The Paul Isaacson Family Lives In The House Of The Future
(Page 5 of 6)
March/April 1978
By the Mother Earth News editors
When Paul first visited the mortgage company (which obviously didn't want to have anything to do with any crazy subterranean homes), he was told that the firm could finance his project only if the Veterans Administration approved the design. (And, since the VA is hardly noted for progressive thinking in any area of its activities, it's certain that the mortgage company's officials figured that that was the last they'd ever hear of Mr. Isaacson.)
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But Paul had dealt with the VA before and he knew what the agency would and wouldn't look for on a set of house plans. And, being at least one level of intelligence above any of the bureaucrats he had to deal with, he purposely sent his drawings In to the VA with several necessary bits of Information missing.
And, just as he had anticipated, the VA quickly bounced the prints back with a letter listing a dozen or so specific things that Paul had left out.
That was just what Isaacson had been waiting for. Before the bureaucrats knew what was happening Paul had finished his plans, bundled them up with the original letter of rejection , and hand carried the whole package back into the VA office. "Here's your letter," he said, "and, as you can see, I've made all the additions you wanted. What else do I need for approval?" That made it a matter of ego?the bureaucrats couldn't very well come up with any new objections and save face-and Isaacson's house plans were quickly approved.
Needless to say, now that Paul's underground house has worked out so well, it'll be a lot easier for the next guy who wants to construct a subterranean dwelling to obtain the necessary funds ... easier in that VA region anyway.
IT'LL BE EASIER FOR OTHERS TO BUILD SUCH A HOUSE TOO
Although Paul Isaacson's new house is good In all the ways that a house can be good, Paul sheepishly admits that he worked a lot harder than he should've constructing the place.
"I spent too much time reinventing the wheel," Isaacson says. "I didn't know that Malcolm Wells, Thomas Blight, J. Swayze, Andy Davis, David Wright, or anybody else was already experimenting with subterranean structures when I began. I could have saved a lot of time and trouble if I'd only contacted one of those fellows and paid him to advise me as I went along.
"In fact, just to show you how I did everything the hard way, I even figured out all the measurements on my geodesic domes from scratch, bought the materials, cut all the components, and assembled the bubbles myself. Everything fit perfectly, but I had no idea how lucky I'd been until later ... when I began hearing about all the domes that others have constructed which didn't go together so well. Believe it or not, I didn't even know that Bucky Fuller existed or that I could've bought prefabbed geodesic domes until we'd finished."
It's nice of Paul Isaacson to admit his ignorance ... especially since you won't have to. Because Paul-who, after all, now knows most of the mistakes that anyone can make while building an underground house and who just happens to be a professional engineering draftsman?now stands ready to design and draw up prints for a subterranean house that'll fit almost anyone's taste, site, and pocketbook.
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