I need some advice. I own (well, the bank owns it, but I'm buying it a nail
at a time) 100 year old home, mostly made of wood. Today we are cleaning
windows and have noticed that the house will need a paint job in a year or
so. Most of the wood siding is still in good shape, but a few have rotted
and need replacement. My son suggested replacing all the siding with vinyl.
I'm not sure, isn't vinyl a type of plastic?
Anyway, for those of you oppose to the use of wood, what do you suggest I
do? I mean really? Not pie in the sky "tear down the house and replace it
with adobe" but what should I do? Use more wood or use vinyl?
sb
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Maria Stella
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2000 8:26 AM
To: Chris Perley
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: More on Budiansky
> >
> > We can reduce our dependency on wood to build homes by as much as 70 %
or
> > more if we choose to. There are lots of good alternatives to wood
> > in homes.
> > European homes have been made from autoclaved concrete now for over
fifty
> > years.
Indeed, when we think about how wood is wasted in the US, it is really
demoralizing. Every now and then a cyclone sweeps everything away and
still they haven't learned.
>
> I have heard (though am no expert) that concrete is far more energy
> intensive than wood.
>
It might be, but it endures much more than wood, and does not need ALL
THOSE PRESERVATIVES that wood needs. Also, it does not need all this
fire-equipment geer, and all the synthetic products taht accompany wood
building, such as suspicious insulation materials etc. If you add all
these in calculations and devide by endurance time (about 50 years unless
a tornado or fire attackse earlier), it is probably a too expensive
business.
Unless you are talking about a small hut somewhere in the woods.
Also, in Europe, there is a material that is called "Bricks", and does not
have as far as i know not even the constraints of cement. In many parts of
Europe (e.g. south) only the skeletons are built with concrete.
> >Decks, roofs, and so on do not and should not be made from wood.
>
>
> Why not? And what alternative do you suggest that meets my second point
> about low-energy demanding, low environmentally damaging renewable
products
> a couple of posts back?
>
To difficult to swallow this, it sounds like greenwash propaganda.
Maria-Stella
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