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A comment on Why has the quality of brick buildings declined in the last 100 years?. Parent comment

Re:Why has the quality of brick buildings declined in the la... by ams6110 on Friday November 06, 2015 @08:44PM (#10523250)
The main thing is the drywall. Interior walls in homes used to be plaster, troweled onto lathe or wire backing in several coats. Plaster is a LOT heavier than drywall: it's basically like having 3/4-inch cement walls. Plaster walls lend a sense of solidity and quiet to the entire house.

The basic framing of houses is not that much different.

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Re:Why has the quality of brick buildings declined in the la... by cma on Saturday November 07, 2015 @12:40AM (#10523891)
>The basic framing of houses is not that much different.

Lots of the old houses people are pining for here used death-trap "balloon framing".

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Re:Why has the quality of brick buildings declined in the la... by ngoede on Friday November 06, 2015 @10:01PM (#10523475)
Of course they also tend to fail for the same reason as gravity slowly pulls them off the lathe.
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Re:Why has the quality of brick buildings declined in the la... by Symbiote on Saturday November 07, 2015 @08:17AM (#10524700)
How often do you think plaster should last?

I've lived in Europe for almost 30 years, and have never seen the plaster fall off the wall/ceiling without some serious other cause, like a leaking roof or serious subsidence.

My mum's house was built in 1908. A water leak in the summer meant part of the ceiling was ruined. The plasterer said it was original lath and plaster, and gave her a discount as he said it was a pleasure to work with.

21% of dwellings in England were built before 1919.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm...

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