oldmarine56

Itis clear that there are many good suggestions for rebuilding Haitian homes. One approach is to identify what should NOT be done - DO NOT use cement block wall construction as it will collapse in even a mild quake, Wall material must meet two criteria 1. they ust be strong enough to not collapse and able to flex when shaken and 2. be solidy anchored to a reinforced concret slab or footing so they wont blow away in a hurricane. The roof must be light yet strong so that, in a quake even if it falls is less likely to injure people - This rules out tile roofs that are death missles

Location is the key - housing must be built in areas not prone to mud slides.

Finally, building new homes is a very good thing but does not and can not really help Haiti. With 80% unemployment, they need jobs and we have tens of millions of things made in China (that does not like us) that could easily be made by workers with the skilllevels in Haiti. Moving a tiny percentage of this offshore work from China to our NEIGHBOR Haiti woul greatly reduce unemployment, lift the standard of living and really help haiti and IT WONT COST THE US GOVT. ANYTHING.

Itis clear that there are many good suggestions for rebuilding Haitian homes. One approach is to identify what should NOT be done - DO NOT use cement block wall construction as it will collapse in even a mild quake, Wall material must meet two criteria 1. they ust be strong enough to not collapse and able to flex when shaken and 2. be solidy anchored to a reinforced concret slab or footing so they wont blow away in a hurricane. The roof must be light yet strong so that, in a quake even if it falls is less likely to injure people - This rules out tile roofs that are death missles

Location is the key - housing must be built in areas not prone to mud slides.

Finally, building new homes is a very good thing but does not and can not really help Haiti. With 80% unemployment, they need jobs and we have tens of millions of things made in China (that does not like us) that could easily be made by workers with the skilllevels in Haiti. Moving a tiny percentage of this offshore work from China to our NEIGHBOR Haiti woul greatly reduce unemployment, lift the standard of living and really help haiti and IT WONT COST THE US GOVT. ANYTHING.

The issue of "rebuilding"s focusing on houses, etc. The real builing is social and cultural. With virtually every family having lost close loved ones ther is much to rebuild. When we consider the immense amount of stuff made for us in China - a country that does not like us - and the im,agine what would happen to Haiti if only 1/2 of 1% of the stuf now made in China was diverted to production in Haiti. This would produce a large number of jobs which provides income, drives unemployment way down from the present 70 to 80%. Building homes is great and should be done but building up people is even more important.

Maybe walmart could be induced to have stuff made in Haiti. Arent we supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves. The Haitians are our neighbors.

Shippingcontainers would be unbearably hot to live in and though they seem heavy they have a very low density (Mass divided by volume) hence in a hurricane would blow around unless solidy anchored to concrete masses. Because of the constant threat from hurricanes and the extremely heavy rainfall that goes with hurricanes, the housing must be located away from mud slide areas and must be solidly anchored to concrete slabs. Steel frame with steel studs and steel roof trusses and well secured roof panels may be the way to go. I a quake they will flex but not fall

Above all do not build above the active fault line, Build in new areas and, over time, clear the rubble of the old city and turn it to agriculture, etc.

Also, no more 5 story hotels

There is a point to consider beyond the "what and how to build". It is the WHERE! Port Au Prince is a ruin sitting on a falut line hence still has the potential for another earthquake with another disaster. The housing need would be met much faster by building a new and smaller capital city and a number of satelite cities AWAY from being directly above the fault line.

This would disperse the population reducing future risks. It is well known in building that building from scratch is faster and cheaper than demolishing clearing and site prep than building on an empty site.

As to design, there are several ways to go but whatever the choice, they must not collapse in the event of an earthquake (no heavy roof tiles, have walls that can flex but not break, be anchored solidly to concrete slabs (no dirt floors) and be located away from potential mud slides areas. there are two conflicting risks - hurricanes and earthquakes.

This is a very nice deck, however, since it is within a couple of feet of the ground and the ground is fairly level, I would have constructed a small set of steps to ground level and then construct a patio using attractive paving blocks. This would have eliminated any possibility of falling off edges, provided a surface that requires NO treatment, does not rot and can be fully free form in shape and save the maple tree. in addition the patio allows free flow of traffic while the deck is a barrier.

When the distance from a home's main floor to the ground is less than three feet and the ground is fairly level I would always go for a patio rather than a deck - low maintainance, free form, and, in many areas is considered landscaping rather than a TAXABLE addition to a home. In most areas one will continue to pay for a deck forever through property tax, surface treatments, maintainance and repair while a well designed and installed patio has none of these continuing costs