How To Burn Down Your House (and why)

Richard Taylor is a residential architect whose writings often go beyond his passion for great home design:

  It was late in the day when it finally happened. A puff of smoke appeared just over the rooftop at the far right side of the house; then another appeared, near the chimney. Within moments smoke was pouring from the entire roof and flickers of orange flame began appearing in the windows.

A cheer went up from the assembled crowd as the flames grew; soon the roof weakened and began to collapse. 
A dozen firefighters stood by, cheering along with the crowd. 
 Huh? 
 Usually, a home burning to the ground is a tragedy, a disaster, a crime – or all three. This, however, was a welcomed event that would benefit the homeowners, the fire department, and dozens of families we’d never meet....

Read to rest of the article here. Taylor is based in Dublin, Ohio and is a contributor to Zillow Blogs. Connect with him at http://www.rtastudio.com/index.htm.