Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Elevators and exclusions

[Tim Mensch (tim-coho-l]

Jenny Guy wrote:
> Well, if you didn't have an
> elevator you'd have more *livable* units with flats, and more
> *visitable*ones with townhouses.... I think you'd save more than
> enough for an elevator
> by eliminating all those internal staircases and the space they take up.
Interesting thought, though frankly there are folks--me included--who 
don't want anyone to live above or below them, for noise reasons (not 
wanting to either worry about making or hearing noise). There are others 
on this list who seem to have issues with noise from above...Sharon? ;)  
Obviously if no one in your group cares, then you can ignore that 
thought, to a degree, though it still might affect who you can find to 
buy the remaining units...

If you actually do the noise insulation necessary to avoid the problem, 
I'd bet you don't end up much ahead in cost, since you'd probably need 
two independent joists to prevent noise transmission...some cohousing, 
like e.g., Pleasant Hill Cohousing in California, simply built both 
kinds of units, with some flats only single story. But beware of the 
Many Kinds of Units expense: The fewer unit types you have in a 
community, the cheaper it is to build...

So many variables...

--
Tim Mensch

Currently at Wild Sage (Boulder, CO): http://www.wildsagecohousing.org

Founding member of Tumblerock, a Boulder, CO area community in its forming 
stages: http://tumblerock.org