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I hail from NYC. The poorly built homes all seem to be the newer homes (built in the last couple of decades); the older homes are actually pretty sturdy, especially the stone/brownstone/brick homes. But this trend seems to be a result of efforts to maximize profits for developers, etc.
It depends entirely on the other elements of the home. A warm paint color looks warm whether it's on wallpaper or not.
So, I have googled a lot. I'm staggered, painting directly on the plastered wall isn't uncommon in Germany. I think I have never seen it, but of course I normally don't look closely at the walls in other houses. For me this Raufaser wallpaper is so normal, that I have thought that all walls in German houses have wallpapers.
Americans love big things. You want 3000 sq. ft. on normal salaries, you get a cheaply made salt box and the ability to jump from roof to roof.
We still make good homes...somewhere. My aunt and uncle thought they bought a nice home in a gated neighborhood. It is all looks. The vinyl siding(!) will fall apart with the next large hail storm. The hollow steel studs mean that ~10% of the home has no insulation.
We have also been taught to worship profits and the man. The result is a nation of consuming sheep showing off their glossy appliances with hackable electronics and plastic guts.
I bought an 18-wheeler load of cinder block that remains mostly unused. What is "surface bonded block wall" and racking strength?
I am designing a nuclear shelter in the event that Hillary/Soros prevail. Seriously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jetgraphics
Personal experience is a great teacher. Back in the 1970s, I was a young engineer / family man with a desire for a simple, frugal, energy efficient domicile (Those were the days of the "Energy Crisis"). I approached several banks with a modest "four square" house plan built with USDA approved technology - dry stacked surface bonded concrete block, spec'd with R30 walls, R60 ceiling, terne coated stainless steel roofing, and they disapproved of it because they said it was (a) not like the market, (b) a white elephant, (c) no one else would buy it.
It did not matter that I wanted the house to pass on to my g'g'g'grandkids.
"They" control what can be built and lived in.
I suspect that even if I had the cash to pay for it, the local zoning / building gnomes would have found fault with its “excessive†features, resilience, and disaster resistance. (Surface bonded block walls have six times the racking strength of regular mortared walls)
I bought an 18-wheeler load of cinder block that remains mostly unused. What is "surface bonded block wall" and racking strength?
I am designing a nuclear shelter in the event that Hillary/Soros prevail. Seriously.
You too?
Surface bond is where you dry-stack cinder blocks, then slather a coating of fiber/admix reinforced stucco-like material on the sides of the wall. Instead of mortar between the joints.
It's an interesting concept, but isn't widely accepted, and isn't as strong as form-poured concrete which is about the same cost.
Take it up with the US Department of Energy - that's where I got the information.
By the way, I live in Texas, so believe me, I know all about running an AC unit and how it can affect your electric bill. But I called our electric company and told them that this bill was unacceptable (this was last year) and they needed to do something about it. They switched me to a different plan, and not only was my bill cut in half, all electricity that we use after 8 pm and before 8 am is free! So guess when I do laundry and wash dishes?
You may want to call your electricity provider and see what they can do for you. I was shocked but in a very pleasant way. Our summer electric bill fell from $400 to $200 max - and it only hit $200 one time so far.
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 08-27-2016 at 07:19 AM..
So, I have googled a lot. I'm staggered, painting directly on the plastered wall isn't uncommon in Germany. I think I have never seen it, but of course I normally don't look closely at the walls in other houses. For me this Raufaser wallpaper is so normal, that I have thought that all walls in German houses have wallpapers.
I have learned quite a lot from this thread. The difference between realtor.com and zillow.com and that's possible to paint directly on the plaster.
WOOHOOO!!! Thanks for the feedback!
In the US, lots of walls are textured (over drywall) with a thin layer of plaster, and we paint directly onto that plaster. In fact, it seems that many Germans use the wallpaper to add the texture, over plaster. But we just put thin plaster over drywall for texture, and then paint over that.
It does take more paint - but then painting over textured wallpaper also takes more paint than painting over primed drywall.
To me, it's easier to change wall colors when you paint directly on the wall rather than over wallpaper, because you don't have to remove wallpaper first.
And as you may know, we Americans love to change wall colors!
Americans love big things. You want 3000 sq. ft. on normal salaries, you get a cheaply made salt box and the ability to jump from roof to roof.
We still make good homes...somewhere. My aunt and uncle thought they bought a nice home in a gated neighborhood. It is all looks. The vinyl siding(!) will fall apart with the next large hail storm. The hollow steel studs mean that ~10% of the home has no insulation.
We have also been taught to worship profits and the man. The result is a nation of consuming sheep showing off their glossy appliances with hackable electronics and plastic guts.
All I can say to this is "Speak for yourself." I live in a neighborhood of quality, custom built homes - and it's not a wealthy neighborhood. It's what I would call "upper middle class," but definitely solidly middle class - not luxury homes.
We seek out and buy quality appliances as well. I personally hate appliances with plastic parts, which is why I just spent a considerable amount of money at the KitchenAid factory buying quality kitchen appliances with actual metal motors (our gas stove is also KitchenAid). That's basically all we buy - and it's very easy to find well made 21st century products. Yes, you will pay a bit more for them, but the cost isn't exorbitant or out of reach of most middle class people.
By the way, folks - KitchenAid products are made in the USA. When you call their customer service number, you will get an American on the line within two rings. They are extremely helpful and good to work with (well, I've had one bad experience but it ended fine That debacle is covered on the "First World Problems" thread!). Their products are solid and dependable. You won't regret doing business with them.
You never see houses with hardwood ('solid wood' is not a technical term), or STONE? Or Brick?
Google "Brownstone".
Have you been to ANY major city in America? NYC, Boston, Philly?
Seriously? You're comparing apples to corn, anyway.
You may have "spent time in Europe" but you don't know about Europe. OR America, apparently.
Greeks never even generally OWNED houses unless they got passed down in the dowry system until say, the past 30 years.
LOL America was a virtually unknown/barely inhabited place until the first permanent English settlement around 300-400 years ago.
Do you think they just magically KNEW where to find marble quarries?
Yet now we house >330 Million people.
The entire EU is 742.5 million
The entire population of AU is around the size of FL or NY.
Are you aware that Florida was essentially one big barely inhabited swamp - except for certain parts like St Augustine BEFORE it was AMERICA. Until the 1920s when a TRAIN came here?
Yet we still have some houses from back then. NO marble is NOT the preferred material with which to BUILD in the snow and 9 months of winter.
Columbus and those guys had enough trouble just staying ALIVE let alone creating 'European architecture" that had been in place...oh...say in Greece since the beginning of W. civilization.
The Acropolis - known before the 13th century BC - has been undergoing restoration since the 1970s.
In Europe and more primitive places they used mud-brick to construct houses and villages.
LOL Iran goes back how long? 3200 BC?
Neolithic people? Weren't they the ones who invented tools? Pre Pottery? Like, 10,000 years ago? And farming.
I think they lived in mudbrick with a coupla stone walls around the compound.
As a Greek, I don't think you've seen the actually REAL ancient architecture. My family is from Mani in the Peloponnese. Pretty sure you wouldn't want to live in their housing today. Although next to modern architecture my family still has a house that looks like the original. I'm guessing built in the Byzantine era.
And no. NO marble.
You only get that from MODERN housing. Because it's cheap. And MOST "houses" are row houses and apartments and NOTHING comparable to American housing luxury for the average person. Which applies pretty much EVERYWHERE in the EU.
I don't understand how it's possible to paint the wall without a wallpaper . In Germany the wall is normally plastered (verputzt). It sounds weird to paint the plaster. And even if a wall is a drywall, it sounds strange to just paint the drywall. Of course people in Germany first put the wallpaper on the drywall and then the wallpaper is painted. Or are you speaking about these patterned wallpapers (with flowers and such things)? Of course those are also fallen out of style. Some people use a patterned wallpaper at one wall and the other walls are painted in a matching color.
No one in Germany would consider a wallpaper a sign of quality, it's just a necessity before you can paint the wall.
We cover up not so prime workman ship with wall paper and then paint it? So 70s even in Germany. It is a cheap DYI way of priming walls. Not to mention it only carries a limited number of paint layers. Maybe you have not come across some of the interior plaster finishes or really interesting tonal paint jobs. BTW white ceilings went out with the Mark.
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