Why older homes so small?

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by wburg

depends on how old the home is. If built before about 1940 it's probably pretty energy efficient if properly maintained, because energy was expensive back then and they didn't have air conditioning so had to use passive cooling techniques. Homes built from the 40s to about 2000 were lousy for energy efficiency because energy was cheap and requirements for insulation etc were pretty minimal. New houses use a lot of insulation & things like ca title 24 standards reduced energy usage. It's pretty simple & cheap to insulate older houses, add interior storm windows, fix up the wood windows, and put back passive energy saving features like insulating curtains & awnings, tree cover for shade, etcetera.

1957

My house is built in the mid 90s, pretty good insulation. Same with the house I’m living in now, built in 2013.

[msgsing]

Growing up in Ohio in the 1950’s we lived in a small one story pre fab home basically made of plywood on a concrete slab. The homes are still there and appear to be well kept. Both of my parents worked. We had one car. Dad drove my Mom to a bus stop for her work commute and then continued on to his work place.

In the evenings Mom took the bus and then walked almost a block back home. All year long through every season. Hot, cold, snowing or raining she walked. It wasn’t until Mom was in her 50’s that she got a driver’s license, bought a used car and drove herself to work. The good old days. Maybe not.

[mixxalot]

In my case, I need room for a music studio and exercise room as well as home office so a larger home would benefit me. Add in solar to reduce energy costs and I am good. A pool would be a dream to avoid sweating my butt off in summer.

[wburg]

Originally Posted by NewbieHere

1957

My house is built in the mid 90s, pretty good insulation. Same with the house I’m living in now, built in 2013.

Yeah, they didn't really bother with insulation then, because they figured atomic power would be so cheap you could just run your fancy new air conditioner all summer. But retrofit insulation can be done, even on midcentury houses.