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Re:GBlist:garages/central vacs



Dear fellow travelers:

I saw several references to putting the central vacuum out in the
garage...can we rethink the whole idea of a garage, period?  I encourage my
clients to Not Build A Garage!  If they must protect their precious auto,  I
suggest covered open areas, cloth covers, garage services (ie. protected
parking in cities) or at the very least detached, open garages.

  -IAQ encurages detached garages to remove source/secondary
 contamination
  -Feng Shui encourages detached garages due to the "Energy Suck" (my
characterization) caused by the proximity of this ghastly vehicle to personal
energy fields
   -land planning cries out for redfinition of the one concrete/asphalt
drive-one 2-car garage building per house
   -co-housing often attempts to move the cars away from homes in order to
encourage the creation of community by people actually Walking

I wonder what it says about us that we build a 20x20 room to house 2 energy
using transportation devices per family.  This room often becomes an altar to
our consumer society and the poor autos are left out in the elements anyway
(thus the aptly named "garage sale")--better to have organized storage or
....shudder.... educate our clients about consuming less and gently suggest
that the desire to own more and more may be an outward symbol of our lack of
fulfillment, esteem, direction, etc. and the client may want to
....shudder....not work so hard, enjoy life more, figure out what is really
important to them, etc.  A support group for people who own too much is in
order, I think.  Also, probably a support group for people who spend too much
time on their mission and forget to play or, at least, make their mission
playful.

O' but I digress... just build smaller and isolate that central vac from the
indoor air--I am currently working on a house in which the
 insulated-the-same-as-the-house-mechanical room opens to the exterior and we
are putting the central vac there.  Here finally resides an actual
QUESTION.....

       How far away do window openings need to be from the vacuum exhaust
stream?  Can anyone direct me to research or is there a formula I do not know
as I am not a mechanical expert? I would appreciate your help but do not
worry about getting it done right away...have a relaxing look at a tree, the
sky, a nice read or whatever...a direction to follow in the next few weeks
will be fine with me.

Dona Stankus, AIA

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