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Americans lack the engineering know how of Germans. Really, nothing Americans do can rank with the awesomeness that is Germany.
I'm an engineer (marine) by education. The Germans are fabulous at engineering. They live in what I call a right angle world. Where their engineering falls short ( not often) is when the "plan" or design fails. Their engineers are not adaptive to altering values or dynamic circumstances. In addition their engineers do not communicate well with their technicians. Our (USA) engineering curriculum teaches effective communication in school... well at least it did by in my day.
That's where American engineering excels. Each nation seems to have engineering niches. Necessity is STILL the mother of invention.
well, different views. and concrete isnt concrete. most likely c20/25 and poor reinforcement..... i would never buy or live in a wooden house.
But why not? What do you think is wrong with wooden houses?
From what I remember, Germany is one of the leading suppliers of prefab wooden houses. They build in days, just connect the plumbing and wiring between the premade walls.
This is a Sunbelt mode of thinking. Not a Northern one. Most see 50s homes much better constructed in the Midwest and Northeast. I lived in Chicago ..... and all eras had great LONG-LASTING constructed housing. 50s 60s by me ..... even in PA is seen as superior and still modern construction. WHAT IS WRONG WITH RALEIGH housing of this era?
Why so much Southbound is old early and throwaway .... is poor construction and no zoning or ordinances too poorly required of builders in construction requirements? Some cities still require copper plumbing even ..... like Chicago. Adds cost yes. You can build anything on a slab in Texas basically. Much has become throwaway as around its core .... like its Inner-Loop booming areas to the North. But I don't see the new multi-residential housing as greatly constructed that replaces the 30-year+ old bungalows/small ranch homes on just raised open craw-spaces..... as a whole lot longer lasting? Mostly Opinion yes.
I grew up in the Chicago area, lived another seven years in Minnesota, live in Raleigh now. Anytime you get something of a spike in demand for housing, you get some crappy new construction.
In Raleigh a lot of the housing built to accomodate the rapidly growing RTP when IBM and the like moved in insured that there are some crappy houses from 70's and 80's.
I live in a 50 year old house that isn't that different than my Grandparent's house in the Chicago burbs; difference being that they have a garage and in true southern form, we have a carport.
There are brand new homes here and 10 and 20 and 30 and 200 year old homes here. No one is tearing anything down unless its a small old house that sits on a desirable lot. And the same thing happens in Winnetka, Wilmette, etc...
And don't get me going on copper piping. Horrible, the copper is the first thing to fail in this neighborhood. My house has a lot of polybutylene which is supposedly awful but holds up just fine. It's the copper crimps and joints that I end up having to replace and typically resection out the PB with Pex when it goes.
Houses (most) aren't designed to last forever... we don't build castles anymore, usually.
Think of it like this... if you want a production house you buy a spec home. You see a final move in ready house. Nice kitchen, nice bathrooms, nice landscaping. 3-4 variations of the same design. You might get to pick flooring. It's a Chevrolet of homes.
Semi custom homes are completed to the dry wall ready to paint. You don't see the "bones" of the house, but you get to pick colors, kitchens/baths, flooring. Satisfies most people.
Custom built, is you sit down with an architect and/or a seasoned contractor, pick what you want, when you want it and how much you're gonna pay.
And last but not least... you design and build your own home. I did this and that's how it usta be, back in the day. Oh yeah.... it's wood and I live in Florida.
I live in an urban American city where the base of the housing unit is concrete with wood construction from 2nd to 7th floor. Anything taller is made with steel and no wood except for maybe the inside walls. Short buildings under 8 stories are coated in stucco. Taller are wrapped with windows or windows and some material I do not know... Construction standards are very high due to this being a highly regulated state and earthquakes. The City across the Bay from mine has the highest construction costs in the world and that means my city is not far behind.
I think the OP is not understanding that the US is a large country with many different regions and climates that require different types of construction. It's too simple to say all American homes are made of plywood. Yes.
Wood Houses last just fine. The oldest houses in the US are in New England and are often wood. The oldest houses in the Caribbean often aren't, since they don't have a surplus of lumber nearby.
While some Americans think of a house as "Old" at 10 years, that's only in terms of long term maintenance items (HVAC, Roof) and sometimes from an interior furnishings perspective. It isn't as if 10 year old houses are routinely torn down.
I never said anything against houses constructed with wood. My comments were directed towards many of today's tract housing builders who use cheap materials to boost profits and often employ workers with subpar construction skills. Their primary goal is to build and sell houses quickly. Quality is too-often a lesser priority.
Well, our house isn't "old", having been built in 1957. However, the 60+ year old cedar siding is holding up like a champ considering it is a very soft (albeit naturally bug/rot resistant) wood. I'm certain the framing is 2x4 pine and the sheathing is black fiberboard.
I see no problems with the durability of wood homes, provided you keep a decent coat of paint on them. <shrug>
I'm fine with wood framing and plywood or OSB sheathing, but I do prefer brick veneer or at least Hardi-board siding. Too much vinyl is being used these days, and often after 15 years or so it's faded and brittle.
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