Posted on 09/12/2018 1:52:58 PM PDT by Beowulf9
NEW ORLEANS — Kamaria Allen had no plans to return to the Lower 9th Ward after losing everything in Hurricane Katrina. But then she saw the new houses.
Billed as flood-safe and futuristic, the Make It Right homes towered over vacant lots in pops of teal, lemon and lavender. Houses like that just didn’t exist in the working-class, mostly black section of New Orleans that Allen’s family had called home for four generations — and definitely not for $130,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
“flood-safe”
If Molly Brown isn’t living there, it aint flood safe.
yup. you give people stuff they dont know how to take care of, and the stuff falls apart.
Yes. I was aware of its history and problems before installation on my home in West Texas. Our climate is ok for its installation but anytime water gets behind a structure, watch out. I have a moisture probe that I occasionally use to make sure things are ok. That and treated lumber will protect a house just about anywhere.
There were a LOT of errors. Hiring a person not versed in construction as CEO was the first big one. Then using a unproven materials, woodsil. Using house designs not modified for the climate, air handling systems etc. I am sure there were problems with building inspectors not doing their jobs. .I think this would be an excellent business school study. Finally people not properly caring for the homes contributed to the problem. . I feel Brad Pitt had great intentions but a project required a lot of hands on attention.
It’s my understanding that a lot of mushrooms are edible; so whats their complaint, CHEAP HOUSE, FREE FOOD GROWING OUT OF THE WALLS.
That is a great observation.
The bottom of what went wrong is; DON’T BUILD YOUR HOUSE IN A SWAMP!
I thought pressure treatment involved forcing chemical that retarded rot and decay into the wood under pressure. There are two types of pressure treated lumber ground contact and those not rated for ground contact.
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Who are you kidding?
I spent a week in the summer at my inlaws place up there, and there was only one day that we didn’t get some rain.
SOME summers can be like that (and it’s a drag - knowing that it will last all winter long too.)
Most years are very dry summers. This year was VERY dry. (Trump’s fault no doubt! /s) I think we got 0.20 inches in July (Seattle area). But - it’s raining again now.
Although the joke around here is to tell all the visitors, especially the liberals from California - that it ALWAYS rains here.
Sound like a union job to me!!
Stupid is as stupid does
Did he contract with Habitat for Humanity to build?
We have several of the houses built by Habitat for Humanity in our city and even years later they are all in great shape. Both the building was of the structure was adhered to correctly, and the folks who got them worked on them and have a vested emotional involvement. It worked out good in our city.
Don’t blame Pitt for what lazy leeches let their “gift houses” become....happens all the time in “subsidized” housing....in areas like the Gulf Coast, a clean place can become mold-infested merely by not running your A/C for a few weeks during the hot/humid months...tyhere’s more to this story than meets the eye.
They type of wood used is also a major determinate.
For example, the cells in tropical wood grow denser and closer together. Pressure treatment or not, they will outlast (to use an extreme example) pine grown in a semi-arid region which is a big part of the reason why they go up like blowtorches when they catch fire. (Pine tar plus oxygen rich porous cells is a deadly combination).
Even a cheap tropical plywood (often salvaged from shipping containers) makes a good siding as it will absorb paint or stain, albeit at a much slower rater than a moderately priced good quality pressure treated siding you will buy at a lumber store.
Interesting, did not know that about cypress wood.
Tru dat!
I just don’t like pretentious liberals like Pitt.
I’m not a Pitt fan either - just wanted to pint out that the South has climate issues that can destroy a house if one doesn’t take some precautions...chances are the houses weren’t up to the hype they put on them but I imagine that the structures that are inhabited by folks who exercised some personal responsibility are just fine today.
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