Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition |
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These two books are the perfect starting place to help you get to grips with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment. PLEASE NOTE: A download link for Volume 1 will be sent to you by email and Volume 2 will be sent to you by post as a book. |
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Posted By: Dominic CooneyMassive upland catchment areas of closely-nibbled sheep pasture.
= The rain runs straight off.
Allow the trees to grow (they don’t even need planting, just the sheep removed)
= the rain soaks in.
Once you see it, you can’t un-see it.
Building in floodplains, although a bit stupid, is a diversion from the real problem.
I have read that farm subsidy requirements state land has to be in “a farmable state” (i.e. cleared of trees) to get payments.
Posted By: WillInAberdeenBuilding new houses on floodplains is setting up problems,
Posted By: Peter_in_HungaryPosted By: WillInAberdeenBuilding new houses on floodplains is setting up problems,
I went to Poland a few years back an wondered why all the houses in the area seemed to have unfinished swimming pools in the garden - but no - it was the crater left after creating a 1.2M high mound on which to build the house. The area was a flood plain and their solution was to first build the mound and then build the house on it up out of the flood waters. Of course it needs a fair size plot to make this approach feasible - far beyond the typical new build plot size in the UK.
Posted By: Jonti....................................
Or you build a basement level for things that can be moved or are water safe then put the house on top. It is not rocket science but the building industry here is not very innovative alas.
Posted By: owlmanPosted By: Jonti....................................
Or you build a basement level for things that can be moved or are water safe then put the house on top. It is not rocket science but the building industry here is not very innovative alas.
Yes, I've watched this technique in Germany, it's commonly used there, The usually, specialist Kellerbau company, first dig the house footprint plus a metre or so all round, often only about 1.5metres or so deep, then construct a solid externally waterproofed and insulated blockwork cellar. The builder then continues to extend the cellar to full height out of the ground and build the single floor above. Finally heap and landscape the spoil all around the cellar to leave a single storey.
Posted By: WillInAberdeenUm.... the point of a flood plain is that water can flow freely onto and across the land, and stand there for a few days, before returning gradually to the river.Exactly. Much better IMHO to build on stilts, Segal style, to allow the water to flow past safely. I'd think that in many cases they wouldn't need to be very high, maybe 300mm clearance or so, so long as there's nothing for the water to pile up against.
Posted By: JontiSheep are not really the problem and indeed grazing by livestock is a very important process for habitat maintenance but over grazing certainly does lead to the 'closely nibbled' pastures you refer to.
Posted By: Mike1Posted By: JontiSheep are not really the problem and indeed grazing by livestock is a very important process for habitat maintenance but over grazing certainly does lead to the 'closely nibbled' pastures you refer to.
Professor Stuart Lane, Leeds University, seems to think that sheep can be a significant factor:
The second major explanation of the increase in flood magnitude and frequency at York relates to the increases in stocking densities that have been observed since the 1970s... APEM (1998) note that high stocking levels: (a) may lead to biomass loss, which reduces evapotranspiration rates, so maintaining high levels of soil wetness, and also reduces root depth which reduces infiltration into the soil; and (b) leads to increases in surface soil compaction, which also reduces infiltration. Sheep are of particular concern: Betteridge et al., (1999) demonstrated that different types of cattle had different effects upon the soil surface: cattle caused upward and downward soil movement leading to high levels of soil disturbance; sheep caused more surface compaction. These observations are supported by a wealth of studies from a range of different environments.http://www.therrc.co.uk/pdf/References/Lane_2003.pdf
George Monbiot's not too keen either:
Sheep have done more damage to Britain’s environment than all the building that has ever taken place
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/meet-the-greatest-threat-to-our-countryside-sheep
Posted By: WillInAberdeenUm.... the point of a flood plain is that water can flow freely onto and across the land, and stand there for a few days, before returning gradually to the river.
If you build private islands on the land, your house might stay dry, but there's a good chance they will impede the natural flow of water across the land. If the flood plain doesn't function as before, then you will have displaced the water to rush on downstream and flood somebody else....?
Posted By: Ed DaviesExactly. Much better IMHO to build on stilts, Segal style, to allow the water to flow past safely. I'd think that in many cases they wouldn't need to be very high, maybe 300mm clearance or so, so long as there's nothing for the water to pile up against.
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