On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:33:20 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote:

"gardenlen" wrote in message
.. .
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we have to consider that people have been living in places like arid deserts
and extremely northern locations for millenia & they didn't have
airconditioning or heated toilet seats :-)

yes that is wha i hae said before we need to mimck wha other long
standing communitites hae done in their adverse climates, and for the
main without using power or wasting water.

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what was your house like?

it was a whole lot more comfy than this house and i hazzard at saying
a whole lot more comfy that the vast majority of homes in aus' well
except for those souls living in copper pedi hey?

the design is adaptable for if not all most of wha aus' has to offer,
the basic structure is steel, so there is the termite protection and
fire resistancy.

all you need do is be more selective of aspect and use differnt
claddings as i hae noted in the essay.

just to give an example:

one winters morning up there at 8am and wearing things shorts and a
track suit top i walked 300 meters to a neighbours qlder brick
bungalow the preceder of the qlder macmansion now the sun had only
been up for an hour, we already had 12c degrees inside, quiet comfy
with a few warm clothes on (the grandkids where there as well and they
weren't complaining).

anyway we go there to buy eggs he opened the door and commented on me
not having any feeling as i was dressed for a summer strole or
something, they rugged up like eskimos and with a heater going, i
asked hime waht his tempo was he tapped the thermo' and said 0c. now
his home gets the sun a good 20 minutes before ours, says a lot hey?

he was on an easten aspect so realy should ahve been warmer than us,
they got lots hotter as well in summer, and naturally with these
modern low ceilings lots more muggy. with the aid of totaly
ineffective sliding windows.

believe me this model works, i looked at all those industry and big
nted peoples designes that are little more than the accepted norm'
adaptions.

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that's right. also, i think people underestimate how much plants can help
"rescue" a crap house, as well. (a subject pertinent for this group!)

but overall, i think generally good design had better become a more common
thing in australia soon!

yes planting in the right place using the right plant for a purpose,
unfortunately like the yuk factor brigade and the water issues
indoctrination has got too much of a hold, someone commented that
retro fitting is better than rebuilding i dunno lots of variable
there????

if the house is so badly aspecteed along with the land and so poorly
designed with living cooking areas facing the wrong way maybe any
money spent on retro fitting could be seen as a bad investment, like
utting new tuyres on a car wher the body and motor are falling apart
hey??

until people ahve lived in a purpose built home they will never know
the difference, and anoteh thing for young families wanting to get a
start, this home is very affordable this one at that stage cost
$50,000 to build but at a maximum would ahve pulled up well under
$70,000 that then would have been 22 meters long and 7 meters wide. at
the size it is in the pic's it 15 meters long which is as i have said
the size of a modest family 3 bedroom home of the 70's and 80's
standard.

there are lots of families up there living in those prefabs that are
only 6m X 12m 3 bedroom, funny thing our home cost about the same as
them only lots more comfortable.

so if the community bites the bullet and demands change what then? do
we start stipulating estates with only the right aspect lans being
used and only homes that are of the 'warm-house/cool-house' ilk?

so what of all the old inefficient homes?

natural progressinon would mean it could take oh i dunno 100 years for
the change to take effect on our resource useage?

maybe instead of wasting tax payer dollars feeding us potty water and
keeping insolvent farmers afloat and paying for water tanks that
simply won't make any difference.

maybe we bit the bullet and and demolish these monoliths?

kylie


With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/