[Rhodes22-list] This Is Not A Waste Of Your Time

[Brad Haslett]

Bill,

>From the get-go I said the new rule for real estate on the gulf would be
elevation, elevation, elevation.  That is rapidly becoming true
unless you're talking high-rise commercial construction with the first three
floors a parking garage.  We toyed with the idea of building houses and
quickly decided it wasn't our area of expertise, and, we couldn't feed the
beast we'd already started.  That being said, I had several conversations
with a concrete home architect from Florida.  He designs homes using SIPS
(structurally insulated panels) using concrete board instead of OSB
(orientated strand board).  We discussed at length the problems of elevation
and flooding and I agree with his thinking.  You have to build with the idea
that you're going to take a bath now and then.  It is easy to take the wind
hit and survive some water, not so easy to fight the mold.  It can be done,
but not with conventional stick building, insulation, and flooring.  If
lower elevation NOLA is rebuilt (I don't have a dog in that hunt) they
either need to spend billions and billions on bigger and better levees or
design the houses to take a bath and dry out.  Or, do what the Mississippi
Gulf did after Camille and rebuild just like it was and wonder "what the
hell just happened?" 36 years later.

Thanks for the pics.

Brad


On 6/24/06, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks, Brad,
>
> We took the same drive 4 months later.  The flood damage is
> heartbreaking, and comprises 95% of the total damage.  In other wards
> the houses are still standing, but they are rotting from the inside
> out.  The lower 9th ward is not physically lower than most of the rest
> of New Orleans.  We followed the water as it swept toward the
> Mississippi.  Homes that had 4 feet of standing water for 3 months were
> just as ruined as homes with 10 feet of standing water.  Many of the
> homes were 3 feet off the ground, but that just wasn't enough in many
> places.
>
> The home of a friend was 7 feet above the ground and they got only 6
> feet of water.  No damage.  2 blocks away they had 8 feet of water and
> no way to get rid of it.  People's entire histories wound up in
> dumpsters.  They were still carting it away when we got there.
>
> 3 pictures follow from the white Lakeview section:
>
> Eat at Joe's
>
> Slight Water Damage
>
> Sad Boat Picture
>
> Bill Effros
>
>
>
> Brad Haslett wrote:
> > Here's some good video of NOLA.  We're not involved there and have no
> > plans
> > to be.  The Mississippi Gulf Coast was where Katrina hit but that gets
> > overshadowed by NOLA.  Our heart and our sweat is invested in
> > Mississippi.
> > Bill E is close to New Orleans and could give you a better
> > perspective. This
> > video is worth watching.  Every image you see is duplicated on the
> coast.
> >
> > Brad
> >
> > http://www.novacvideo.org/
> > __________________________________________________
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> >
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