Fw: Cob: thinking thru house details & convenience

[Bill&Julie]

OOps try this again,,,  tanx Charmaine...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill&Julie" <wbates at mn.rr.com>
To: "Charmaine" <tms at northcoast.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 1:17 PM
Subject: Re: Cob: thinking thru house details & convenience


> Hidare All,,Ya know you are tapping on a door that has too long
> remained shut.. I have had feelings about this, but it came to
> the forground when my Wheelchair bound Brother-in-Law tried
> to get a house built...  The closest ergonomic lay-out is on a sailboat.
> But I have noticed as I grow older,,, that I grow older,,, And after
> spending 2 months in a wheelchair myself, I noticed that houses
> aren't built for them..... WHY????
> I do not see any reason for stairs... I know they are a romantic hold
> over from the past.  And why is the front door wider than the back door,
> where you have to take the major stuff in and out of the house???
> Why can't the hallways be 3 or 6" wider???
> Why can't we have MUD rooms to take off our wet and dirty things,
> with a half bath and a phone, so we don't have to track through
> the house...
> I got a million of em...  hot chatcha,,,,  and , no my nose isn't that
> long...
> jimmy!!!
> *¿*  bill
> we should compile and edit a list of things that are important....
> or atleast to think about....
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Charmaine" <tms at northcoast.com>
> To: "Amanda Peck" <ap615 at hotmail.com>
> Cc: <coblist at deatech.com>
> Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2003 9:38 PM
> Subject: Re: Cob: thinking thru house details & convenience
>
>
> > Amanda, that was the best described "think & plan" piece I have seen in
> > ages.
> >
> > I laughed when you wrote "a shelf for groceries at the back door"   I
> > just hung a coat hook bar for the wet gear, dog leash,  etc. right
> > outside the back door- finally ( this has been a really wet winter) .
> > and I happened to have two  32 gal  lidded totes lined up beside the
> > door ( full of sand an clay for future cob experiments) and I found I
> > kept sitting on them to remove boots, wipe down the wet dog after a
> > rainy walk, etc.  So now  I KNOW I need a real bench there,  LOW to the
> > ground for easy shoe putting off & on , and underneath storage for the
> > muddy boots...If I hadn't gotten into this routine I would have missed
> > the opportunity to make life a little easier for common tasks.
> > (A warm water hose  near by for washing off shoes and the dog would be
> > great..gotta work on that!)
> >
> > On wall and window detail...just moving a window location a foot can
> > make a terrific difference for solar gain/ avoiding over heating,  or a
> > better view of a favorite tree or hillside...all can be done by just
> > standing there and "dreaming" while building..pretty soon it seems to be
> > intuitive HOW it should be for comfort and pleasure of your new home.
> >
> > as a last thought one idea that has merit in cob  homes is planning for
> > glass doors between rooms, or at least door quilts. this saves so much
> > heat/stops drafts, etc. that I am surprised more homes don't have them.
> >    I saw some sliding pocket doors with home made stained glass and
> > leading  on Extreme homes...really looked good and worked well in
> > winter.    OPEN floor plans are popular in conventional houses but
> >  don't take heat loss into consideration.
> >
> > ok I blabbed enough. : >
> >
> > Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
> > http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com    http://www.papercrete.com
> > PO Box 375, Cutten (Eureka) CA 95534
> > 707-441-1632     tms at northcoast.com
> >
> >
>