Jerry,
I want to second what Brian and some others have already said. Why don't
you try to keep it to one or two posts per day (which is a lot) and please
ask yourself whether you're really sharing new and useful information when
you draft your posts.
-Victor
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From: "Brian J White" <[email protected]>
Sent: 02/01/2009 4:59 PM
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Subject: [USMA:42814] Re: Small item seen on TV
I think we should rename this list the "Jeremiah MacGregor list". My
has the email traffic more than quadrupled over the past week or so. Wow.
:)
At 16:38 2009-02-01, Jeremiah MacGregor wrote:
Stephen,
I can't speak for UK houses, but most US houses are made out of wood and
are framed. The spacing between studs is usually 16 inches. In a metric
house, this would be 400 mm. In an English house the drywall sections
would be 4 x 8 feet, in a metric house they would be 1200 x 2400 mm. So
there is a difference. To the homeowner the issue would be transparent
unless they are going to do remodeling and would need to know which system
the house was built in.
Of course US houses aren't built metric yet as far as I know. But if they
were then the distinction would be important.
Naturally no one is going to tear down a perfectly good house because it
is not metric just to build a new one in metric. In the US when
neighborhoods become too old they become slums. The houses become rotten
and many are torn down. If there ever is a program for redevelopment then
the remaining old homes are torn down and new homes are built on the spot
and a new neighborhood arises.
If this were to occur after a conversion to metric then the new homes
would be built in metric where previously English homes stood.
Maybe in other countries homes are built differently and meant to last
1000 years. Not in the US. We don't want things to last. We want them
to fall apart so that companies can make money selling us new things.
You say your house appears to be imperial built? Are you sure or just
wishing? Why not say it is or it isn't instead of just being vague or
unsure? What year was it built and was this before or after the UK
started building homes in metric?
Jerry
