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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 AmVess on Saturday November 07, 2015 @03:10AM (#10524134)
It is very much a cost issue, although a small one in terms of the overall price of the house. However, money that goes into 2x6 vs 2x4 studs, drywall, doors, insulation, windows comes out of the overall budget. People shop by price because they have to. Fancy appliances vs sturdy floors? People will pick fancy appliances 99% of the time.

I built a few dozen homes and only once had a client request 2x6 construction. I tried to sell it on all the others, citing sturdiness and better insulating properties, but everyone looked at the features it excluded and went for flimsy 2x4 builds.

It gets important if you are a developer building subdivisions of homes. $10k saved on every house is $big profit. 25 home subs is $250k+ savings...very much an issue.

My own house is 2x6, and properly insulated top to bottom. My neighbor's slap job summer cooling bill is not quite double mine. Close to same sqft and same interior ac temp setting.

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Re:Why has the quality of brick buildings declined in the la... by mavhc on Saturday November 07, 2015 @04:00AM (#10524220)
Mostly I'm amused that Americans never got the end of the Three Little Pigs story and still build houses out of wood.

I read once that buildings are the best thing to cheat on the construction of because each layer of underspecced materials is hidden by the next layer.

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Re:Why has the quality of brick buildings declined in the la... by cobweb on Saturday November 07, 2015 @04:28AM (#10524274)
Wood is a renewable and a carbon trap. On site, dirt is a good choice for a building material. You can also use it to bulk mass. You just need a digger and some grunt work. See building with rammed earth.

I've a friend who has just added to his 17th century thatched cottage with like materials: oak timber frame, timber cladding and wattle and daub, which is dirt and wood/hay/hair. It's lovely and solid. Sadly planning officials insisted on an over the top concrete foundation that negated all his hard work with his sympathetic build.

The wood is good!

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Re:Why has the quality of brick buildings declined in the la... by mistermann on Saturday November 07, 2015 @11:33AM (#10525230)
What would you estimate is the payoff time in heating/cooling costs?
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