MVPs for Affordable Housing in Rural America
by Donna Schoenkopf
Here's my list of Most Valuable Players of 2009 when building a house in Rural America.
Best Building Material
STEEL
It doesn’t burn, so insurance rates go down.
It diverts lightning, forming a Faraday cage around you, so you are protected from its deadly strikes. Insurance rates go down.
Steel roofs are hail-proof, so again, insurance rates go down.
Steel is cheap, especially when you build simple structures, with kits.
Steel is fast. Your structure goes up quickly, which makes it more affordable.
Ya gotta love steel.
Best Energy Saver
PLACEMENT OF STRUCTURE, SHAPE OF STRUCTURE AND WINDOW PLACEMENT IN STRUCTURE
If you build a simple rectangular structure, face one of the long walls to the south, and put most of your windows on the southern wall, you will reap the benefit of lowering your energy costs. This is because a rectangular house allows breezes to blow through it in the summertime, carrying hot air outside and cooling the house The summer sun is directly overhead so the house is well shaded inside. In the winter, the sun is low in the southern sky, so light and heat come through the southern windows in the southern wall to heat your home, like a greenhouse. Free.
Best Landscaping
NATURAL VEGETATION WITH GOOD PLACEMENT
If you use plants that are native to the area you will eliminate most watering problems, which saves money and Mother Earth. Just look around you. Plant what you see. It’s free.
Then plant the deciduous trees close on the western and southern sides of your house for shading purposes in the summer. When winter comes the leaves will drop, giving you lovely light and heat in your home.
Best Color
WHITE
White reflects sun and heat. These days paints for steel buildings have evolved so much that when applied, the steel remains cool, even on the hottest days. Before this development, steel would heat up to the point that if you touched it, you were burned.
White keeps you cool in the summer. Low energy bills. YES!
Best Floor Plan
LOFT STYLE
Eliminating walls is a great way to lower your building costs. It is also a great way to lower heating and cooling costs because when you have walls, you have to heat and cool them, too. Air circulation is a great way to utilize cooling and heating and without a wall to bump into, you save a bunch.
Lofts make your house look huge, too. Very pleasing to the eye.
Lofts let you be in contact with others in the house, making cooking fun, conversations plentiful, and camaraderie easy.
Affordability is not only about money, but it also is about quality of life.
Best Floor
CONCRETE
Concrete is mass. Mass holds heat and cold. So in the summer your concrete floor cools you. Just ask my cats and dogs who lie spread-eagled on the floor on hot summer days.
IF the sun shines in the winter and comes in through your southern windows, your concrete will capture its energy and in the evenings your floor still gives you warmth. Not a lot, but some. Every little bit counts.
Best Location of Plumbing
NORTH WALL
Since your southern wall has lots of windows and your northern wall doesn’t, the best place to locate your plumbing is in the northern wall. Put your kitchen there. And your bathroom. And your laundry facility. That way you don’t have the expense of laying a bunch of extra pipe all over the place.
Best Alternative Energy
GEOTHERMAL
It doesn’t cost as much as solar or wind and uses the constant temperature of the earth to heat and cool your house. It’s a pretty simple idea involving digging and laying pipe. Look it up.
Maybe someday when I’ve saved enough, I’ll do it.
Best Internet Hookup
NOT HUGHESNET!! FIND A WIFI COMPANY
If you’ve elected to live in the country, you might be tempted to go with Hughesnet. Don’t. They are expensive, unreliable and nasty to their customers.
Do some research and maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll find a small and lovely company which will hook you up to WIFI service.
Then you’ll be really lucky.
Best Outdoor Fixture
WATER PUMP
Don’t forget to make plans for outdoor water. And having a good pump fixture is about the coolest thing to have. There is something timeless and true about that familiar orange gizmo sticking up out of the ground that makes for old-timey gratification.
AND nice, clean water for garden, car-washing, and pet-washing.
Best Kept Secret
NATURE
If you’ve never lived in the country, the surprises you’ll get are on a daily basis. The force of weather will astound you. The company of animals will give you a sense of family. The beauty of the plant world will unfold before your eyes. The quiet will soothe you. The air will give you life. And every day you will see life and death before you in all its intensity.
When you live in the country you are touched deeply by the world in all its complexity and wonder.
I highly recommend it.
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