That 'cave like peacful feeling'

[JeD]

A friend of mine used to work with a rammed earth home builder in the Southwest. He was tasked with improving the companies image, fit and finish, and marketing. His first step was thoroughly interviewing all of the current owners he could. The number one item they listed as a benefit was the 'cave like peaceful feeling' you get being inside of one. The inhabitants found they had been living in a state of tense nervousness in their previous houses, without knowing it. I had an occasion to visit one on an open house tour. It did have the feeling of being both safe and in a safe.

The question here is, do 'our type' of houses have that same feeling? I am inclined to say yes. I've been fortunate enough to spend some time, Very generously given, in both the Kaslik's CH and the Rosholdts' home.

Other comments on this less quantifiable quality?

[Cloud Hidden]

This is absolutely the case, and one of the least understood qualitative benefits. You can never explain it to someone living in a frame house, because that's their baseline. But having lived in each, there's a tangible difference in how they feel...I'd use the word 'vulnerable' for the traditional house, particularly when it's windy or storming outside.

To put science behind that, I think it comes from the disparity between interior and exterior conditions. When it's gusting outside and the house creaks, you're connected to the exterior. When it's gusting and the house is motionless and noiseless, there's a dissonance that makes you aware of the strength of the house.

Same with temperature. When it turns cold, I feel that inside as it's happening. But in the insulated concrete house, interior temps didn't change for up to 36 hours, so the difference between inside and outside really registered. You come to appreciate those differences really fast!

[BWARDEN]

I have a weather alert radio in my frame house so that I can head for the basement if there is a tornado. I don't have a weather alert radio in the MD house. What would it be good for?

The MD house has a very substantial, secure feeling to it. I also think it goes beyond structural strength, and it may provide additional comfort from the more natural curves in the home. There are no 90 degree angles in Nature.

[SpyFox]

I don't have a weather alert radio in the MD house. What would it be good for?

To let you know the neighbors were about to visit?

[Pandora]

I don't have a weather alert radio in the MD house. What would it be good for?

To let you know the neighbors were about to visit?

I would still have one, if only to let me know when to NOT go outside