From hurricane resistance in Florida (tying the roof to the building) to lightning rods up a little north. Midwestern basements for tornado protection to east coast stilts for avoiding floods. To northeastern fireplaces and furnaces for keeping warm to insulation and good ductwork for keeping cool in Arizona. To earthquake resistance in California to keeping the house dry in Washington. And roofs to hold the load of snow in Montana.
It’s incredible we have a common resource (timber) to solve the large number of needs our collective housing market requires. And even with those unique needs, houses will feel quite similar and consistent throughout the country. Prefabrication would be a different market for every need, not a massive win in market efficiency (trailer homes for example were an attempt to accomplish this but didn’t provide a format better than a stationary house)
I wish they used heavier lumber to build homes and treated it for flame resistance better. I lived in a concrete apartment in Asia for a few years. The walls were hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and there were so many crevices in the wall for bugs to colonize. I very very quickly appreciated the wood homes I grew up in - even the kitchen floor being wooden and not concrete is such a nice comfort for my feet and knees