why do americans build timber houses and when a hurricane or earthquake occur they end up with nothing!?

Question

would it not make more sense to build a more solid block house... i know the weather is hot and the timber houses keep are cooler but surely air conditioning is cheaper than having to re-build a house and their lives from scratch......... why?????????

Answer 1

* * * * GOOD QUESTION * * *
CHANGE THE LAWS - Update the federal uniform building code.
Home Building Contractors and builders have very strict codes for home building. Although these codes can differ from state to state or even county to county, these builders use materials and methods that are specified by law.
Each house is inspected many times thru-out the building process.
So I guess the answer boils down to what one can afford.

Consider this- You bought a home 10 years ago for $125,000 and it was insured for this amount. Now figuring the value of that home now is $450 to $500k , the insurance coverage has not increased anywhere close to that.
You will find 9 times out of 10 it is closer to original sale price of $125k

Most homes in south Florida are CBS (concrete block).
Now what about the mobile homes, they are considered poorly contructed for hurricane prone areas, but are still allowed.

Remember this that most injuries/deaths are sustained by floods and storm surges.

Answer 2

It's hard enough to afford to buy a home without adding tens of thousands of dollars to the cost. Remember that the 3 little pigs built their own little homes. Most of us real people don't have the expertise or the time. Because of the pressure differences within a tornado, there's no guarantee that even brick homes would come through one in one piece. Also, it's the trees, roofs and sheds which become projectiles during tornados (and hurricane winds) that do a lot of the damage. I once saw a huge glass window that a whole palm trunk had passed through leaving a perfectly round hole and no other cracks.

Answer 3

They don't need to build concrete block houses. Simply constructing a house to Federal hurricane standards would be sufficient. Most people don't do so since they don't have the money since they bought before the Federal standards were set and they can't afford to rebuild. The new houses that get destroyed from hurricanes are due to stupidity on the part of the builders, government officials and owners. Like they say "Life is tough, but it's even tougher if you're stupid"

Answer 4

Good question. In the early 90's Hurricane Andrew torn up southern Florida. I was in college and a group of us went down and did relief work. We mostly patched roofs and boarded up windows in a lower income neighborhood. The houses were concrete block on slab with a framed roof. They mostly had cosmetic damage, roofing blown off, broken windows, trash in the yards, but the houses seemed to be structurally sound. I assume that many of the people didn't have enough insurance, and therefore they needed relief. Across the highway were upper middle-income stick framed houses. Some were total loss, some had major structural damage, but at least most had some structural damage. Obviously, block stands up to hurricanes better.

The reason builders build using stick frame is cost. For a larger two-story home, stick framed is cheaper. Speculative builders are trying to maximize profits. Plus, stick framed is more flexible in design. You can have cantilevers or round walls. Now homes stick framed are required to have hurricane straps. They hold the roof down. I've been to Florida several times since hurricane Andrew and I've seen the aftermath of other hurricanes. It is amazing how one house will stand up, but others don't. What happens is even a stick framed house can withstand a good storm, as long as the roof stays on. But the once a roof comes off, the building envelope is compromised and the walls fall rather easily.

We had a tornado in Novemeber 05. There was damage to many homes, and it is amazing how one home stands and one doesn't. We live on a hill, and it passed maybe 50 feet from us to the north. We had broken windows and roof damage, but structural ok. To the south, our neighbor with great big picture windows facing the storm, he didn't have a window broken on that side. They did have windows broken on the opposite of the storm. Behind him, down the hill, probably 200 feet from the storm, total loss. He was blocked by hill and farther away and he lost the whole house.

Now I need to say our house was built in the 40's with hardwood studs, and the whole house is sheathed in 3/4" by 6" wide tongue and grove planks. And that reduced the damage.

So perhaps we can stick frame for the flexibility of design, but with more precautions, that stand up to storms.

BTW, You mentioned AC, but if a house is designed right, concrete or concrete block can be used for passive heating and cooling, and lower bills if not altogether eliminate bills.

Answer 5

The brick houses collapse first in a hurricane! Timber is more flexible. My timber house has with stood many hurricanes!

Answer 6

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Answer 7

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Answer 8

dont you think that timber wouldnt hurt you the way other stronger materials would ? i think its a lot more better to use something that wont hurt you more when it falls on ya :) cuz whatever the material used it/ll always fall when the hurricane comes

Answer 9

A flood and an earth quake would destroy both... most states don't have bad hurricanes.

Answer 10

first off i ain't no dumb Yank. I just look kinda dumb but I'm from Louisiana and down here we like wood because anything else just don't hack it and anyways, brick is unamerican. Ain't it what them commies use?