New Houses That Get Flooded
In the recent heavy rain and resulting floods, I’m surprised to see how many new houses have got flooded.
My father told me never to buy a house that could be flooded and I have followed his advice and never bought a house that has ever suffered a flood.
Governments are pussy-footing around the problem, as this article shows. There should be a law, that means if any new properties flood, then the developer is responsible for fixing the problem. This would probably mean, houses were built, that were much suitable for our climate. They would probably be unsaleable to many punters, who prefer Pete Seeger‘s Little Boxes.
But hey! We have some of the best and most innovative architects in this country! The trouble is we also have a lot of very conservative people and especially politicians and planners, who think inside the box!
Incidentally, Pete Seeger is still alive at 94. Hopefully, his music is still making us think!
A Contribution To The Danny Baker Show
This morning Danny Baker on his BBC Radio 5 show, asked for contributions about decorating the smallest room in the house.
In the 1960s, my parents were thinking about moving. They saw this nice house in Palmers Green, which had a totally black toilet, with black walls, floor and even a black suite.
They didn’t buy the house! I should say that even with my father’s excellent decorating skills, he was totally daunted at the prospect of removing all that paint. I even heard him talk about the house, years later.
I was invited to discuss this on air with Danny and he said, he’d once used the same colour for a kitchen.
He said, it was a disaster! especially, as the gloss paint he used wouldn’t dry and he’d even painted the lino.
There could be use though, for this crime against good taste.
If say your partner is keen to move and you are totally against it, what better way of putting off buyers, than to paint the toilet black.
It would also be a good way to get even with your ex-spouse in an acrimonious divorce, especially, if they got the house!
Around Stratford International Station
I walked around Stratford International station this morning.
It has always puzzled me, why trains for Europe don’t stop here. perhaps we should create the Trans Manche Metro.
The Tallest Timber Residential Structure In The World
You’d have thought that this would be somewhere like Japan, Scandinavia or perhaps Canada, but despite it’s name, the Stadthaus is in Murray Grove in the London Borough of Hackney.
Wikipedia says this about the building.
It is thought to be the tallest timber residential structure in the world.It was designed in collaboration between architects Waugh Thistleton, structural engineers Techniker, and timber panel manufacturer KLH.
Stadthaus is the first high-density housing building to be built from pre-fabricated cross-laminated timber panels. It is the first building in the world of this height to construct not only load-bearing walls and floor slabs but also stair and lift cores entirely from timber.
I like it and it shows how modern buildings don’t have to be constructed using traditional methods. It was also constructed in just 49 weeks and residents moved in ahead of schedule.
So as we need more housing and we need it quickly, perhaps we should build more houses and flats using these methods.
They Don’t Care About House Colours In Hackney
This story from Devon shows one of the problems of living in the area of a council and among residents, who have strong views.
It’s not a good shade of pink and I don’t like it. We may have a few brightly coloured buildings in Hackney, but at least they’ve generally been agreed by everyone.
In cities too, most buildings are of brick and they tend to match easier.
I don’t miss the petty [politics of the countryside.
The Windows Are In
I passed the new wooden frame house yesterday and took this picture.
The Windows Are In
All seems to be going well and the house is attracting a lot of curious looks from passers-by.
How To Build A Fake House
They were putting this up as I walked past this morning.
I went back last night to take a few more pictures and spoke to the contractor. He told me, it will look like the surrounding houses when it’s finished and that Hackney Council were very co-operative.
We don’t have too many eye-sores around here, but I’ve seen places in London and other cities, where a house in say a terrace is well past its renovate-by-date and surely this technique might be a much more affordable way to create a new house.
It will be interesting to see what it looks like when it’s finished.
Waitrose ‘Can Add 50 % To The Price Of Your Home’
The Standard also reports this.
I’ve got three within a simple bus ride, but I have a feeling that one will turn up nearer in the next couple of years.
The Anonymous Widower 