The Coffee House

[Gary A.]

Exactly what Gary was thinking. Frank likes wine also. A quick google has increased Gary’s curiosity and he printed a recipe.

 

[Frank F.]

Cardboard is esp. energy efficient

What???? Cardboard????? Here in the US, home construction is pretty much conventional wood stud construction, with siding or brick on the outside.

Ferienhaus aus Karton in der Bretagne gebaut - SPIEGEL ONLINE

 

[Frank F.]

and if cardbord is too expensive you migh use garbage instead: Mike Reynolds (architect) - Wikipedia

 

[Frank F.]

I think Frank is referencing gyp board / drywall type of material.

I thought so also, until I saw this Cardboard Wikkelhouse built in a day is popping up all over Europe

Interesting ... but that is a pre-engineered / prefabricated structure. Frank's is building a custom designed, one of a kind affair. Which doesn't mean he isn't/can't be using cardboard. A custom design doesn't lend itself to prefab construction materials. A comfortable and habitable structure isn't a big deal and can be crafted out a billion different materials from used tires to apricot pits and still be useful, efficient but not typically inexpensive and sorta hard to pass most any sort of municipal inspection. The honeycomb nature of cardboard, combined with wood being a natural insulator ... makes cardboard, not a bad building material. Cardboard, like glass, comes in a zillion different forms and flavors.

right.

As said before it is a multi dimensional complex set of considerations.

First I do build in a historic environment. Meaning we do not know what we might find in the ground. Romans? WWII Bombs? Environmental damage? Meaning the form of the lot is not straight on any side. Meaning our construction will include using a neighbour's wall that stands on my ground partly and still meeting fire protection regulation. Meaning having to tear down the other neighbours wall that stands on my lot completely. Meaning having to get rid of all the historic building materials that have been used to build the garage that is still standing on my ground, which is a challenge due to environmental concerns

 

[Frank F.]

second, oh no, do not get me started on meeting energy saving regulations, distance regulations, zillions of other regulations....

The talent of my architect is to translate all that into an easy to build construction that the builder can then build as if it was a simple and easy one. Reducing complexity for the brick layers.

 

[Frank F.]

third is about economy. How will I build a sustainable and economically sound structure? It is all about using my brain, research and Excel. A lot of Imagination too!

 

[Frank F.]

fourth is about aesthetics and sustainability. The house is not made as a use & toss but as a place still to be standing and possibly be monument protected in100 years. A timeless piece of great architecture!

 

[Frank F.]

@Gary A. Have you ever had Gluehwein? It's like a mulled wine, served warm. A lady I went to high school with sent me the recipe. Looks good.

Nope. Gary has never heard of Gluehwein. Gary will Google and most likely, try it out. Thanks smoke665.

Glühwein is good if you prepare it yourself.

Use in outside temperatures below 5 Celsius.

You can use white or red wine.

The wine shall be good but not have too much character of its own, esp not high on thannins which will ruin your joy. The wine should also be low on aggressive acids. you stomach will like that part combined with the sugar.

Use cloves and cinnamon and vanilla and anis and a sugar of character like organic unrefined cane sugar with a taste of melasse and liquorice.

Pack the spices in a tea bag and let them soak for two to twenty minutes depending on their strength and your taste.

Never Cook the Wine!!!

Only heat it to 75 or 80 Celsius max!!!

 

[Frank F.]

Nürnberger Christkindelmarkt Glühwein is the most typical German brand. You might ask for it at Aldi, Lidl or Trader Joe's, the three German supermarket chains in the USA

 

[smoke665]

@Frank, nice. I would dispute the term throw away, on housing here. Granted there was an explosion of the "garden home" model in metropolitan areas that were highly reminiscent of the shotgun houses in the low rent districts of the past, but by and large most of the higher end homes are built for longevity. Hard to believe that ours has already past the 10 year mark and fully expect it to still be sound when I'm gone. In the historic district of town there's a multiblock area of homes wood and brick well over the 100 year mark. I suspect the functionality of the construction has more to do with design and maintenance than with material. Our house is stone veneer on the bottom which will require the occasional tuck /point, and cypress siding which requires nothing, other than occasional caulking around the windows and edges, and a clear sealer every 10 years or so to prevent checking.

 

[JonA_CT]

Obviously, the history here is much shorter than in Europe -- but my house is 105 years old, and has some quirks of being an old house, but isn't anywhere close to obsolescense. Actually, my house is one of the newest on my street, although we are among the earliest settled (by Europeans, at any rate) cities in CT (1646).

It is different there, though. My wife's aunt and uncle run a sheep farm in Cumbria, UK, and their house is an old monastery/mining office/who knows what else that is at least 500 years old, and probably closer to 600 years. They have beautiful flag stone floors, and a gorgeous flag stone hearth that have remained prominently in the great room.

 

[Frank F.]

A lot of houses are calculated for a life time of 30 or 40 years (esp the cardboard stuff) and these do not last much longer. My thinking is more in the terms of the next 10.000 or 100.000 years ... sustainability in housing means:

• recyclebility
• mendability
• upgradability
• reusabilty

this is what I am after and I hope to develop a lot of these houses before I die...

 

[davidharmier60]

Good on you Frank! Our house will almost certainly collapse possibly while I'm still alive. Life is just peachy keen.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[tirediron]

Obviously, the history here is much shorter than in Europe -- but my house is 105 years old, and has some quirks of being an old house, but isn't anywhere close to obsolescense. Actually, my house is one of the newest on my street, although we are among the earliest settled (by Europeans, at any rate) cities in CT (1646).

It is different there, though. My wife's aunt and uncle run a sheep farm in Cumbria, UK, and their house is an old monastery/mining office/who knows what else that is at least 500 years old, and probably closer to 600 years. They have beautiful flag stone floors, and a gorgeous flag stone hearth that have remained prominently in the great room.

Quite a few years ago I was on a course at HMS Dryad (near Portsmouth); I was walking through one of the nearby stereotypical English villages on a day off and noticed an old, stone church. It took me several minutes to figure out what was bothering me about it. The date stone only had three digits!

 

[JonA_CT]

So I had a meeting at the local dive with one of my former band mates last night to discuss some artwork he'd like for his concept album project he's been working on. He asked for my help with some photography. I'm flattered, and have a really strong vision.

He has an amateur model lined up, and we're all collaborating on how to make the the collective vision come alive. I'm scared shitless that I don't have the skills to make everything work, but I'm a strong believer in the Latin proverb audaces fortuna iuvat . At the end of the day, this is just a passion project for him, not a money making one...but I still want to execute all of the things we discussed last night.