why the standar of construction in USA is so poor (structure house, materials...)? only for cost?

Question

I don't want to be offensive, but as a new ressident in the country I was very surprised how the houses in general are made of wood (main structure) and pre-manufactured materials (isolation, walls...). Any opinion from an expert?

I came from Italy where this kind of house are considered very cheap house (maybe for second residences in the beach or mountains), but we are very concern about architecture and we use a structure of concrete and cement and inside metallic arbor, the walls are made of brick and plaster. We see plastic, carboard and wood secundary materials that make the structure so lightly...this is the reason because Europeans we always wonder why a house can completly fall for a strong wind or storm, of coruse a huracan or tornado is a extrem metereologic event and we understand that roof can be destroyed, or exterior structure...but we have extrem storms and tornados also and we never see a house down..the "skeleton" it remains completly intact. By the way the matterials in general seem very pre-manufactured and low quality, but if the American people like this...for me is perfect, just was a observation.

I came from Italy where this kind of house are considered very cheap house (maybe for second residences in the beach or mountains), but we are very concern about architecture and we use a structure of concrete and cement and inside metallic arbor, the walls are made of brick and plaster. We see plastic, carboard and wood secundary materials that make the structure so lightly...this is the reason because Europeans we always wonder why a house can completly fall for a strong wind or storm, of coruse a huracan or tornado is a extrem metereologic event and we understand that roof can be destroyed, or exterior structure...but we have extrem storms and tornados also and we never see a house down..the "skeleton" it remains completly intact. By the way the matterials in general seem very pre-manufactured and low quality, but if the American people like this...for me is perfect, just was a observation.

Answer 1

what country are you from and what building materials are you comparing also what part of the US do you reside in?

Answer 2

We have built many homes and I do not find the construction of wood framing and wood siding with Tyvek wrap to be poor quality. It really depends on who is building your home. Choose a reputable builder and you shouldn't be discouraged. Choose a reputable plumber, electrician, etc. and again you should not be discouraged. If you choose cheap, you will get just that. I don't know where you come from or what your homes were built from but you still get what you are willing to pay for anywhere. We have always built beautiful homes that are well constructed. This is the 3rd in 13 yrs.

Answer 3

Well I would have to say fuel prices for one thing have caused the material to increase in price, along with wages for labor. The hurricane if Mississippi has caused the prices to increase over demand for building materials. Cost of shipping materials. Therefor the cost of housing is up.

Answer 4

I beg to differ. Wood is an excellent material for structure. Compared to a steel structure it is much more forgiving if there is a structure fire. Steel buildings collapse when exposed to a serious fire, where the same fire in a wood framed house will leave the building standing. This is safer for both the occupants, and fire fighters. Steel framed houses do have some advantages, but really haven't caught on in any major way. Pre-manufactured materials are much easier to police, meaning a building inspector can easily see if the proper materials were used. This includes insulation, plumbing, and electrical. Masonry buildings really are not a viable building material for any number of reasons.

Keep in mind that building codes are not designed for the builder, but for the customer, or occupant. These codes have been refined over many decades of experience. Every time there is a structure failure of any kind, reams of information is learned. Engineers then sift through this information and make the needed changes if required by the data.

I will not argue that cost is a factor in materials used, but this not a bad thing. The highest cost in constructing any building is in the labor. By using pre-manufactured materials, labor costs can be reduced, which is good for everyone.

The one area that I would like to see changed is the insulation. Spray foam is used in a lot of places, and is a very good product. One of the primary reasons that this product is not allowed for use in residences is quite simple.......the fumes that it gives off when it burns.

As for walls, I am assuming that you mean that we use drywall as opposed to plaster......this is a no brainer. Drywall is much less labor intensive, is easy to repair, and unless it gets wet, will hold up just as long as plaster. I am a painter, and I work in high end houses. Even with wealthy customers, the diffence in cost between the two is unbelievable. In one house I worked in the cost to plaster was more than 10 times more exspensive than drywall. This was a 22,000 sq/ft house, and the bill for the drywall instalation and finishing was almost $200,000. The cheapest quote for plaster was over $2,000,000.....needless to say, drywall was installed.

A couple other answers stated it was bad that money should be the cause for this(question)....how wrong you are......the savings are good for everyone. If a contractor always cuts corners on materials and techniques, they will not be a contractor for long.


Edit
Because of hurricanes and earthquakes the standards that we use have been highly upgraded in the past 15 or so years. The houses that have been built in areas that are prone to those types of events in that time are much more resistant to damage. I imagine that a properly built house, built to current hurricane standards will even maintain their roofs. My sister lives in such a house, and took an almost direct hit from hurricane Katrina. The damage from the wind was minimal, however, the house did sustain a bit of flood damage. Her house was one of 3houses in her development that was built to the standards in place at the time. Because of this, her house was one of the 3 left standing in a development of over 150 houses. Since her house used drywall instead of plaster, she was living in her house again in less than 2 months. Myself, and two of her friends were able to repair the damage within 2 weeks of being cleared to work on the house.

Also keep in mind that plasterers are a rare breed in the states.
Keep in mind that our labor force is much more modern than in Italy. There are no outdated apprentice requirements to work in the trades. Well this is true outside of the trade unions. But trade unions have pretty much disapeared from residential construction(thankfully).

In short, we have a different perspective than in Italy. We want the best product we can get for a reasonable amount of money, built in a reasonable time frame.

If we were to build houses in the manner you are used to, the houses would cost twice as much, and take twice as long to build. Building to the newest standards allows a wood structured house to be nearly as wind resistant as what you are used to......and besides, if the house comes down, we have insurance.

Answer 5

The standard in America is so low because here it is all about how much money you can make versus how little you actually spend (and that statement is true about everything that is built here). I don't know what is worse, the building standards set by the crooks or the idiots that buy the crap the crooks make.

Answer 6

price and time to erect