[Strawbale] Home Despot advice and recommendations Re: Strawbale regrets?...

[Robert W. Tom]

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 17:35:03 -0400, Mark Frazier <fritter63 at charter.net>  
wrote:

> Awright, just a few comments to set the record (and some attitudes)
> straight.
[snip]

Nevertheless, the problem with the advice that comes from Home Despot  
staff is that too often, it is too limited in scope in the sense that it's  
usually what is possible with the stuff that can be bought at Home Despot  
(or stores like it) rather than being a solution that considers  
alternatives and chooses the best, not necessarily using manufactured or  
new storebought materials.  And by no means, is the stock at a Home Despot  
representative of the many options that are possible, even using  
manufactured or storebought materials.

True, many of the staff are out-of work or retired former tradespeople but  
that too is no assurance that the advice they give is good advice.

It's just a repetiton how they did things, which at best, is the status  
quo "out there" and given the sorry state of the majority of new  
construction "out there" the status quo is certainly not something that  
one should be emulating, assuming that one chooses SB because one wants to  
make something that is better than the "usual".

This is not a comment on the quality of the people as people, who work at  
Home Despot, just an assessment of the advice that comes from such places.

While such advice might be applicable to situations like building a  
backyard deck or renovating a family room, when it comes to assessing the  
merits of SBC versus conventional stick-frame, it's not something that I'd  
be wanting to give a whole lot of credence to, especially in a dedicated  
SB forum. But that's just my opinion, just like you wouldn't catch me  
trying to faux-finish a drywalled stud wall to make it look like a lumpy  
SB wall.


===* ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
<archilogic at chaffyahoo dot ca>
winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply