02-19-2011, 08:15 AM
"Our innovative thinking in this nation in some respects has suffered via too much convenience."
Agreed. I've seen the dry components for concrete mixed on a canvas tarp, then wet mixed in a flat wood and sheet metal tub using a mixing hoe, then hand troweled onto a rebar and mesh frame to create a 4,000 psi thin-film ferro-cement structure that will withstand a direct hit from a Force 5 storm without damage, and will still be standing 200 years from now.
There are all kines innovative thinking being used in other parts of the world that we Americans are too arrogant to consider, even though the ways we have been doing things for so long are not necessarily the best or wisest. Wait, that was overly polite. Take 2: Our thinking is bankrupt. Yeah, that's what I meant to say.
Just to start with something obvious... in the post WWII years, a 1,000 sq ft house with 2 BR and 1 Bath was considered normal for a family of 4. And all over the Volcano area, where I live, such residences are still in use, many of them built pre-WWII. In contrast, in developing nations today, a house 1/3 that size is considered adequate. Let that one sink in.
But here, today, you would have difficulty even obtaining a permit to build a residence that way, despite the fact that there are perhaps 20,000 people in Hawai'i, according to Gov. Abercrombie's staff, who do not have a solid roof over their heads. None at all.
Seriously, we need to re-examine all this stuff, and take it down to the bones, before we lose the chance entirely.
China is well poised to eat my grandchildren's lunches, as well as yours. Pouring the biggest slab you can using amateur labor may be the stupidest thing you could do. Pouring the smallest slab you can deal with, using a professional crew, could be the smartest. The key thing is to stop looking at (anything in terms of) how it's been done before, and really consider what is smart as of today, with all we know.
OpenD
Agreed. I've seen the dry components for concrete mixed on a canvas tarp, then wet mixed in a flat wood and sheet metal tub using a mixing hoe, then hand troweled onto a rebar and mesh frame to create a 4,000 psi thin-film ferro-cement structure that will withstand a direct hit from a Force 5 storm without damage, and will still be standing 200 years from now.
There are all kines innovative thinking being used in other parts of the world that we Americans are too arrogant to consider, even though the ways we have been doing things for so long are not necessarily the best or wisest. Wait, that was overly polite. Take 2: Our thinking is bankrupt. Yeah, that's what I meant to say.
Just to start with something obvious... in the post WWII years, a 1,000 sq ft house with 2 BR and 1 Bath was considered normal for a family of 4. And all over the Volcano area, where I live, such residences are still in use, many of them built pre-WWII. In contrast, in developing nations today, a house 1/3 that size is considered adequate. Let that one sink in.
But here, today, you would have difficulty even obtaining a permit to build a residence that way, despite the fact that there are perhaps 20,000 people in Hawai'i, according to Gov. Abercrombie's staff, who do not have a solid roof over their heads. None at all.
Seriously, we need to re-examine all this stuff, and take it down to the bones, before we lose the chance entirely.
China is well poised to eat my grandchildren's lunches, as well as yours. Pouring the biggest slab you can using amateur labor may be the stupidest thing you could do. Pouring the smallest slab you can deal with, using a professional crew, could be the smartest. The key thing is to stop looking at (anything in terms of) how it's been done before, and really consider what is smart as of today, with all we know.
OpenD