Well for starters, we have a lot of wood in North America. It keeps the cost down. I can only imagine what a house around here would cost if it were made of bricks. It wouldn't fare too well in an earthquake either.
Neighbors house blows up
- Thread starter n8huntsman
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Well for starters, we have a lot of wood in North America. It keeps the cost down. I can only imagine what a house around here would cost if it were made of bricks. It wouldn't fare too well in an earthquake either.
I don't build illegally and I don't cheat the system. I fact, I'm putting in a new 80 slot circuit panel and using new arc-fault breakers., Ya haven't seen them being built lately.
My wife's cousin is a home inspector and he has been telling me stories big time about how the "illegals" are building them now, instead of measuring each piece of wood they just keep restacking them and cutting from the original cut, so by the time they are done, the board gains a inch or more.
He would take a soda or soup can and put it on the counters and it would roll right off.
He saw window frames that look like they were a geometry mess, he said there was no way a square window would fit in the cuts they made.
Now hes gone up in the big time for his company traveling all over the U.S. inspecting buildings.
So If I decide to build a new house I will make sure I know who my builder is.
, Ya haven't seen them being built lately.
Chinese house all like this, and i think when fire, many family will be destroyed. China is huge, but in big city very crowd, like HONGKONG.
Saigon is much the same way. When there is a fire, the best they can do is stop it from spreading.
Fastb
Known around here
Historically, houses have been built using plentiful local material.
- Sod houses in the prairies of the USA,
- stone houses where wood was less plentiful than stone,
- houses built with thatch roofs,
- mud houses
- log houses
The multi-story appartment from the pic from EMPIRETECANDY is too tall to have the structure to be built from wood. In the USA, the interior wals would use galvanized studs, not wood studs.
Fires are one consideration. In some areas, earthquakes are the consideration.
My wood house did very well through several earthquakes. Though the chimney was damaged. Wood=flexible, masonry=brittle.
After the great fire of 1898, which destroyed most of downtown, the city fathers mandated that rebuilding be done using masonry, not wood.
Rebuilding created wonderful structures.
But it was "UN-reinforced masonry"
Those buildings got damaged in earthquakes over the years. And many retro-fit projects to add steel, to make them more earthquake-hardened.
I did an addition to my house, and present codes required upgrades. My house sat on cement footings. Just "sat". Upgrading required the house be bolted to the cement foundation, to prevent the house from vibrating off the foundation in times of an earthquake.
Earthquales are common here. I have earthquake insurance, affordable. Some older masonary homes here cn't get earthquakes insurance at all, or it's exorbitant. Meaning some "self-insure". It's like getting flood insurance when your house is in a flood plain....
Conclusion:
Many materials can be safely used for construction.
Codes have evolved, to make buildings stronger/safer, based on the commonly used construction materials.
- Sod houses in the prairies of the USA,
- stone houses where wood was less plentiful than stone,
- houses built with thatch roofs,
- mud houses
- log houses
The multi-story appartment from the pic from EMPIRETECANDY is too tall to have the structure to be built from wood. In the USA, the interior wals would use galvanized studs, not wood studs.
Fires are one consideration. In some areas, earthquakes are the consideration.
My wood house did very well through several earthquakes. Though the chimney was damaged. Wood=flexible, masonry=brittle.
After the great fire of 1898, which destroyed most of downtown, the city fathers mandated that rebuilding be done using masonry, not wood.
Rebuilding created wonderful structures.
But it was "UN-reinforced masonry"
Those buildings got damaged in earthquakes over the years. And many retro-fit projects to add steel, to make them more earthquake-hardened.
I did an addition to my house, and present codes required upgrades. My house sat on cement footings. Just "sat". Upgrading required the house be bolted to the cement foundation, to prevent the house from vibrating off the foundation in times of an earthquake.
Earthquales are common here. I have earthquake insurance, affordable. Some older masonary homes here cn't get earthquakes insurance at all, or it's exorbitant. Meaning some "self-insure". It's like getting flood insurance when your house is in a flood plain....
Conclusion:
Many materials can be safely used for construction.
Codes have evolved, to make buildings stronger/safer, based on the commonly used construction materials.
Fire dept said combustibles near the hot water heater was the cause. It was a hot humid day. Not sure if that contributed. Kinda scary because I’m sure most of us have stored a can of gas for the mower in the garage. Maybe not next to the water heater but with gas vapor, how close is too close? As for construction styles, in the big cities the US builds big tall apartment buildings like shown, but in the suburbs they are single family homes built of wood typically. Been done this way for 150? years (maybe longer if there is no civil war) and it will last as long as it’s maintained. Let the roof go, so will the house.
Also has to do with our love of things low cost, low in quality, throw it away when you’re done mentality. Not all of us of course but the vast majority will buy the same cheap product 10 times (and pay more in the long run) instead of paying once for a quality product. I prefer buy once, cry once.
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-house...-Can-plumbing-be-hidden-inside-the-walls-in-a
Also has to do with our love of things low cost, low in quality, throw it away when you’re done mentality. Not all of us of course but the vast majority will buy the same cheap product 10 times (and pay more in the long run) instead of paying once for a quality product. I prefer buy once, cry once.
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-house...-Can-plumbing-be-hidden-inside-the-walls-in-a
tangent
IPCT Contributor
- May 12, 2016
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As far as the people running around the house like chickens with their heads cut off, the most effective things to do (if they could be done safely) would be: turn off the gas valve, turn off the electrical power, see if you can tell if there are people or pets inside. However it's far more important to keep yourself safe and not add to the body count. If I heard the ammo going off though I'd stay the fuck away.
I stopped to investigate if smoke was coming from a house or the back yard once, thankfully it was just the yard and someone being a bit of an idiot.
I stopped to investigate if smoke was coming from a house or the back yard once, thankfully it was just the yard and someone being a bit of an idiot.
Completely agree.... and in the future the first thing I would grab is my gas valve wrench and a face shield....I’ve already made a mental note of it. It’s really the only thing I could have assisted in in that situation
tangent
IPCT Contributor
- May 12, 2016
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- 3,974
I know someone who zip ties a wrench to their gas pipe by the meter. I had a neighbor with a damaged gas line and flames shooting up from the ground in the front yard.
CCTVCam
Known around here
- Sep 25, 2017
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It's possible to build special foundations that sway with the quake. They do that a lot in Japan. As for low cost as a reason, US houses seem very cheap even in areas like Florida where brick is used a lot, at least compared to UK prices. Personally, in the UK rot and upkeep would probably worry people a lot.
High rise buildings can be very dangerous. We had a big fire in the UK recently in a high rise building called Grenfell Tower. Killed 72 people. Causing a massive scandal now as the outside cladding was flammable and caused the fire to spread rapidly over many floors. May be distressing to watch:
yeah but grenfell wasn't because of it being a hi-rise tower, in its initial state the stay-put policy would have been fine. Problem came when they wanted to tart the building up to make it more pleasant for the residents to look at/live in, but of course wanted lots of bang for sod all buck. Add the contractors wanting to profit so skimping on materials, using cheap and not conforming to code and you basically had a gel fuel coating wrapped round a very tall chimney with no change to policy guidance for the fire services who then struggled to manage an inferno that followed a very minor appliance fire. Residents didn't help much either, dumping junk in the hallways, jamming fire doors open etc. Sad situation but the UK is pretty useless at setting up good standards and then ensuring they're always kept current and met fully, and folk tend to act selfishly rather than considering the safety of others. Gets worse when cost pressures come in and its local authority/state spend when it seems anything goes so long as its cheap and looks ok. Private sector tends to get more of a bashing to stay on track with standards but how much actually slips under the net, we only know when something like this happens.
could say that most of the developing world suffers from building standards issues tbh even where its a known quake area. Things improve to some degree but its all down to who is assessing and how amenable they are to looking the other way...
Just install a dahua thermal cam Andy you will see the problem before it gets crazy
bababouy
Known around here
Where I am, the codes have gone more towards using reinforced brick and concrete due to hurricanes. Impact windows are also mandatory in any new construction here in Florida, whether it be residential or commercial construction. Earthquakes are not much of a worry. My home actually has a poured concrete roof that has a peak and is pitched like a normal roof. Everyone learned after hurricane Andrew in 1992 that the roof, windows, and doors need to be just as strong as the rest of the house. The winds during Andrew blew out everyone's windows then took the roof off of the houses from the inside. We also realized that all these large trees that look beautiful will fall on your house and destroy it.
PapaBill
Pulling my weight
I know alot of people are switing from wood frames to the new metal frames, supposed to be stronger and safer, but wonder how it all works with electrical.