The challenge of 'narrowness'. |
Louis Shalako
The
Myth of the Tiny Home.
The tiny home, certainly as a solution for
homelessness, is a sorry myth, just one more lie from the sort of people who
really should know better.
Their plan calls for dozens of the things in the
middle of a muddy bean field out by the airport…
Yet city council seems to think it’s a good idea. The
only question, is where to put them—the fact the new homelessness encampment
protocol calls for one hundred metres of setback, yes, you heard that right—one hundred metres of setback, tells you just how seriously they take themselves.
...essentially, they have made any new encampment both illegal and impossible, which is the result of their own rules. So, where you gonna put that...??? If I may inquire, what does that do for the homeless encampment you already have...???
So, I downloaded a PDF of ruled graph paper, and I can
print out as many sheets as I need.
Let’s take a look at the structure itself.
Drawing.
Calculated at 410 sq.
ft. although interior space would be a little smaller. Based upon an 8.5'W x
20'L x 8.5'T shipping container for the base. The floor of the upper space is framed
with 2" x 6" spruce studs, the floor with 3/4" ply. This doesn’t
stand up to the building codes you say. Fine, but then neither do tents pitched
in a public park. With framing, insulation, vapour barrier and probably
3/8" drywall in the upper floor, and a bay window, lower left, a proper 3'
x 7' door, windows with screens, a skylight upper left, and provision for a
stove, what's missing is a floor plan and proper hookups for sewer, water,
electricity and possibly gas. It is, of course, uninsurable. (This is where all that very useful stigma comes in.) Where you put the steps in an 8.5' wide space is
very important, I reckon they'd be at least 2.5' wide, hopefully with a
straight run, although there is a case to be made for a turn part way up.
Simple geometry dictates that a stair that climbs 8.5' at forty-five degrees
requires the same length, right.
I really ought to check
the geometry. With a 12’ rise from the second floor to the peak, the upper
story is a bit of a sail in a really big wind, and you need to bolt that down,
rather than just throwing a few spikes in there. The presumed occupant needs to
be able to climb stairs, so it’s not for the disabled or the truly elderly.
Towing that overloaded, top heavy thing down the road must have been a real nightmare.
How in the hell he got that 25 k out to Reese’s Corners is a very good question. I reckon he’ll never do it again—
...terribly narrow, right. |
Services like water and sewage, city or septic, must be in place and the shipping container would have to be carefully placed on a reinforced concrete pad. The holes have to line up.
Construction trailers.
The typical construction trailer is more like 12’ wide. You can get them down a road. They are insulated, some have heat and a/c, some have a washroom and holding tanks, presumably, for water and effluents. You can plug them in and run power from a portable generator.
City council is looking into building 80 sq. ft. doghouses for the homeless. With ‘wraparound’ supports, due to all the mental health addictions and stigma. They honestly think they can build them for five grand, and will set them down in a bean field, with one hundred metres of setback from all other roads, trails, parks, schools, retail, industry, ditches, trees, groundhog dens, pretty rocks or any other sidewalk, bus stop, or other amenities such as fire hydrants, ladies and gentlemen.
There are dozens of these in a field south of town... |
Shortly after the 2018 municipal elections, county council voted
unanimously for a five-year study of housing and homelessness.
It was a cop-out, it bought them five years of idleness, and they did nothing with it except bloviate at various housing summits, all of which were reported on by Canadian journalists, presumably with a straight face and without puking up a little bit into their mouths and having to swallow it all back down again.
The funny thing is, you can get a used camper trailer for five or six grand. Don't worry, that won't happen either.
END
Louis Shalako has books and stories available from Google Play. A Stranger In Paris is currently free in
audio format.
Council Approves Inaction Plan for Microscopic Doghouses for ‘Our Most Vulnerable’ People.
Thank you for reading.