Build Free or Try!
Madame Sunday posted recently about the world’s tallest tree house which happens to be in her neck of the woods. There are pictures of this magnificent ten story structure and a story which explains that god spoke to the builder, Horace Burgess, in 1993 and told him what to build. Now, I don’t know the back story, Burgess may be an architect and this entire project may be on the up and up as far as compliance with local building codes. Or, perhaps, it is just one of those buildings that happen to be located in a place where no one cares what you do. Either way the building appears sound to me.
Even if the Burgess tree house is a code approved structure there are countless examples of buildings which come about, are lived in, and are not. Often, these are buildings, where folks began working with salvaged materials and created a structure which suited them. There can be a real organic quality to such buildings as various types of materials come together in ingenious ways. They are full of surprises and also cannot be considered a legal residence. What avenues are available for those of us who want to build within the system but would still have things be somewhat off kilter?
On the back of my house is a shed roof addition and off of this there is an open porch. The porch has no railings and stands at least 40 inches from the ground.I can attest that this is somewhat dangerous because I have fallen off the porch before. I have gone over backward in chairs and had other mishaps but none of this has ever made me think You know, I really need to put a rail on this porch. More so, I have thought that I should be more in tune with my surroundings. I love the wide open porch and to me an element of danger is far more comfortable than surrounding myself in a cage.
So, how much freedom should folks be allowed in designing a structure which suits their lifestyle? This is something I think about a lot in regards to codes and the general bureaucracy surrounding creating a space of one’s own.
20 years ago my answer would have been very different than it is today. I can actually hear myself, in some distant conversation, saying: if I want to live in a house without windows then I should be able to do that. While I am no longer that radical a proponent of personal freedom, I still believe things should be a bit looser than they are. Over the past few years I have begun to think about ways that such allowances could be made. I think it would have to be done in an opt-out manner. Take, for example, my porch which normally would require railings, what if I were allowed to go with a rail-less design but only after signing that I understand the reasoning behind the codes and that a condition of future sale or rental of the property would require me to bring the house up to standard code?
Now, I realize that there are enough holes in this scenario to fill Albert Hall and that to expand our freedoms here would surely mean creating even more rules. There would have to be more inspectors and more powerful systems put in place to keep us accountable to the contracts we signed along the way. That’s just the beginning of course and while I have no problems at all with very strict codes for public spaces, I hold that our homes are a private space and thus should be allowed, within reason, to reflect our sensibilities.
This post was meant to be more of a conversation starter than a rage against the machine. I am wondering what others might think, do you believe the restrictions put on how we build our buildings sometimes serve to put us in a box?
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Hi Tammy,
Thanks for your comment.
No, I do not have children and I have no intention of having them and this is part of my point. I do understand why these codes came about but I am choosing to draw a line here between private and public spaces.
I have heard of children’s heads being stuck between railings before. In fact, there is a feint but sharp, moment of panic lodged in my psyche from having it happen to me when little. If memory serves I was able to calm myself down and extract my noggin on my own. I am sorry it happened to your sister.
I have also gotten my tongue stuck on metal outside when it was very cold. I guess there was simply too much metal in the world for codes to even attempt to safeguard against that one.
If I had children, or if I had good friends with children who often visited, I would surely install a rail. But I don’t.
I have heard that childless people often find themselves being asked to work on holidays so that folks with kids can share these special days with their families. Of course, it is only fair that everyone should be treated equally when it comes to holiday time off but in many ways our society places more value on families with children. I think the codes reflect that and I am suggesting that as adults, living in childless environments, a different set of environmental considerations may apply.
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It wasn’t my sister, it was me that got my head stuck between the railings!
Of course there are always rules that seem absurd because of the actions of stupid and/or hapless individuals (see instructions & safety precautions on Q-tips and toothpicks, for instance), but the whole point of a standard is that it’s supposed to apply to as many people as possible. Since we are all different individuals with different living arrangements, shapes & sizes, tolerance for risk, etc., the idea of having different sets of rules that only apply to each individual case would be unmanageable and relegate your built environment only habitable by persons exactly like you.
And having children certainly makes it impossible not to think of these things.
But people change over the course of a lifetime, as you said yourself. Back at the age of 16, when I got my first car, it had a bench seat and no seatbelts, and I was totally unfazed by that. Today, I wouldn’t accept those circumstances, because I’m older and wiser and know how easy it is for something horrible to happen.
I like ModernSauce’s take on the subject, and would like to respectfully suggest that your desire to keep your porch railing-free is perhaps a passive-aggressive rebellion against The Man. I get it; speak Truth to Power, baby! But if you invited me over to your house, I would definitely leave my kids with a sitter. :-)
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Hi again Tammy,
First let me apologize for misreading your words. It is funny, I read your comment several times but once my mind had inserted the idea of a sister I continued to misread it. I am sorry that happened to you.
Of course, you are right. The whole concept would be unmanageable and I realize that. I thought to myself while writing this OK, if you could opt out at 40 inches than what height would be unacceptable to opt out and who would decide that? It is a slippery slope with logistical demands that would overload our current system.
Still, here in Delaware, folks are no longer allowed to use a 2×6 as a top rail on deck stairs because it is impossible to wrap ones entire hand around it. A popular work around for this is to go with the 2×6 and then to attach a smaller more grip able hand rail to the top. Once the deck passes inspection people remove the smaller piece. The contractor makes a bit of extra money fabricating a throw away component and some wood gets wasted in order to satisfy the code. It happens all the time.
I am not really sure that the root of all of this for me lies in rebellion although I would not rule it out. I would like to think that my take on this is a testament to my respect and admiration for folks who for one reason or another have embarked on a building adventure that relegates them to the fringes.
One thing is certain, when I leave my house these days, I always fasten my seatbelts. :-)
Thanks again for engaging me on this.
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I think building codes are there for safety and for stupid people. Sometimes stupid people don’t know they are stupid (myself included sometimes!). BUT I think a better question to ask is if we lived in a magic land of no building codes and infinitely smart people what would you build for yourself? Of course you have to be able to listen – to yourself or God maybe – to figure that out… Would you build a porch with no rails or is the feeling you get just an unintended yet pleasantly dangerous result of being rail-less?
Thanks for the holla, b! I think that treehouse is built on a wing and a prayer (literally) but I’ll let you know if I visit. ; )
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Hello MS,
Give me land, lots of land, under starry skies. Don’t fence me in.
I have always been taken by places like the tree house. Some friends once lived next to a single older gentleman with a backyard full of sheds. I believe there was something like 16 of them and he had built walkways which connected them all together and then finally right into his house. Each one was a little room. They reminded me of little parlors as many of them had chairs and little tables. They each seemed to have their own character and were very neat. Meanwhile, the actual house was loaded with stuff and seemed like it was mostly used for storage.
Please do take us with you if you go to the treehouse. I would enjoy having the adventure vicariously through you and would happily rustle up some imaginary Combos and Mountain Dew….
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b,
Thanks for posting this. You raise a good point about individuality and creativity vs. formal restrictions. I acknowledge it can be quite a conundrum, but don’t have a really good answer for it. I did, however, enjoy this dialogue between you and Tammy and ModernSauce.
But nonetheless….here are links to two of my favorite wacked-out places that I am sure violate all manner of building codes! Wondering if any of you have been to either? Enjoy!
http://finstersparadisegardens.org/
http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/
- John
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Hi John,
Thanks for the links. The Finster place is one I had heard about but had no location for in my mind. The Winchester House, I thought about and visited the website of when writing the piece. They have revamped that site since my last visit and it now has a more movie like quality.
I find it fascinating that in the three examples we have here, deviation from standard building practices becomes a legitimate endeavor in the mind of the creators by their communing with some supernatural third party. It reads like a how to book for heretics with step one being to obtain a permission slip for your fantastical field trip from another dimension.
Certainly, this is not always the case with folks who build on the road less traveled but with justification sometimes hard to come by, having someone or something larger than you in your corner can really help to get the job done. Thanks for your comment.
-b
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Um, do you have kids and have they fallen off the porch yet? As stifling as building rules may sometimes be, they do exist for good reasons. As someone who once had her little 3-year old head stuck between stair banisters can tell you!