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Well, when you look at most of Europe, including Italy which is one area that does have earthquakes, I'd have to say yes. It is much much more durable, doesn't need painting and looks great. Wood is cheap and relatively plentiful and quick to put up. It's great for builders, not so much for owners.
Most of EU has very strict laws about forestry (so the "supply&demand" thing plays strong)- so the primary building material is concrete/block/stone.
Did you see the destruction that happened in Abruzzo, Italy two years ago? Not very durable.
Well, when you look at most of Europe, including Italy which is one area that does have earthquakes, I'd have to say yes. It is much much more durable, doesn't need painting and looks great. Wood is cheap and relatively plentiful and quick to put up. It's great for builders, not so much for owners.
Wood is not cheap and plentiful in Europe. It was largely deforested centuries ago.
You are right that most structures in Italy are not wooden. But the majority of stoke structures have suffered tremendously from earthquakes, and many have fallen. It takes a great deal of time and money to keep the older stone buildings habitable. Most structures built post WW2 are reinforced concrete.
Take a look at some statistics on housing prices in Europe. They are much higher than the US on average, and ithat is one reason why people in Europe live at home to a later age, and people buy their first home st a later age, than the US.
In cold temperate climates brick homes are better insulated in winter; probably the same thing in hot climes, too. Up to F4, a brick veneer home will tolerate a tornado at least one F rating higher than a frame home. Brick veneer homes are generally quieter inside. Other than that, I've never noticed a difference and have lived in both.
Well, when you look at most of Europe, including Italy which is one area that does have earthquakes, I'd have to say yes. It is much much more durable, doesn't need painting and looks great. Wood is cheap and relatively plentiful and quick to put up. It's great for builders, not so much for owners.
If the production home builders had their way, we'd be paying 300k for a straw house to live in.
My 1927 bungalow was built from old growth Douglas fir for the structural elements/trim and heart pine for the floors. It held up extremely well despite the very high water table, high humidity, and the extraordinary stressors coming from the adjacent Naval base (explosive shocks). That house also went through the Virginia earthquake with only one crack in the house - it just swayed but stood firm (I was inside at the time). However, it is extremely expensive to build with true old growth materials, if you can even find them.
Do you live in Norfolk?
Old growth wood is great stuff, but we can't build out of that material anymore. The old growth forests of Michigan and Wisconsin, of Arkansas and the Appalachia, are mostly gone, and what little that remain of them are protected.
Masonry has close to zero insulation values. A brick veneer has an R value of .44 while a 3 1/2 inch wall, depending on the insulation can range from an R11 to an R15 so technically, the brick offers the same R value as 1/2 inch drywall which is just about nothing.
Most brick houses have two walls with space between in. They inject the insulation between them.
Thirty five years in the trades, and an owner of two different custom home building companies. I can assure you that if you change your statement from "most" to "far less than 1%" you will be factually correct. I can only speak for the majority of what I've been exposed to in the lower 48, but there is rarely a significant space between the "wythes" or layers of brick, to add meaningful insulation. There is also some legitimate concern that long term durability of these structures, once injected with foam, will be compromised.
I live in a mixed climate in the northeast. It is fairly cold in the winter, with overnights in the teens pretty common, and hot and wet in the summer. I now own a 1950s all masonry home. Block and brick, with furring and plaster on the interior. My place was one of the last built in the region using this technique, and for good reason. For this climate, it is absolutely inferior to a stick framed place with brick veneer. No legitimate way to insulate the walls, hot in summer, cold in winter, and measurably less pleasant to occupy as compared to a stick framed home with even a modest amount of wall insulation.
In cold temperate climates brick homes are better insulated in winter; probably the same thing in hot climes, too. Up to F4, a brick veneer home will tolerate a tornado at least one F rating higher than a frame home. Brick veneer homes are generally quieter inside. Other than that, I've never noticed a difference and have lived in both.
I think there's a huge difference between a brick veneer home and a real brick home. Veneer means the brick is simply there for decoration purposes on the exterior of the house. Often it's not even real brick but a thin layer of brick material pasted to the exterior of the house. It's not what the house is made of.
I thought the topic was about a home made of masonry vs wood frame. A brick veneer home is a wood frame home.
Last edited by marino760; 11-10-2019 at 06:03 AM..
Old growth wood is great stuff, but we can't build out of that material anymore. The old growth forests of Michigan and Wisconsin, of Arkansas and the Appalachia, are mostly gone, and what little that remain of them are protected.
No, further up the coast. Norfolk doesn't do any weapons testing, AFAIK. Actually, our local base is the only facility in the country to do down range firing of large guns over water (up to 23 miles). You can imagine the stress the explosive force has on the nearby houses.
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