Author Archives: rnashua

What’s that smell? I worked in one of the first planned ecologically correct communities done by the Controlled Environment Corporation, a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Society for the protection of NH Forests, and a couple of financial institutions that … Continue reading →

Green side up. I reminded myself of the old sod installation story a few days ago and in searching for today’s topic I thought outside the box, or building, as it were. That pristine, natural site we have disturbed to … Continue reading →

Factories. Assembly Lines. Manufacturing Systems! Quality Control? Continuous Improvement? Feedback? Transportation Cost. Bulk Materials. Cookie Cutter Design. Lots of hot buttons and points to ponder when you talk about creating our dream home in a big old factory. I used … Continue reading →

Now that’s a mouthful for a Wednesday morning, geotechnical, or soils mostly has to do with the first line of defense keeping buildings against gravity. Know your geotech and build your house upon the rock, sometimes literally. Ignore it, or … Continue reading →

Getting plastered can have positive and negative connotations. I won’t deal with the latter cheap shot, but as we have completed our building foundation, frame and mechanicals hanging sheetrock is the harbinger of building finish! Exciting stuff, only two weeks … Continue reading →

Conserve, combine, create. That is the hierarchy. Why is it so difficult to adopt this attitude? Dawkins and Dennett, two authors of evolutionary tomes ask the question when a new species has developed: “Who benefits?” . A friend asked, “Why … Continue reading →

I was privileged to meet Buckminster Fuller in my grad school career at Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering and listened to his random musings and wisdom. I still recall his dicta when it came to structural engineering: no structural engineer was ever … Continue reading →

The Ides of July! Beware moisture! It’s not just March with Ides. During the hot summer months, thoughts of condensation are not always with us, but our life giving Aitch to Oh (H2O) can come into view in awkward places … Continue reading →