Another Spring vs Katy Post

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by nana053

LOL. Older homes on the east coast are much better constructed than the newer homes here. Sure there will be some problems on occasion, but mostly, we survive well.

How do you know that?
Evidence?

[SugLandDAd]

Sugar Land has Beltway 8, and 59 that get you there directly.I actually do it in 25 mins in the AM, 30 mins going home.


Some of Katy might take 1093, other parts of Katy needs to go along I 10, which always has more traffic.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

How do you know that?
Evidence?

I lived in an older home in Evanston, IL. It is still going strong on its new owners. Many of the homes in Evanston are old, but they are VERY well-constructed.

The homes here in Texas are not all bad, but most can't hold a candle to the older homes back east, imho.

https://www.historicalhomesofamerica.com/eastcoast
https://www.homestratosphere.com/historic-mansions-usa/

Many of the homes are like these on the historic register.

Starting in the 1950s or so, homes began to be built in a much shoddier manner. Quality problems in areas like rotting walls, water getting into insulation, termites and leaking roofs. Houses built of plywood and low quality beams will not last all that long. Using staple guns to hold plywood to beams is usually going to end up shabby. Contractors tend to use the cheapest materials and thrown up buildings as soon as they can in order to maximize profits.

OTOH, Old homes have better-quality construction. Established houses are built to last, and many aspects of the construction cannot be reproduced today. Older homes might be built with wood made from old-growth trees (trees that attained great age by not being significantly disturbed) and therefore more resistant to rot and warping.

Even the walls are likely different. In an older home they're probably built with plaster and lathe, making them structurally stronger than the drywall construction of modern homes. These older materials also provide a better sound barrier and insulation.

I am talking about homes built before the 1950s, in the 1940s or older. These homes have often been standing 75 years or more and were build to last. These homes wouldn’t have lasted as long as they have without true expertise in their construction.

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by nana053

I lived in an older home in Evanston, IL. It is still going strong on its new owners. Many of the homes in Evanston are old, but they are VERY well-constructed.

The homes here in Texas are not all bad, but most can't hold a candle to the older homes back east, imho.

https://www.historicalhomesofamerica.com/eastcoast
https://www.homestratosphere.com/historic-mansions-usa/

Many of the homes are like these on the historic register.

Starting in the 1950s or so, homes began to be built in a much shoddier manner. Quality problems in areas like rotting walls, water getting into insulation, termites and leaking roofs. Houses built of plywood and low quality beams will not last all that long. Using staple guns to hold plywood to beams is usually going to end up shabby. Contractors tend to use the cheapest materials and thrown up buildings as soon as they can in order to maximize profits.

OTOH, Old homes have better-quality construction. Established houses are built to last, and many aspects of the construction cannot be reproduced today. Older homes might be built with wood made from old-growth trees (trees that attained great age by not being significantly disturbed) and therefore more resistant to rot and warping.

Even the walls are likely different. In an older home they're probably built with plaster and lathe, making them structurally stronger than the drywall construction of modern homes. These older materials also provide a better sound barrier and insulation.

I am talking about homes built before the 1950s, in the 1940s or older. These homes have often been standing 75 years or more and were build to last. These homes wouldn’t have lasted as long as they have without true expertise in their construction.

I love those houses. The second link is not quite relevant, since we can't compare custom mansions to regular mass construction. Personally I would love to live in a real brick house (not brick veneer attached to wood frame). I've seen those on East Coast. Not sure about maintenance cost though.
Initially I was talking mostly about typical suburban mass construction of 1960s-70s. A lot of this housing stock on East Coast.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by nana053

In an older home they're probably built with plaster and lathe, making them structurally stronger than the drywall construction of modern homes. These older materials also provide a better sound barrier and insulation.

Warning: May contain asbestos.

But Filipinos always remark that the wooden houses in America are not sturdy like in the Philippines. The Filipino houses (at least the 4 exterior walls) are built out of hollow concrete block, which is sturdy and termite-proof.

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

Sugar Land has Beltway 8, and 59 that get you there directly.I actually do it in 25 mins in the AM, 30 mins going home.


Some of Katy might take 1093, other parts of Katy needs to go along I 10, which always has more traffic.

It would be a straight shot to Westchase if Beltway 8 was not tolled, but tolls eventually eat into your income. That's why I took Waterside Estates and Sienna Plantation off my short list when I was looking for a new home about 2 decades ago.

The traffic signals are synchronized on Westheimer, so it feels like driving on the freeway during rush hour.

It's a shame that the county line prohibits P&R stops from being built in Stafford/Meadows and Sugar Land. There are 3 convenient stops in the Katy area for Downtown commuters and there is rush hour service to the TMC.

I also realized tonight that the streetlights were a great help in the fog. North Harris (Precinct 4) is notorious for omitting street lights and high speed roads lacking curbs and drainage (uses ditches on improved 4-lane major thoroughfare with median).

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

It's a shame that the county line prohibits P&R stops from being built in Stafford/Meadows and Sugar Land. There are 3 convenient stops in the Katy area for Downtown commuters and there is rush hour service to the TMC.

The county line isn't the issue. The issue is that Sugar Land and Stafford didn't vote to join Metro and allow Metro to collect the sales taxes that pay for much of the service.