June 1996
Good Afternoon
Simple steps to protect yourself against domestic
electrical radiation.
A few months ago I got a phone call out of the blue from a guy
called Ronald McGymsey. He said he had been referred to my by
our local building supplies merchant because they knew that I
had some polystyrene foam in our workshop left over from a job
I had just completed. Polystyrene foam isn't a product often stocked
by suppliers because it's easily damaged and retail demand is
low. We used it for the first time just recently as under concrete
floor insulation. He asked if I still had some, which I did. I
asked how much did he need because I only have a few small pieces
left and what was he going to use it for. He said I'll be round
to pick up what you have and I'll tell what I want it for when
I get there. It turns out that Ronald is a Naturopath, he runs
what he calls a mobile natural therapy clinic and travels the
country helping people over come some terminal illness's. One
of the areas that he specialises in is electricity and electro
magnetic fields and the radiation that is given off from electricity
and how they have been known to cause cancer. The reason that
he wanted the polystyrene was because a farmer was having trouble
working with her husband in the dairy shed and they couldn't understand
why she had become so sick. I understand that Ronald was referred
to them as conventional medicine was having no effect. He was
of the opinion that because the main electrical switch board was
located very close to where they were working she was being effected
by the radiation given off (ie; radiation sickness). Ronald is
of the opinion that by covering the front and back of the meter
box with the polystyrene it would make her work place a lot safer
as polystyrene absorbs radiation, abit like lead does.
I became quite interested in what he was saying because I was
aware that electricity and even mild or low radiation waves are
known to be dangerous to our health, you know the sort I mean,
things like cell phones and radio alarm clocks. So I asked him
what about radio alarm clocks and he said, "the best place
for one of those things is under the back wheel of your company
truck, that's how dangerous they are". If your anything like
me you've had a electrical alarm clock by my head for the last
twenty years at eight hours at a stretch. I saw it as a potential
time bomb and decided to bring back the conventional alarm clock
.In fact I was so interested in what Ronald McGymsey had to say
that we chatted for hours. I could fill up pages in this letter
alone, but its time to move along Douglas.
How much sun is blocked by wide verandas.
I want to take the opportunity to dispel the myth and the concerns
that some people have with verandahs blocking the sun and having
the effect of making the inside to dark. Over the last 15 years
a huge percentage of the homes we've built have verandahs because
they look fantastic, they add character and charm and for those
that enjoy an indoor out door lifestyle, they are a great extension
of living. Not once have we heard, hey, we love our new home but
it's to dark inside. Trial and error and experience has thought
us that the best size or width is 1.8m or 6ft. Let me explain
why. Any wider and you will start creating to much shadowing and
any less and the verandah won't have the desired visual effect.
Right at this very moment we are experiencing the shortest winter
days yet our Masterton showhome ( as example) enjoys full winter
sun right across the lounge/dining room floor ( that's 7.200 wide)
and a third the way up the far wall(that's 800mm high) between
the afternoon hours of 3 & 4 PM. The fact is that even if
you had a standard 600mm eve you wouldn't enjoy any more late
afternoon winter sunshine. Plus there is the added bonus that
without question verandahs help reduce winter condensation. The
flip side to that is that in the summer you do get the reverse
effect where except for first thing in the morning and last thing
in the afternoon the verandahs do block more sun because it is
higher or more vertical in the sky and therefore gives more protection
for you, your home, your carpets, your drapes and your furniture
from fading and rooting caused by stronger more intense sunlight
rays.
Another huge benefit is for those who are considering building
on rural land where you don't have a town or mains water supply.
That extra roof catching space could be the difference between
being self-sufficient and having to buy water in. And yes, you
could say that you have access to a bore.
In my experience where bore water is available it can be an advantage
but we always run a dual system, ie: all kitchen sink water, all
hot taps and the cold feeds to the shower are all supplied from
the roof catchment and tanks while the outside taps, toilets,
laundry and bath could be supplied by the bore. One word of caution,
have the bore water tested for trace element and minerals as some
chemicals eat copper for breakfast. I know of one couple who rely
solely on bore water who have had to replace their hot water cylinder
3 times that I know of because the cylinder is copper lined and
it starts to leak as the copper dissolves, I have advised them
to get the water tested but that hasn't happened yet and I don't
expect the problem to go away until they do. While other more
visual affects are that bore water can leave unsightly stains
on the toilet and bath that won't come out.
I think it would be fair to say that I am passionate about house
designs with verandahs. But you know, I haven't heard one argument
where I can agree that verandas are a disadvantage or not appealing,
but hay, if you're still unsure, there are many attractive styles
and designs of skylights which are easily fitted during or after
construction.
Smoke detectors can save lives, but?
A few weeks ago I dropped in to see Mrs Jones. Earlier this year
we built a small retirement home for her here in Masterton. There
was no specific reason for me to stop in except for one of my
after sales check-ups. What I had discovered is that someone had
very kindly given her a smoke detector and offered to install
it for her as a good will gesture. You know the kind I mean, the
battery operated ones you buy from any hardware shop. Unfortunately
neither she or the installer knew much about where they should
be located. I found it screwed to the ceiling of bedroom 2. It
was put there because it was seen as not that attractive but because
it was installed on a ceiling it was perceived as piece of mind.
You may say that to most of us there location is obvious but you'd
be amazed where people put them. There is no question that smoke
detector save lives as long as they're in the right location.
If you want to know where the right location is (as almost all
of our homes are different) just phone your local fire station,
those guys are only to happy to help. Oh and by the these only
one other thing that will stop your smoke detector working, and
that is if the battery is dead. Guess what, Mrs Jones's was.
Best Regards
Julian Moss
Oh PS: More and more inquires and sales are from beyond the toll
free area of our office. Because of this, for your convenience I
have installed an 0800 Free-Help phone line to our office. So if
you have any questions or queries you can contact me on:
0800 MOSS BROS (6677-2767)
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