Nail This!

Now this is one of the best ideas I've seen in a while. By re-engineering something as simple as a nail, you can improve the chances of houses whitstanding hurricanes and earthquakes... for an alleged cost of about $15/house! Beautiful.

There are four main features to the [Bostitch] hurriquake nail: the head, the shear shank, the body, and the deep ring anchors. The head is 25% larger than conventional nails and is marked for easy code inspection. The shear shank has great sheer strength at a major stress point. The body is made of “improved plastic collation” that allows for easier driving. And the deep ring anchors have tremendous holding power. The net result is a 2x resistance to high winds. It is rated up to 170 mph winds. But this is the hurriquake nail. It is also built to withstand earthquakes too.

In fact, the nail can decrease structural failure in earthquakes by up to 50%. This is where the shear shank does a good job. The perpendicular forces of an earthquake acting on the nail usually break it. The hurriquake nail does a better job in that area. This is a smart project because it basically covers the entire US in terms of practicality. You will probably be dealing with high winds or earthquakes. Maybe not all the time, but the cost is pretty minimal for better protection.

More.

Produced by Bostitch.

Heard on the Daily GizWiz.

Solar Depot

The Home Depot has teamed up with BP Solar to provide solar installation service to customers. It is offering (...) free, in-home consultations. California is also getting ready to make solar roofs mainstream. Renewable Energy Access reports: "When the clock strikes midnight on January 1, 2007, SB 1, California's new state law that provides $3.2 billion in funding to build a million solar roofs over the next ten years, will officially take effect. But in order for SB 1 to succeed -- and the solar industry as a whole to continue to expand -- it's time to start marketing solar power as an accessible, aesthetically pleasing, and cost-effective product to the average consumer, according to California Senator Kevin Murray."

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This is great. I've heard, though, that government refunds are only given to people that use the services of specific contractors, who mark things up way too much and end up basically gobbling up the government grants... I hope that is not true, but...

Here's an article by my friend Lonnie Gamble (see photo), who lives totally off the grid:

Let's Redirect Iowa's $6 Billion Yearly Energy Expenses into Local Sustainable Projects (...) This article gives you a flavor of what could be done at the city level to save energy, reduce our dependence on oil, increase our dependence on the sun, and make our communities more interesting places to live. (...) The next step for any interested town would be to fund detailed feasibility studies of some of these ideas—$10,000 spent on feasibility and preliminary design work could yield millions of dollars in benefits.

I wonder how expensive solar shingles really are. There must be an easy-to-install, scale-economy relatively inexpensive solution.