truth that kept me alive all over the world........:o)
It’s a concept !.....LOL !
Reference my homepage here at FR .
Stay safe !
Not a good idea as you’ll hold more moisture in than keep it out. Stucco is not waterproof and the bales will always, even when wrapped, “breathe” moisture in and hopefully out.
Normally under stucco black paper is installed to keep moisture out and let air move in and out.
In addition not wrapping the bales allows them to hold to each other when stacked.
I don’t think I’d care for a straw bale house, guess I’ve seen too much rotting straw and hay.
Just looked at your homepage....pretty well done!
I should make a homepage someday.
You would make a great neighbor my FRiend.
It would make one feel safer knowing you were next door :-)
Probably was for a time if your in Rio Rancho, Tijeras, or Santa Fe etc ........:o)
Stay Safe an thanks for the kind words !
Gonna build yer new place in Swishy Rump, TX?
As lazy as I am and being a plumber, let me suggest as many urinals as you can afford, a bath in the garage, a urinal (even waterless) close to the BBQ area and any other place you think that old guys or beer drinking young guys might gather.
LOL.....yeah ! It will be swishy comfort wise......:o)
Beer, swimmin pool, jacuzzi, BBQ patio, stripper pole (to help me get up from my recliner sadly) . May remove yer persona non grata letter at the county line so ya can come drink all my beer !!
Good deal.....Eaker can’t hold his water anyway....:o)
BTW pros and cons of PEX ?
If ya have time !!!
PEX I don’t know, I did the old repairs of it and the re pipes to replace it but now it is new again, I assume that it is all fixed and better than ever.
I knew it was going to fail when it was introduced in the 70s, in fact I was shocked that it was approved but now I have trust that this can’t be the same type product, I would accept it, especially if it fit a need.
This is 2009, 30 year old stories aren’t very pertinent to things like flexible tubing.
I like the idea of having super thick insulation to get lower heating bills. Still, hay is ‘food’ to many organisms. Insects can are aggressive and persistent. I’ll take Steel frame, styrofoam insulation, plastic with some DDT.
Yeah part of my homes design also incorporates the need for PM and repairs and I want such to be easy and not require major damage to walls and such when said repairs have to be made. May be just a pipe dream yet I think it’s possible to at least make utility runs for plumbing and sewage easier to gain access to for repairs.
So far I have used PEX in repairs of my older home now and all I made sure of was a seamless length of PEX run so fittings , if they leaked were easily accessible without calling your profession (sorry)....:o)
Not to wear out my welcome but any pros and cons on tankless water heaters ?
Here is a grin to pay for yer advice !
Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers, he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.
Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, so the
first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what
about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the
$20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’ They realized that
$20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share,
then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing
(100% savings)
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant the men began to compare their savings.
‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’
‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too.
It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!’
‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man.
‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two?
The wealthy get all the breaks!’
‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia
Stay safe !
I once found a photo of whatever they are.
If I can dig it up, I’ll post it.
They’re about the size of my palm and have red and black striped legs.
[they look like scrawny tarantulas, to me]
Once, when rooting around for the light switch just inside the door jamb, I got exasperated and turned on my flashlight.
My hand was *thisclose* to a huge one, just squatting there watching my fingers.
Eeek!
[I’m not scared of spiders but *that* freaked me out]
Happily, we have no tornadoes here.
If we did, I’d go hide in the smoke house, instead.
Years ago, up in Cumberland [’bout 40 mile west of here] they had a freak mountain top tornado touch down.
A bunch of McMansions exploded but a log house in the middle of them didn’t even look bothered.
While the news cameras were rolling, the old timer came out of his cabin and looked around at the devastation surrounding him.
He muttered “Shore don’t build ‘em like they used ta” and went back in his house.
OMG...the description of those spiders in that cellar is really creepy :-/
In a tornado situation I’d choose the smokehouse too I think.
You know how real life is hardly any of us are real experts, especially on a Saturday night, but my thoughts on tankless water heaters are that I don't have one. In a new house if I wasn't worried about every penny then I would install one but for me pennies count and every time I run the numbers, they come out a loss. If you do your own maintenance then go for it (they require maintenance), plus what you install today during construction will make total sense 10 or 20 years from now when all WH are tankless. That is important because in a new house you can design for a tankless (BTUs or 220) plus stainless steel venting and location. A never mentioned issue is mineral build up from water but for a guy like you, you probably should at least tell the builder that your next water heater will be a tankless, so install the rough in for it (BTUs or 220 and stainless steel venting).
Understand....I have heard and read of the corrosion issues with hard water etc ....... I do know I want a utility room off my garage so all noise etc and repairmen don’t have to come through the home. A system cost may be high at first yet if durable and operates for pennies or less .....may be worth it. If PM is high I will just stick to regular old water heater and insulate it as best possible.
Grateful for you taking the time to share information with me !
You stay safe and hope your day is easy ! I am off to bed !
“Understand....I have heard and read of the corrosion issues with hard water etc ....... I do know I want a utility room off my garage so all noise etc and repairmen don’t have to come through the home. A system cost may be high at first yet if durable and operates for pennies or less .....may be worth it. “
Real quick, are you going with one Water heater?
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