[GSBN] Square footage of straw-bale homes

[Graeme North]

Hullo Joyce

I have fun (?) with prospective clients by offering to halve the environmental impact of their house and also reduce their mortgage repayments for them by 3/4 - they get really excited, and can't believe their luck finding me -  until they find out that this means a house half the size they were thinking of - they tend to smile sweetly and walk away.

I'm deadly serious.  

We have to build smaller - a 6 star (or whatever tick-box-greenwash mentality you wish to apply) rated house for two people that is 600 sq.m. or even 300 sq.m. or even 150 sq.m. is total nonsense.

Why s/bale houses seem to appeal to some people is there is sometimes a perception that they are cheap to build, and therefore can be made huge at no extra cost - what a crazy state of affairs that simply  gobbles up the worlds resources.

The market might get it one day,  if we are all lucky.

Ranting over.

cheers


Graeme  
Graeme North Architects
49 Matthew Road
RD1
Warkworth
tel/fax +64 (0)9 4259305
 
graeme at ecodesign.co.nz
www.ecodesign.co.nz


On 12/05/2011, at 8:08 AM, forum at lamaisonenpaille.com wrote:

> Hello Joyce,
>> ... have doubts as to the marketability and salability of smaller homes.
> I studied to be a marketing manager in my younger days, so I learned about statistics and the formulas used to draw conclusions from those numbers. On the other hand, my father told me, to sell a house, one 'only' needs to find one fool(?)... In 2 cases he waited for several years to find his buyer, and (in the end) was very well rewarded for that patience.
> 
> In my case, I sold my (very big but largely unfinished) SB home for a decent price (both for me as for the buyer) before I even got arround to putting an add on my website.
> 
> Statistics are fun (for those who like them) but have never been able to forsee the future....
> 
> Small houses can be made bigger by future owners and can in that way be better adapted to their needs than an existing big house.
> 
> Bye,
> André - roling the dice - de Bouter
> France
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