Portland’s Small-House Movement Is Catching On
Nevermind the fact that all over the world people have been living in smaller houses on average compared to those in the U.S. for many years.<p>But, what I think is unfortunate in house design and construction is that houses are built for use &lt; 100 years, aren&#x27;t easily upgradable via conduits, etc., and assume that weather and electricity&#x2F;gas&#x2F;water usage and cost as a fraction of income and will stay consistent.<p>As for materials, Aerogel&#x27;s Spaceloft <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.buyaerogel.com&#x2F;product&#x2F;spaceloft-10-mm-cut-to-size&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.buyaerogel.com&#x2F;product&#x2F;spaceloft-10-mm-cut-to-siz...</a>
 that could significantly decrease residential energy needs is barely spoken of, few spend more on quality insulated windows, many are content with hardiplank vs. masonry even though brick provides better insulation and doesn&#x27;t need painting, cold-formed steel is a better option and would reduce deforestation in combination with increased taxes on the paper industry to drive consumers to use electronic alternatives, the same crap roof shingles are used and few use solar even as solar technology has vastly improved.<p>We could be building small modern castles that we could hand down, but instead we still build cheap throwaways.