Dear Cyndy,

There are 1379 gallons of fuel oil in our 57 year old
underground tank, which I trust has not yet begun to leak.
At 1.35 gal/hr the supply would last 1021 hrs, or 170 
6 hr. days, enough to carry us through one winter.
At 4 p.m. this afternoon, I replenished the ethylene glycol-
water mixture in the heating system, a chore that I had neglected
for two or three years. It was low by two gallons. Then I
threw the switch to the oil burner. It seemed to function
flawlessly. Within a few minutes the radiators in all rooms,
downstairs and upstairs, were getting warm. The heating
contractor really seems to know what he is doing.

Before getting lost in the labyrinth of construction issues,
I need to explain that I have been befriended by a stray dog,
a friendship I did not seek, from which I don't know how to
extricate myself and to which I will not know how to do justice
when, on October 7, it's time to go back to Belmont. Details
in the correspondence, which I'll forward to you, with my
cousin Marion, who is a zoologist prepared to give me expert
advice. I would also be appreciative of any thoughts about my
predicament, which you, as a dog lover, would be willing to share.

As you may infer from the web pages of the now bankrupt Deck House
which I forwarded to you, reflecting on your building plans has
reignited my enthusiasm for their sensitive, intelligent and
practical construction services, Cambridge intellectuals that
they were, whose enthusiasm was architecture and engineering, not
making money, - that's why and how they went bankrupt. As I 
indicated,  Deck House was always my first choice, but impractical
for School Street and prohibited on Nantucket. I'd be interested
to know whether in bankruptcy they have left a legacy from which
you might benefit. If I were planning to build in New Hampshire -
I'm not - I would try to replicate one of their plans, both with
respect to design and materials. Over the years, I collected
several volumes of their specifications; I think I know exactly
where I stored them in Belmont, and should be pleased to forward
them to yous when I get back, if you had use for them.

In a broader perspective, the construction of manufactured or
pre-fabricated houses is economically much more efficient than
traditional methods of construction. One will find a wide spectrum
of quality both in design and execution; most manufactured houses
are aimed at a mass market, some are very poorly built, related
to architecture like the Reader's Digest to literature. Many,
if not most prefabricated houses have a low glazing to wall ratio,
since windows are very expensive compared to walls. I have a vague
memory that for the house on Nantucket, the cost of the windows
rivalled the cost of all other construction materials.
Prefabricated houses can be very good, - like Deck House - or they
can be very shabby. If you build a prefabricated house you must be
very critical of the design, of the quality of materials, of the
construction techniques and of potential maintenance problems. 
Most of these issues can be anticipated if one looks carefully at
the plans and at sample houses available for inspection. As I've
said before, I'm pleased to try to give you all the help you want.
To be able to be really useful to you, I need to see the plans
that you will be considering.

The siting of your house on your property also has many important
practical and financial implications. Even though you may not
imagine more than one house on the land, it should be sited so
that its location, as well as the location of the well and the
septic system should leave optimum opportunity for subdivision
of the rest of the property.

Stay well, and give my best to Ned.

Jochen