Americ’s Wooden Houses

[Artaxerxes]

Your also looking at reasons of safety and cost- a brick house still cannot stand up to say a Tornado and in areas prone to Earthquakes a brick house is more dangerous to be in.

Due to the likelihood that an Earthquake or Tornado makes the place fall down its also cheaper and faster to build in wood.

 

[spring-peeper]

This is an Australian brick house shortly after a wildfire.

View attachment 459158

The bricks would have to be removed before rebuilding.

The bricks will take up space in the landfill, the wood is gone.

 

[two sheds]

yep you wouldn't fancy the structural integrity of the place after that

 

[freshapple]

This is an Australian brick house shortly after a wildfire.

View attachment 459158

Tbf the bricks seem to be ok. Was the roof made of wood?

 

[Artaxerxes]

Tbf the bricks seem to be ok. Was the roof made of wood?

"it'll buff out"

 

[Serge Forward]

Another thing with North America is the shingle roofs rather than tiles. All those embers blowing about and landing on the rooftops would have been a right bastard.

 

[spring-peeper]

Another thing with North America is the shingle roofs rather than tiles. All those embers blowing about and landing on the rooftops would have been a right bastard.

We replaced our wood shingles with an aluminum one and got a discount on our house insurance.

 

[Serge Forward]

We replaced our wood shingles with an aluminum one and got a discount on our house insurance.

Does that not get very hot in the summer or is it heavily insulated?

 

[two sheds]

was that a fun sound when it was raining?

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

When I was in Greenbay, Wisconsin, one thing that really struck me about so much of the town was how small so many of the wooden houses were. As I've only been to the US twice, and both times to the same place, that may or may not say very much, but even fairly well off areas seemed quite poor compared with similar areas in the UK. Thoughts anyone?

 

[_Russ_]

When I was in Greenbay, Wisconsin, one thing that really struck me about so much of the town was how small so many of the wooden houses were. As I've only been to the US twice, and both times to the same place, that may or may not say very much, but even fairly well off areas seemed quite poor compared with similar areas in the UK. Thoughts anyone?

Weird, though mostly west coast including areas of LA County my experience is of the opposite....people with ordinary jobs with large houses, swimming pools and a pretty decent standard of living (apart from not having much holiday time)

 

[spring-peeper]

Does that not get very hot in the summer or is it heavily insulated?

I don't think it heats the house any more than the wood does. No, there is no extra insulation. They just removed the old cedar shingles and put the metal onto the wood.

The nice thing about the metal roof is that the snow just slides off in the winter. They installers removed all the gutters so the snow didn't rip them off.

 

[spring-peeper]

.

 

[story]

They have lots of trees

They may have lots but they don’t have enough, certainly not surplus.

There is a tree deficit in the USA and they are still cutting them down at stupid rates. Yuwipi Woman has told us about her neighbours chopping down trees for fear of flu-ridden birds roosting in them. They’re still cutting down some of their old growth forests. Where they do plant trees, they create monocultures. Urban areas don’t have enough trees. Trees planted in rich areas aren’t part of surrounding healthy diversity and often get isolated by manicured gardens. In the Deep South the old growth was removed for plantations and in some areas its rare to find any tree older than about 200 years, with subsequent disastrous soil erosion and even more problematic efforts to fix the soil.

And so on. Plenty of fine detail to be argued over, and they do have more trees now than they did 100 years ago. But on the whole, America has a tree deficit.

 

[PTK]

I would have thought that wooden houses need more insulation than brick houses.

 

[story]

Another thing with North America is the shingle roofs rather than tiles. All those embers blowing about and landing on the rooftops would have been a right bastard.

I saw a Facebook video about how the fires were started by sinister forces. Evidence for this was a house burning on the inside while the outside was intact. And another house that burned inside while the roof wasn’t burning.

They said “it’s as if the fire came in the side” and I’m thinking “Well yeah, those winds were blowing everything sideways. If the embers land against the side of the house, maybe on the trellis or the porch or on the propane BBQ, the fireproofing on the roof won’t protect your house.

Fire protection doesn’t mean no fire will burn your house. This was * an extraordinary fire.



*
Still is. The Palisades fire is taking off again today.

 

[story]

As others mention, brinks will burn also. I have wondered about that though, isn't there better materials to build homes in California and the west coast that are less likely to burn. I can imagine there are.

I reside in Florida and the new building codes here are pretty good at preventing to much damage from hurricanes. A few years ago a major hurricane passed over where I live. Many of the older homes were damaged greatly, if not destroyed entirely. The newer homes and buildings though generally faired much better. Winds from the hurricane were around 150mph yet my house sustained minimal damage. That was due to my place being up to code with Florida's newer hurricane building codes.

I’m glad you’ve got good protection.

Hurricanes, while dreadful and potentially devastating, are less chaotic and less destructive than fires. I can’t imagine a completely fire safe house. It might survive the fire structurally, it might protect things stored in fireproof or fire resistant areas if the house, and give the residents time to leave safely etc, but would that house be structurally sound and inhabitable afterwards? Dunno.

 

[spring-peeper]

They may have lots but they don’t have enough, certainly not surplus.

There is a tree deficit in the USA and they are still cutting them down at stupid rates. Yuwipi Woman has told us about her neighbours chopping down trees for fear of flu-ridden birds roosting in them. They’re still cutting down some of their old growth forests. Where they do plant trees, they create monocultures. Urban areas don’t have enough trees. Trees planted in rich areas aren’t part of surrounding healthy diversity and often get isolated by manicured gardens. In the Deep South the old growth was removed for plantations and in some areas its rare to find any tree older than about 200 years, with subsequent disastrous soil erosion and even more problematic efforts to fix the soil.

And so on. Plenty of fine detail to be argued over, and they do have more trees now than they did 100 years ago. But on the whole, America has a tree deficit.

So, the Americans are short on wood, and they need wood to building new homes.

The best approach that the Americans have is to put a tariff on wood from Canada. It is only a matter of time before building with wood is too expensive.

 

[PTK]

What Trump needs to do is import ice from Greenland. Houses built of ice don't burn.

 

[story]

Wood is cheap in comparison to brick. American’s used from the time of mass immigration. It’s a mystery why they haven’t moved onto brick especially in wild fire country areas. Hopefully it will change now.

Community spirit is great in Los and the opposite of what Trump and Musk want.

I think it’s partly because there’s a strong culture of tearing down and rebuilding in the very wealthy areas. They talk about tear downs in real estate the way the Brits do about Doer-uppers. And the houses aren’t that old, just outmoded. Conspicuous consumption is so critical to LA culture, and houses are a huge part of that, because it’s a really simple way to signal your wealth and knowledge of what’s in on that day. The land underneath is the most important thing: the house on top is dispensable.

Obviously this is mainly happening at the very tippy top of the money pyramid, but the ideas and notions are integral to the rest of the pyramid. Also, Californian homes were historically always made from wood. Saying “why don’t they build with brick” is equivalent to saying about British homes “why don’t they build with something that’s not brick”. UK residential building is done with brick, or stuff that made to look like brick.

After the earthquake in 1906, 80% of San Francisco burnt. They rebuilt in wood. They wanted their new homes and neighbourhoods to be like the homes and neighbourhoods they’d lost.


Also, wood is quick and easy to source and transport etc. It’s easier to fit services inside wooden walls with drywall over the top. And California historically had fairly even temperatures throughout the year, so once you’ve landed on a build that stays comfortable in that temperature, no need to add in extra insulation for heat or cold. That’s changed of course and now aircon is a massive part of the picture.

 

[weltweit]

Bing says:

American houses are made of wood for several reasons1234:

1. Readily available material: The vast forest industry in the US makes wood accessible.
2. Speed of construction: Wooden houses are faster to frame and build.
3. Preference and style: Americans like the options, feel, and style of wooden houses.
4. Historical, environmental, and economic factors: Wood has been the most preferred material in residential construction due to these factors.

 

[Serge Forward]

You also get really good insulation with wood, so keeps the cold out in winter and keeps the heat out in the summer... unless there's a wildfire and you're fucked.

 

[story]

You also get really good insulation with wood, so keeps the cold out in winter and keeps the heat out in the summer... unless there's a wildfire and you're fucked.

My US family lives in a place that often gets cold winters. And even when it’s not deeply cold, it’s humid so the cold can be penetrating. They all live in warm, well insulted wooden houses.


The long wide profile of their houses annoys me though: so much dark roof to absorb heat, and not a single solar panel to be seen. Plenty of aircon. My Dad told me that when he was a child there, all the houses were tall and narrow, and surrounded by trees. The trees created a cooler microclimate around the house, the small footprint meant the roof didn’t absorb too much sun, and the tallness allowed for a chimney effect so breezes could be directed through the house.


When I was staying in New Orleans the houses were sturdy, with high ceilings and narrow corridors, and often with brick or stone on the ground floor, deliberately designed to deal with the sticky thick heat. High ceilings allow the heat to rise, narrow spaces increases air flow. Bloody freezing in the winter though.

 

[Serge Forward]

My US family lives in a place that often gets cold winters. And even when it’s not deeply cold, it’s humid so the cold can be penetrating. They all live in warm, well insulted wooden houses.


The long wide profile of their houses annoys me though: so much dark roof to absorb heat, and not a single solar panel to be seen. Plenty of aircon. My Dad told me that when he was a child there, all the houses were tall and narrow, and surrounded by trees. The trees created a cooler microclimate around the house, the small footprint meant the roof didn’t absorb too much sun, and the tallness allowed for a chimney effect so breezes could be directed through the house.


When I was staying in New Orleans the houses were sturdy, with high ceilings and narrow corridors, and often with brick or stone on the ground floor, deliberately designed to deal with the sticky thick heat. High ceilings allow the heat to rise, narrow spaces increases air flow. Bloody freezing in the winter though.

When I visit my son is in Alberta, I'm always impressed how warm the homes are there. It was -15 to -20 below outside but toasty inside. It's quite arid or semi desert there so they don't have the same damp problems you get in Blighty... but they do have wildfire problems in the summer.

 

[Elpenor]

I thought this was a thread about a French actors childhood toy

 

[Coffeecup]

When I was in Australia I noticed a lot of corrugated roofs. Also fences usually made of steel. Probably because of their wild fires.

 

[Artaxerxes]

 

[Dystopiary]

They all live in warm, well insulted wooden houses.

"Stupid wooden bastard arsehole houses!"

 

[story]

"Stupid wooden bastard arsehole houses!"

Yeah, fuckin sort it out, wooden houses ffs

 

[Sasaferrato]

we here in nyc had a little problem with a fire in 1835, which led to some changes.

Great Fire of New York - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Manhattan - An Island of Brick - Stone Farm

The story of Manhattan can't be told completely without acknowledging the role brick played in its rise to the economic capital of the world.

stonefarmliving.com

In London in 1666 we had a little conflagration, after that houses were brick or stone. The change took a single disaster.
In March 1996 we had a school shooting. The result was a complete ban on handguns, this legislation was in response to a single school shooting incident.