I'm Building a Mc-Mansion

[Nederland]

I have a confession to make that was inspired by this thread (now locked):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x736507

Lots of people on the above thread took the OP to task for living in a big house with lots of empty rooms. Well, I'm about to build a house that's even bigger, so perhaps you'll shit on me even more, but please, hear me out. Yes, I'm building an absolutely huge house: 5 bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, home theater, 3 car garage with an extra detached 4 car garage (yes, 7 cars total) and about 6800 sq ft. Yup, its the kind of monstrosity that makes all you eco-minded folks tear out your hair out. However, like I said, hear me out.

In an effort compensate for this huge resource waste I'm building this house with every green building technique in the book. A Geothermal heating system that uses 60% less energy to heat the house. Solar panels that will provide 60% of the homes total energy needs. SIP based framing that uses 40% less lumber and uses fast growing "junk" trees to boot. The list goes one, but suffice to say that all of this green building will end up costing me 20%-30% more, and realistically won't generate a dime more profit for me. In simple terms, I'm giving up 100k-150k in profit to build green.

So is this justified? I don't know. The fiscal reality is that I could never build a 2000 sq ft. house with all of these green building techniques and make any money. Yes, you could build one for yourself and break even, and save money on energy costs in the long run, but as an investment it just doesn't work. I figure that the people that buy these Mc-Mansions are going to buy Mc-mansions regardless, so I might as well provide them with an eco-friendly choice. Perhaps it will merely sooth their guilty consciences, but perhaps it will spread the word on green building practices to the point that the more people hear about the options and actually make a difference.

Given the reaction on the above mentioned thread, I'm interested to hear what people think...

[Redstone]

1. Well, I'm not going to give YOU a hard time, because it's

your customers who are assholes. And you can't stop people from being assholes.

Sorry, I REALLY detest fucking yuppies. Maybe your customers are nice people, but they're sure ACTING like yuppie twits.

Redstone

[Bunny]

2. I don't care what type of house people choose to live in.

Just like I don't care what vehicle they drive, although I will taunt anyone assholish enough to drive a Hummer. I don't think anyone needs to justify their home, vehicle, etc.

Back to your question: if you have a bunch of money, and you can afford a big house with lots of goodies, more power to you. Live in the house you want.

[LARED]

3. Congratulations

You want to build a McMasion, good for you, and good for you for making it as green as possible.

[Warpy]

4. I live in 1300 square feet, 200 of which are a converted garage

(badly converted) that houses my enormous Spanish rug loom. I will pay off my mortgage within the next couple of months and consider doing some renovations on the space. I am unlikely to increase the footprint, though I'd like to turn the room with the extra furniture and piles of books back into a spare bedroom at some point.

These little houses, 2 bedrooms, one bath, eat in kitchen, no family room, are simply considered too small for most young families today. This whole area is moving from rental housing back into residential, occupied by retirees and singles.

I don't begrudge anyone a McMansion. I just don't want to have to clean one.

[Ron Green]

5. I think that at some point one has to look at what he's doing with his

professional life, and square that with what he thinks is right. If the educational value of this huge house can somehow cause people to buy more sustainable properties, then maybe you've done the right thing. But why not find smaller sites and build 3 houses this way, instead of one?

[DemExpat]

6. I think that this is a great idea, and hope that it is a successful

endeavor.
People who can afford it are going to buy big homes like this, so why not eco-friendly ones?

A good step to take IMO.

I figure that the people that buy these Mc-Mansions are going to buy Mc-mansions regardless, so I might as well provide them with an eco-friendly choice. Perhaps it will merely sooth their guilty consciences, but perhaps it will spread the word on green building practices to the point that the more people hear about the options and actually make a difference.

DemEx

[mike_c]

7. ok-- you can dress a pig up like a posey...

...but it's still an oinker underneath. No matter what your motives, you're being part of the problem rather than part of the solution. That's what I think.

There is no earthly reason for anyone to occupy such a monsterous waste of resources. Period. You building it simply enables the problem, presumably in the interests of your personal profit-- and if you're actually not going to make any money on the sale because you used "green building techniques" I'll be very surprised. I suspect the truth is closer to "you won't make quite as much of a killing as you could if you low-balled the construction." What you're suggesting is that if Hummers and monster SUVs were built in green factories they'd be better than they are. Nope. They're still pigs, and so is your McMansion, IMO.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

8. I Could Care Less How Big A House One Lives In For Any Reason Whatsoever.

None of my damn business, none of anyone else's damn business either. Build or live in whatever size you want. Not a damn thing wrong with it :)

[formercia]

9. Had you considered how much energy it took to

make the materials to build your house and put it together?

[JuniperLea]

10. No one caused the OP grief for not having kids or for having a big house

It was the braggadocio and tacky oneupmanship that we found crass.

[uppityperson]

11. Is a McMansion justified? Will it be put to good use?

Glad you are using green tech. Any house, the question is what use will it be put to?

just don't start yelling "breeder" at people with kids, please.

[LeftCoast]

12. Locking

The moderators would appreciate it if people didn't continue flame-fest threads.