Re: Innovative tech- RoseWind input
From: Lynn Nadeau (welcomeolympus.net)
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 21:34:14 -0600 (MDT)
Here is a collection of miscellaneous observations about "innovative" 
stuff that has been done in private homes, or the common house, at 
RoseWind Cohousing in Port Townsend, Washington. 
==================

Zero VOC (volatile organic compound) paint is readily available in name 
brands---in my house I used Benjamin Moore's "Pristine" line. It cost 
about the same as other quality interior latex paint, and even after the 
drywallers had sprayed the whole house with it, you could hardly tell 
there was new paint in here, by the smell. 

=====================
We have homes here that are "alternative" , including one big dome, and a 
2 story load-bearing strawbale. But none of them are miraculous 
solutions, to my mind:

Dome: covers space in a way that is touted as economical in terms of the 
rib-cage frame. But then any economy is gone, and costs go over 
conventional, as one has to custom cut and fit and bevel hundreds of 
pieces of materials for walls and roofs, with extra labor time and 
material wastage. Windows too have to be special. The resulting home, 
with a second floor mezzanine, is very beautiful, with an artistic owner 
who has used bright colors and art works throughout. But it didn't save 
money or materials. 

Strawbale, and EnerGrid( Rastra Block) are represented in 1 straw home 
and 2 rastra houses, plus the common house. Both are touted as offering 
fabulous insulation. 
In the Pacific Northwest, fabulous insulation isn't the plus it might be 
in Vermont or Arizona, and the overall ability to insulate is compromised 
when, as in our common house, you add walls full of glass windows, plus 5 
doors; and most of the heat goes UP, so the insulation of the roof is as 
important, or more so. To my mind, the "sacred" quality people experience 
in these spaces is a matter of thick walls and window reveals. Me, I'd 
rather get what little sun we have, inside as quickly as possible! Both 
methods do allow for amateur owner involvement in construction, and have 
afficionados who will sometimes come volunteer in order to learn more 
about the techniques. 

Straw: In some places, straw is an agricultural waste product, which may 
be burned, I'm told, such as rice straw. In the Northwest, straw is a 
market commodity that commands a fairly good price, from mushroom 
farmers, horse owners, and Japanese mat makers.   The more affordable 
kind, I forget which but it's what they used for Japanese mats, but 
seconds, comes in larger, heavier bales which are harder to use for 
amateur owner-builders. 

Rastra Block- blocks made of concrete mixed with ground up recycled 
styrofoam; kind of long lighter-weight cinder blocks. Has channels which 
are filled using rebar and poured concrete. Cement is very energy 
intensive in its manufacture. The EnerGrid block material currently has 
to be trucked from Mexico, again not an environmental ideal. 

All of the above spare trees, though wood is still typically used for 
interior framing and many other aspects of the building. 
Rastra and straw typically get stucco on the exterior. Stucco is very 
durable and low maintenance: it is costly to have done professionally; a 
lot of work to do yourself, but can be done by amateurs with strong 
shoulders and some knowledgeable guidance. 
==================
We looked at bamboo flooring for the common house, but at the high price, 
it seemed too risky, when there were stories around about warping, 
difficulty sanding evenly, and so forth. But it is gorgeous, and very 
renewable. 

We are using natural linoleum, Marmoleum, in some of the common house 
rooms, as many of us have also used in our homes. Costs more, but is 
environmentally better than vinyl and looks and feels good. 

In our great room we are using "Smart Wood", a certified product with a 
full disclosure of every step of its production and preparation. Costs 
more, of course. But the devastation of logging is an everyday sight 
around here, and we welcome the chance to decrease it a bit.
============
Several homeowners have used concrete floors, with radiant heat in them. 
One used an acid-wash technique which was a lot of work, but gave a 
beautiful mottled orange-brown finish. 
===============
Sidings have included silver sheet-metal, with wooden batten trim, and 
another house with stained plywood for siding. As well as lots of homes 
with locally-typical cedar siding.
==============
What we seem to have made the best use of is re-used materials. Many of 
our homes include salvaged stone, cabinetry, bathtubs; all the interior 
doors in my house came from a demolition job in Portland, via a local 
salvager. Our common house has brick trim with salvaged bricks, and some 
of the flooring we want to use was also salvaged. When the local bowling 
alley sold, the maple alley floors became kitchen islands all over town. 
Two of our houses are actually halves of an old bingo parlor that used to 
be at the fairgrounds nearby, with much work to fix up the shells into 
habitable homes. 
======================

Hope there has been some useful bit in all this for someone...

Lynn Nadeau 
RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA 
  • (no other messages in thread)

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.