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Comment by dcchambers | Hacker News Reader

I don't understand this sentiment. Modern construction with lumber is great. It's cheap, relatively easy to fix/replace as needed, and a renewable resource.

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It's part of the general sentiment that you see ancient buildings built out of stone in Europe so Americans building houses out of wood (of which there are plenty of examples that are hundreds of years old) are stupid.

Those USA ones would be a 2-3 centuries old at most, no?

When living in EU, there was a church about 5 minutes waking distance that was ~900 years old lol

My house is over 200 years old which isn't really rare for the area of the country where I live. Yes, it's had a sequence of renovation/expansion work over the years--the last of which this summer actually involved chimney brickwork. Why should I care if it lasts 900 years or not?

Not saying you should - just replying to the “plenty of old buildings in the US” statement.

As it goes - 100 miles is a long distance in Europe, while 100 years is a long time ago in America.

From my lens, a building that is 200 years old is not really all that old.

And Japan even has a much more normalized practice of knocking down a house and building a new one if you buy it. Europe is probably the outlier of routinely preserving residences through centuries--and I suspect it's not really that universal even there.

I've extensively modified and upgraded my house since I've bought it. Even so, I'm sure there are aspects (e.g. one small bathroom) that would give many buyers pause.

It depends - parts of Europe allow you to knock down and change the part of the house that is not visible from the street. So the facade (“Frontend”) from the street is maintained, but the “backend” is renewed.

I think this is reinforced by the stereotype of walls being generally punchable in the US(provided they are not load-bearing).

I have drywall in my apartment, but I would hurt myself trying to punch any of my walls.

This is more a drywall/sheetrock vs plaster thing. Plaster walls are much harder than drywall, but are more expensive to install with little practical benefit.

It's part of the general sentiment of "look at these tornado aftermath photos".

Wooden homes do not survive as well in high wind situations, and hurricanes are high wind situations.

And you often have flooding situations as well, if you look at photos of Asheville. Granite walls don't necessarily help you much in those situations, nor if the roof is blown off or a tree crashes on it.

And much of the US doesn't routinely have really high wind situations. Had a windstorm in my area last fall. A big mature spruce tree came down and managed to avoid hitting my house or neighbor's utility wires but house was fine. Wood construction is not uniquely susceptible to wind events relative to other things that tend to happen in severe storms. And, if you have a direct tornado hit, I'm not sure it really matters what your residential property is made of.

American houses not made of concrete usually do not withstand high winds well.

An increasingly large part of the US is subject to storms that include very high winds. When a tornado or hurricane hits a wooden house directly, the results are not usually good for the structure or the occupants. Concrete homes tend to survive much better.

Toothpick houses aren't like other lumber constructions, you can build sturdy with wood. Trees are extremely sturdy, thin branches are not.

Is rebuilding houses every 30-50 years eco friendly?

There is no need to rebuild lumber framed houses every 30-50 years. What gives you that idea? My house is 30 years old and in great shape. There are 100+ year old wood framed houses all over the US.

Water is the primary enemy of wood, keep the water out and wood frames houses will last generations. Modern pressure treated lumber lasts even longer.

> There are 100+ year old wood framed houses all over the US.

Not in the parts of the US which are prone to tornados and hurricanes. And as we know, the areas prone to wind-related extreme weather are growing.

Oh, I forgot to mention fire. Many parts of the US are becoming more susceptible to fires.

Concrete is not a great eco choice, but it is a far better choice for homes that need to withstand increasingly harsh environments.

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