how come ?

Question

a lot of houses in ireland are solid brick and concrete and never get severe weather and places like florida and tornado areas there are wooden houses that collapse?

Answer 1

You can ask the same question of any area that suffers frequent major disasters. Japan's famous use of paper walls fits the same category. It is easier to replace and less likely to kill you if it falls on you. If you build with stone or adobe it may kill you when it collapses.
Next consider the climate of each region. Florida and Japan both suffer high temperatures and humidity so need easily ventilated structures for them to be habitable. According to Takematsu Okada, "the main purposes of houses in Japan are to provide ventilation and to keep out rain." Their housing is generally made of wood, with thin paper doors and thatched roofs which are wide and sloping. Protection from cold is not an important factor in the function of a house. If houses are going to make life unendurable for much of the year why build each home as a refuge? Large public buildings become shelters in time of need for that reason.

Tornadoes are another problem. Nothing withstands a direct contact from a large tornado very well. The only safety is in a cellar for the average person.
Tornadoes occur in mid latitude, open steppe lands around the world. Stone for building is rarely available in large quantity in most grass lands. Steel has only been available since the nineteenth century and then only to those with the wealth to afford it. Stone may be available in Ireland but it is not so common in the swamps of Florida nor in the Ganges river delta in Bangladesh. Bangladesh was hit by a tornado lasting 20 minutes, which destroyed 10,000 homes and left 400 people dead. These people build with bamboo and thatch a lot.

Answer 2

In my point of view. Lets consider if house in US is made of brick and tornado came. I know they are very solid but not as solid to resist tornado. See the example of concrete bridge. They are not very popular in US coz air can blow it away. Same with the case of houses. If a house is flown away, then there would be far more destruction, possible injuries and also the loss of expansive house so it is better for them to build a brick house coz first thing, it is inexpansive secondly, if it blown away, it don't do a lot of destruction or after tornado, brick houses are very difficult to demolish and removing rubble is also a challenge eg it took about a year to clear the rubble of WTC after its collapse whereas its lot easier to clear the remains of wooden houses.

Answer 3

I thought about this and it's a good question and it sounds silly but it's because put there there is a sustainable amounts of wood, the same as Norway, over here there's not hardly any.

Also wood is much cheaper, and what they do in America, they buy the wood, make the house, and then move it where ever they like. Like a caravan is the best way to describe it.

Hope it makes sense! lol

Answer 4

I'm smiling here.

No we don't build our houses out of wood and move them to other locations.

I think what the other poster is taking about are pre-fabrication homes. They are not very popular and are built as a second home used for weekends and vacations. Usually erected on a lake and out of wood.

Another thing she might be talking about are mobile homes. These are made out of special light materials, look just like a house on the inside, but are on large wheels. These are for people who have to move often such as from base to base. Or oil field workers who have to go from oil field to oil field. Many seniors choose them for special Mobile Home parks because they are inexpensive with no or very low house/land taxes to pay. The mobile parks usually only charge a set fee which includes rent/water/heating/electricity.

Our houses are made out of brick, stone, cement, wood.....anything a designer can think of. In the cold regions of the USA, the homes are made out of brick or stone because of the heavy snows and rain falls. In the warmer regions such as the deep south and states such as Florida, wood is often used and there are no basements or attics because most people do outdoor living and play. The weather is too pretty year round to stay indoors.

In the Southwestern states (Texas, Arizona, Nevada, southern California) the weather is warm year round with just a couple of months of cold weather in the 30's to 50's temperatures. These houses are built from woods or stucco. No need for stone or brick homes in warm regions such as these.

Then there are the mid-western states and the northwestern states. Houses are made out of all kinds of materials. The mid-western states have extremely cold winters. The northwestern states such as Washington and Oregon are rainy states with mostly mildly cold winters.

The USA is approximately 3,300 miles across from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific Ocean with 800 of those miles being across Texas. Texas is a BIG state with millions of people living there.

In the past, Florida did not have as many storms and hurricanes as you are seeing now. Years ago, a hurricane only came into land about every five years or so and they were not as bad as they are now.

Answer 5

people build house in America the cheapest way they can and they try to get the biggest house for the cheapest price and you have a nice smile

Answer 6

Good question