In the coming weeks, the scope of this forum will be expanding. We will be looking closely at the rebuilding efforts undertaken after natural disasters of all kinds. We will discuss the progress being made in disaster-resistant building products and applications, as well as the green building movement. As the real estate industry as a whole looks forward to safer, stronger, healthier homes, agents interested in disaster resistant building or the green building movement will find this forum a good source of information. Everyone is encouraged to post questions, experiences, and sources to help us all become better informed about these serious issues.

I'm glad to see that you have included green building in your forums, but I'm wondering why there isn't a separate section for green building or sustainable living as this is a very up and coming area to real estate?
I don't really understand why this is linked with Natural Disaster Recovery. Is there any plans for this expansion in the future?

The answer to your question is the word ENVIRONMENT...what we do to it and what it does to us. We hurt it and it hurts us...we recover after floods, hurricanes, fires...and hopefully we can educate enough people to the fact that the earth needs to start recovering from the past 100 years of abuse.

Sorry for the delay in posting. I am again preparing to move...my second time since the hurricane. My ordeal after Ike was stressful but certainly not catastrophic. I lost no personal possessions because I took what some called unreasonable (and very expensive) precautions. Others in my complex did not have the time or money to do that and many lost everything. We lost half our units and eventually the plumbing system in my building needed major repair. I am still dusting off the concrete dust from the jackhammering.

I moved to my trailer and signed up for Cricket wireless internet. It's cheap, works very well in my area, problem-free so far, easy to buy and easy to install, no contract. Cricket is about the only thing in this transition that did go right.

I have started researching sustainable living materials in preparation for remodeling my trailer. I have already "gutted" the interior...removing the queen bed, the dinette, the recliner and even some of the very nice wood cabinets...all while I am living in it and moving in more of my items dialy. I am quickly reaching the towing capacity of the trailer. My friends think I am crazy but they may change their minds when I finish "sustainable remodeling". The items I have removed have ALL been recycled. I have yet to toss anything into the dumpster...not even a screw. My next step is removing the interior walls and adding insulation and soundproofing. I doubt if there is anything in the walls but if there is...it will go in the dumpster, probably.

I am in the sustainable materials web sites every day finding what I can use that will be affordable and good for the environment. I am keeping a daily log so I can post this information on this site. I am keeping in mind that people who read this forum sell "real homes" but the products I am looking at are for any type home. It is possible that this trailer will not be my permanent home. I may use it as an office once I decide where to live out the remainder of my life. If I adapt to it, I may just build a small office instead. Right now, this rash of hurricanes has me thinking I should buy a little further north.

Weather and sustainable living and the entire environmental picture go hand in hand. Every time one of these major hurricanes hit, we have a chance to change some mistakes in building that were created years ago. In fact, rebuilding after hurricanes is a very loud source of education about sustainable living. Many of the new home builders missed the sustainable mark with the recent explosion of new subdivisions. I hope the hurricane rebuilding plans start to include consideration for sustainable living.

RC21, let me take a look at our current threads and set up one specifically for sustainable living discussions. I will transfer over some of the discussions that have ended up in the other forums. You can just go crazy posting there and I will be your #1 avid reader. Please PM me what topics you will cover in the thread and I'll get it jump started for you. Of particular interest to me is insulation and soundproofing.

Just remember--for every person like you who is vocal, there are many who have never even thought it through because their lives are just too busy with raising kids, keeping a job, taking care of family obligations. They simply don't look down the road far enough to see what their kids will inherit.

One thing Katrina taught us...first we shelter, then we rebuild. If you and others speak out, maybe that rebuilding will reach the ones who make the decisions. If not, government regulation will one day make it for us.

Send me the PM when you get time.

great, thanks Darlene!

I witnessed the '93 Malibu CA fires and saw one house still standing amid hundreds of others burned to the ground. It was a mixture of aggregates; some stucco, brick, stone, and a tile roof. Apparently rock doesn't seem to burn very easily. '
What a no brainer. I love the challenge of finding the logical ways to do things that others don't see.

Forum announcements go here.

Today I am consolidating the posts into main topics. Hope this makes it easier to find information or post in the correct place. I still have a little cleaning up to do. I have to make sure everything went where it was supposed to go, so bear with me for a few days. Once real estate gets moving again, and hopefully that will be soon, then green building will become a hot topic again...and a popular one, I am thinking. As for the weather posts, those can come anytime. Mother nature is providng lots of opportunities.

Thanks for your patience, everyone.

Darlene