All:
Everything about that makes sense to me--I have never been able to find
information on how an extra-durable house could be analyzed according to
the ordinary "Life Cycle" system. I don't think it can be.
You could expect 500 years from a timberframe house because of the
reasons Bruce outlines. If you combine the frame with an extra-durable
SIP enclosure, the superstructure would all match the same target life.
Remaining factors--sitedrainage and extra-durable foundations like
poured concrete insulated, reinforced-- would go along with this idea
of an extra-durable structure.
Adaptablility is the reason to NOT embed the services inside walls.
they have a short life--7--12 years in homes, sometimes only 3 years in
offices. I like raceways for that reason, and also for the fact that
communications are in a state of rapid flux. We'll all add more wire,
cable or fiber in a few years' time. Make adaption easy--don't hide
services inside walls. Raceways don't penetrate the thermal boundary
and require elaborate sealing stragegies either.
> Here's the second route to longevity (and here I'm really wandering)...
Remembering that "a thing of beauty is a joy forever" suggests that
> producing buildings that people love and care about, and will fight to
> retain, is the context within which all this must occur. Here's the
> critical link between all this technology and the aesthetic delight which we so often find hard to factor into the ecomonic calculus.>
Yes, someone has to love a house enough to take care of it. Maintenance
is crucial. So build it beautiful if you build it durable.
Other comments on "extra-durable" or "raceways"??
Pat Ballentine
MZ
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