Miscellaneous
Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt.In our 23rd episode, Mary talks about Hurricane Sandy. What did we learn from Sandy, a natural disaster that has changed many people's lives? Almost everyone in the northeast knows of someone or a situation that has been devastated by this natural disaster.Now, we look at things like building codes, and we say, 'Well, what if things were not designed the way they were? What if the wind load had been stronger on these buildings so that they would not have diminished or disappeared? What if the construction systems that were used were more supportive?"Think of all the problems that could have been eliminated.In Harrisburg, there was a very serious flood in 1972, which caused many of the building codes to be changed. Yes, of course, it was a federal regulation, but not every community adopted those standards. Some of them just pushed it aside saying, "This doesn't happen here. This is not our climate or our problem." I'm wondering whether, now that we've looked at this serious devastation, people will be much more concerned about building construction and the standards and ways we do things.How much of this will affect our business and our industry and the way we buy all types of building processses. After the flood in Harrisburg, we were told that we may not have any electric panels, generators, or any major systems in basements. As a result, you'll walk into a home and see the electrical panel high on the first, second, or third floor, but not in the basement. Not anywhere where it could be in jeopardy of flooding. If this were the situation in some of the New York hospitals, we could have saved a lot of trouble.They tell us that these storms are going to be with us. We've had three, the last three years, and this is more than we've had in 100 years. If this is the case, it really does demand our attention. Whether you are in the design world or whether you are a consumer, consider how the standards should affect whatever you are doing. Be it a small remodel or a revision you're doing to your property or a major new construction.The other thing that I see happening out of this situation is, for example, in Pennsylvania, we have a lot of companies doing factory built construction. For example, I had a client who wanted 76 motel rooms with bathrooms and storage and so on, and they wanted them in less than 90 days. The only way that I knew to accomplish this, especially since their decision was made in January/February and they wanted them occupied by May, was to factory build them. The first thing we had to check out was, could you deliver them? There are many situations where you simply can't make the delivery due to highways or wires or whatever. After we formulated that they could be delivered, we started the design and created marble bathrooms, beautiful quality appointments in every respect. Everything was completed in the factory, and by the way, these rooms were less than 1/32nd of an inch off. Look at your building. See how square it is. I doubt very much that you're living in any spaces which are this accurate in measurement. What they did is they built a model for us, and after we approved it and determined that every light switch, outlet, plumbing detail, etc... were just the way we wanted them, they went on to build the additional 75. They were delivered on-time. The foundations were prepared, and they lifted the rooves and put the singles on, on-site. A very sleek operation.As we look at the capabilities of Pennsylvania's manufacturers today, it is very likely that they could deliver 10,000 or more to New York City within a period of 60 days. There is another wonderful part. With all of these units, there is a state regulation that requires a warranty of 20 years on electrical, plumbing, and all basic components. This means that if you install one of these facilities, you don't have to worry about repairs or maintenance for quite a long time. This of what this could save the city's public housing situation. They're telling us that they need between 30 and 40,000 units. Just imagine the maintenance cost and what it could save the city. It isn't really the cost because very often the cost is less to factory build than to stick build in the field. It is also the issue of what is the long term cost. Even if you are spending 10% more or so, that is nothing compared to your overall costs over a period of 5-10 or more years.Will this situation bring forward many different building opportunities and many different demands? That's a question that I have and I feel it will be answered very soon. I feel that the average person will be looking at, why aren't we doing it? Is it a political issue that's holding us back? If so, we won't tolerate this. We want good building standards. I hope that we do get something positive out of all the suffering and problems that have been caused by this natural disaster. It's unfortunate but yet, in many cases, it is wonderful the things that do result from this type of situation. Let's make something out of it. Let's say that this changed our quality of life and our building standards. We all look forward to these better buildings of the future.Please subscribe to the video or audio version of the radio show via iTunes or listen to it at http://interiordesigntodaypodcast.blogger.com via the following MP3 Link.