In California we use wood because it flexes during earthquakes. There may be damage during a big one but at least the house is less likely to collapse on you.
Pretty neat, I’ve never seen masonry like this before.
I’ll point out that the webbing is likely strong, but considering the lack of ductility, this seems likely to fail during an earthquake. What’re these called, I’d like to look into them more.
i was so sure it was, i looked it up after seeing your comment and… you are right. even double brick which ive always been told was great, apparently isnt all that good. TIL
I don’t know about that. I’ve lived in a typical “flimsy” American wooden house in an area that had a lot of crazy weather with extreme winds and even a couple of tropical storms. That house had absolutely no issue with those. These houses are a lot stronger than they look. They flex but don’t break.
My house is 80 years old, I’ve personally seen 3 feet of snow on its roof, it weathered hurricane Fran with no damage, hurricane Matthew caused a leak around the chimney that stained my living room ceiling a little.
I’m ready to take anything this area is willing to throw at me except tornadoes. A direct strike by tornado will pull it down.
I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains quite a bit. Wood houses are fine in the rain as long as the moisture barrier and roof have been installed correctly.
I’m pretty sure those wooden houses in Canada are built differently from wooden houses in California. The ones I’ve seen are thin wooden struts covered with some drywall.
Edit: and just saying “flimsy” by comparison to the usual reinforced concrete structures back home. I now own a home in California and it’s definitely solid.
So funnily enough, 2x4 exterior walls meet code for 3 stories, but where I am, it doesn’t meet the insulation requirements of minimum r-20, so it’s normally built with 2x6.
That’s a weird take, I was raised in the Midwest which suffers blizzards, tornadoes, thunderstorms, ice storms, you name it. Never did I hear someone complain about their “flimsy” wooden house fall down, and a lot of those were built at the end of the 1800’s.
In California we use wood because it flexes during earthquakes. There may be damage during a big one but at least the house is less likely to collapse on you.
In earthquakes in NZ the wooden houses flex for sure. What kills you is the brick chimney falling through the roof.
And also because lumber is the most ubiquitous building material.
Also brick is just a horrible material for warmer climate; I looked this up when I realized brick houses are so rare here (I’m in SoCal).
isnt brick an excellent insulator?
It heats up but then the heat doesn’t really ever escape.
deleted by creator
Pretty neat, I’ve never seen masonry like this before.
I’ll point out that the webbing is likely strong, but considering the lack of ductility, this seems likely to fail during an earthquake. What’re these called, I’d like to look into them more.
deleted by creator
i was so sure it was, i looked it up after seeing your comment and… you are right. even double brick which ive always been told was great, apparently isnt all that good. TIL
In Europe we use reinforced concrete for the same purpose. Don’t know if it works but it’s the way it’s done.
Wait, are earthquakes common in Europe?!
Italy ils pretty shaky, Portugal too. Southern France is waiting for its own Big One.
For reference, nowhere in Western Europe is even close to the much of the west coast of the Americas in terms of seismic activity.
And also because there’s no snow or serious rain. Took me years to get used to the flimsy houses here, they wouldn’t last a year back in my country.
I don’t know about that. I’ve lived in a typical “flimsy” American wooden house in an area that had a lot of crazy weather with extreme winds and even a couple of tropical storms. That house had absolutely no issue with those. These houses are a lot stronger than they look. They flex but don’t break.
My house is 80 years old, I’ve personally seen 3 feet of snow on its roof, it weathered hurricane Fran with no damage, hurricane Matthew caused a leak around the chimney that stained my living room ceiling a little.
I’m ready to take anything this area is willing to throw at me except tornadoes. A direct strike by tornado will pull it down.
I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains quite a bit. Wood houses are fine in the rain as long as the moisture barrier and roof have been installed correctly.
Canada also builds houses out of wood. There’s pretty serious snow here and the houses work great.
I also live in one of the the windiest cities in Canada . The asphalt shingles have blown off houses frequently, but the houses themselves are solid.
I’m pretty sure those wooden houses in Canada are built differently from wooden houses in California. The ones I’ve seen are thin wooden struts covered with some drywall.
Edit: and just saying “flimsy” by comparison to the usual reinforced concrete structures back home. I now own a home in California and it’s definitely solid.
So funnily enough, 2x4 exterior walls meet code for 3 stories, but where I am, it doesn’t meet the insulation requirements of minimum r-20, so it’s normally built with 2x6.
That’s a weird take, I was raised in the Midwest which suffers blizzards, tornadoes, thunderstorms, ice storms, you name it. Never did I hear someone complain about their “flimsy” wooden house fall down, and a lot of those were built at the end of the 1800’s.