01-06-2010, 03:57 PM
I do know that there are many who value and appreciate single wall plantation style homes. I lived in one for two years though and really didn't care for it. Hot and sweaty with a tin roof, noisy in the rain and no insulation and acoustically like living in a paper bag. If you love the chirping of coqui then single wall is for you.
I really don't want to denigrate that building style except that I think it is not as well understood as it could be.
Those single wall plantation homes are a relic of what was provided by the "company". Think Company Store. Sugar plantation profits, just like with the coal mines in Appalachia and the slave shacks in the south, were propped up by keeping the investment in the workers welfare at a minimum. So the single wall methods are mere models of economic efficiency more than anything else. Cheap to build was their main feature.
The thing that gave some of them a reasonable lifespan, why we see surviving plantation homes today, was a simple accident. Back then old growth redwood was shipped in from the west coast for many of these homes. Not because it was valued as a high grade material (which it accidentally happened to be) but because it was cheap.
The style or design itself can be built better, stronger, more comfortable, more durable, etc. But marveling over them as a cultural aesthetic is a mistake I think.
I don't write the codes. I have lots of experience with the codes though. World wide the building standards are changing. Some of this is good and is intended to steer the planet, country by country, in a more sustainable direction. A lot of it though is corporate greed. Just like the plantation workers had the choice of a cheap single wall shack or sleeping in the rain, the corporate interests want to limit your opportunities and maximize their profits again - but on a larger scale.
For that reason, while I am a strong proponent of new and better building methods, I would always support as many choices as possible. Most especially I would like to see Native Hawaiian building methods incorporated into the code here as they have done on Maui. Bamboo should be just as valid as steel frame. Straw Bale? If that what you want then the code should provide you with a measurable standard to know it is done correctly.
Just know what your options are when you make a decision.
I really don't want to denigrate that building style except that I think it is not as well understood as it could be.
Those single wall plantation homes are a relic of what was provided by the "company". Think Company Store. Sugar plantation profits, just like with the coal mines in Appalachia and the slave shacks in the south, were propped up by keeping the investment in the workers welfare at a minimum. So the single wall methods are mere models of economic efficiency more than anything else. Cheap to build was their main feature.
The thing that gave some of them a reasonable lifespan, why we see surviving plantation homes today, was a simple accident. Back then old growth redwood was shipped in from the west coast for many of these homes. Not because it was valued as a high grade material (which it accidentally happened to be) but because it was cheap.
The style or design itself can be built better, stronger, more comfortable, more durable, etc. But marveling over them as a cultural aesthetic is a mistake I think.
I don't write the codes. I have lots of experience with the codes though. World wide the building standards are changing. Some of this is good and is intended to steer the planet, country by country, in a more sustainable direction. A lot of it though is corporate greed. Just like the plantation workers had the choice of a cheap single wall shack or sleeping in the rain, the corporate interests want to limit your opportunities and maximize their profits again - but on a larger scale.
For that reason, while I am a strong proponent of new and better building methods, I would always support as many choices as possible. Most especially I would like to see Native Hawaiian building methods incorporated into the code here as they have done on Maui. Bamboo should be just as valid as steel frame. Straw Bale? If that what you want then the code should provide you with a measurable standard to know it is done correctly.
Just know what your options are when you make a decision.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
Punaweb moderator