Why aren't houses in the States built stronger?

Question

Why aren't houses built strong, with cement and brick walls? Is it b/c it's quicker to build?

Why are they built so fragile? Is the wood cheaper than cement?

Why not have fences also made with a tough and long-lasting material other than thin wood that almost everyone uses and that deteriorates quickly?

When I see videos of hurricanes and tornados, the houses just fly away like paper...

Answer 1

There are so many factors that go into this. The most important factor is cost. If all homes were built with real brick, cement, with 8" outer walls and 8 - 12" supports in the attic, that home would be about 50% more expensive. Not to mention, it would take weeks, maybe months, longer to build. These days, homes are built by the big home manufacturers in the shortest amount of time while trying to maximize profits by cutting as many corners as possible. The use of good building materials also means that their products won't be COMPETITIVELY priced in comparison to other homes in the neighborhood that are built by competition builders. But, that's not to say that ABC Homes, Incorporated builds your home when you HIRE them to build your home. THEY will contract out to hundreds, potentially THOUSANDS of subcontractors who do the work at the lowest price that ABC Homes Inc. is willing to pay. Therefore, in order for the SUBCONTRACTORS to maximize their profits, they need to use CHEAPER building materials. And, guess what? They do. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning subcontractors (HVAC contractors) will install the cheapest systems that they can find since they have to bid SO LOW that their bid will be accepted. The result? The builder saves money, the subcontractor makes a profit, and you get cheap products in your home. It's a vicious cycle. No home builder these days PRIDES themselves in their homes. They want to build the biggest home as cheaply as they can while trying to maximize their profits, move their stock prices up a quarter or dollar, and make millions for the bottom line. If you want a good, well built house, choose a PRIVATE contractor who will build your house with THEIR subcontractors that they put their trust in time and time again. When it all comes down to it, if you have problems with your house, you can go to ONE PERSON when you have a problem (the private contractor!) and not have to fight the corporate aristocracy who doesn't care about you at all.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Unfortunately, in today's problem-filled world, money comes first and it's just cheaper to make houses with the materials they use. I know someone who used to work in the industry and he told me they not only do they use poorly and carelessly assembled wood, but they use the cheapest wood which is pine. It very light and weak. It easily splinters and also starts squeaking over time. My house has a lot of squeaky spots especially where there's high traffic. Now if they built houses out of oak, or even maple...then you wouldn't see houses getting torn apart and roofs flying away in tornados and hurricanes. Now I don't know if wood is cheaper than cement, but in my country, they build houses out of cement and steel and they'll survive the worst hurricane, and even explosions. Now that's a house. Plus, cement doesn't burn so it's impossible for your house to get destroyed in a fire. As for fences, my fence is still the original that was built with the house and it's made from thin, cheap splintering wood. In fact, part of it is broken because of a tennis ball hit it. Talk about cheap. Most of my neighbors have replaced their fences and I should soon. So overall, houses here are built just strong enough to carry the weight of all the stuff and people inside. You're almost guaranteed at least some sort of damage in strong storms.

Answer 4

Look at it this way, America has the greatest number of people housed in the highest quality housing in the world.
The greatest part of that housing was built by the private sector for individuals at a profit.
Don't go by hurricanes , tornadoes, earthquakes or floods they're on the news because houses are being destroyed, that's news here because it is relatively rare compared to all the houses that aren't being destroyed. Most houses lost in the US are lost because they are built in the wrong places
hillsides, unstable ground, floodplains and too near coastlines. We build wood houses because we had (and have) plentiful supplies of wood. We have developed techniques and materials too build tremendously strong and
long lasting wood houses. The other advantage to these techniques is that these houses can be built by 1 or 2 men, thereby making them affordable. If you want to make a valid comparison, here is the ghoulish test :compare the death toll
after a California earthquake with any other place in the world
keeping in mind that in most cases the population density in
CA is greater , and the death toll is relatively minscule when appropriate statistical adjustments are made. This is partialy because a wood frame house in an earthquake retains a higher percentage of its structural integrity than any other building type so event if it is destroyed the residents live to build another day. instead of being buried alive in a collapsed masonry structure. America does have a build it good enough for now mentality. Why build a fence to last a lifetime when it is only going to have to torn down in 10.
In spite of that I have worked on many wooden buildings
50,100, even 150 years that were virtually as good as new.
and on the main street of the town where I grew up most of the houses on it were 200 to 250 years old.

Answer 5

There are a lot of contractors that are cheap and they use cheap products to get the home owner by for just long enough. However, not all contractors are like that. Think about how much things cost right now and housing is not going down. Home owners are not willing to spend the extra money to get quality products. I would suggest when doing any project get detailed quotes from multiple contractors and don't focus on the bottom line. I am a HVAC contractor. We don't make as much money as people think we do. Consider that big box stores can give people 15-20% off of purchases. Do you think they don't still make money off those purchases? I would be really happy making 5% profit on a project right now. It is a tough time for everyone.

Sorry for the long winded explanation, but I would point my finger at the home owners. Know what you want before you start to build. Do some research and ask around. You can find information on just about every product on the internet. If you want better quality or better name brands, ask for them. Also ask for alternate pricing to provide these higher quality products.

Answer 6

It's the way houses are accepted by the people. I built homes in the Southwest for years, you would not believe how they're put together. The inspectors would meet the supervisors and go smoke weed with them and, hardly get out of their cars, and O.K. these garbage piles.

I've seen homes that would make me shudder had I been in them during a big storm but, the clients are at the gate pounding to get in, they just "want their little homes on the prairie"
Between cost now days and time, jobs and an uncertain future with some people, homes are starting to slow down, now it's double wide, pre-built etc. These are less cost effective, quicker and more affordable. I would chose one of these without a problem.

Answer 7

Yes materials cost more. Also, labor cost is much higher when building cement and brick walls.
I've heard that home builders don't make a lot of money selling homes. It's the mortgage that makes more money. So homes are built cheap to make them affordable.

Answer 8

I totally agree with Mark F...and houses in this country will always be made of wood...but I wonder if they can build a custom made, made of bricks and cement...
They are just too fragile to cost so much money

Answer 9

Because many people are pretentious and want their house to be pretty and nice, and not look like a concrete slab. Many houses in middle America are built with brick, but here in California, brick will crumble if an earthquake hits. You can't protect from all natural disasters, so it's just one of the many gambles in life.

Answer 10

Houses in the US are built to strict building codes for the area they are built in. The "experts" say they are strong enough. Can't really remember the last time a house just up and fell down.