# Question about US house construction



## Suuske747 (May 9, 2007)

Dear all, 
I'm a big fan of Extreme Home Make Over....and the son of Dr. Phil has a similar programme....

One thing I can't help but notice....all these houses they make over, are made of wood.... none of them are brick houses.....
When I saw all the sad footage from the hurricane results in the past few years, all the houses seem to have had wooden structures.....and the news ones are constructed with wood as well....

Is that the general most common way of building homes in the suburbs? 
Only in downtown centers homes seem not to be made of wood....
Why is that? or is it coincedence?

Here in Western-Europe it's all bricks, concrete etc...(only the roofs have a wooden frame) even homes as old as 300-400 years are built in marlstone/stone/brick......

I hope someone can give me a little history/social-physical geography lesson  as I am guessing it has an origin a century ago? 

take care, 
Suzanne


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

I think wood-frame houses are much more common here in the US. My neighbor is an architect from Israel and she said it is different there - probably more similar to Europe.

Particularly in California, since we are more susceptible to earthquakes, you do not see houses made of bricks (if you do, it is usually just a facade, for looks, over a wood structure). In other parts of the country (midwest) you see more brick structures.

We had our brick fireplace removed with our last remodel - it was the main earthquake hazard in the house that was left. I had visions of my kids and dogs sitting near it, being crushed by falling bricks 

For multistory structures, I think those are usually built/reinforced with steel. In my city, if you build even a 2nd story on your house, it must be reinforced with steel now to better withstand an earthquake, which has made it extremely expensive to do so.


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

Brick is pretty old fashioned here. You see a lot of brick homes from the 30s-60s. Not so much anymore. I don't know if it's a matter of cost or aesthetics, but most homes these days are wood-frame.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

In California it's actually illegal to build brick homes because of earthquakes. Here in the East Coast there are a lot more brick homes but I'm not really sure about how many are wood vs. how many are brick.


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## Suuske747 (May 9, 2007)

Ok, I understand more of the reason now....

Still, brick houses can be built earthquake proof.....but probably that's more costly...

But I don't understand....wouldn't a brick/concrete house be more hurricane proof?


I, from my point of reference, never having been in a wooden structured house, would not feel safe in it.... you know, you can't exactly punch/shoot through a double layered brick and concrete wall....

I guess if you don't know anything else....you don't even think about it....

Has anyone first lived in a brick house and then in a wooden one? Did you have transition issues?
Just curious.....


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## Beamer (Jan 29, 2007)

Suzanne, Wood is used because it is cost effective! Homes with a steel structure are becoming more popular here, but the cost is alot more. As far as poored concrete goes, I do not think I've ever seen a regular residential home made of that.. (only basement foundations and walls are) 

Ryan


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Yes, I grew up in brick homes (in Brazil) then moved to California into wooden ones. Honestly, other than the aesthetics of it I didn't find any difference at all. Four walls, a ceiling and a roof... that pretty much makes it a house to me... no matter what it's made of.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Depends on the building codes where you live. Ex-H was a builder in Georgia and most of the homes he built were brick. Many homes have a brick front, or 3 sides brick, with the rest siding to lower the cost. The framing of all of the houses is wood though. My brothers live in Florida and their houses are cement block and concrete due to hurricanes. I can only comment on those two states.
I LOVED the homes we saw and stayed in when in Ireland. Everything has history where in the US everything is "new", comparatively.


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

I grew up in India and all the houses are built of concrete, brick and even the roofs are made of concrete. However, the death and injury toll is very high in an earthquake. However, the earthquakes are not as common as in California. 

I have lived in Texas, California and now in New York. All the homes I lived in do far have had wood frames. The Texas homes tend to have brick facades or stone facades. New York, at least on Long Island, I see wood and stone as well.


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

In New York homes are framed in wood, after the poured concrete foundation (walls for basements) and rarely covered in brick. When the brick look is desired and it was for a number of years recently, they generally use brick face. For stone, many times they use manufactured stone, though they do use real stone on some higher priced homes. 

I lived in an old brick home for many years in my youth and frankly I feel at least as safe in my new (mid 80's frame house). The old brick houses here had issues when the bricks were misaligned after many years and the maintenance was cumbersome. I do have brick face on part of my home now and the rest is sided. 

There was a period of time in the relatively recent past when homes were finished with a stucco look, called drivit, a finish applied over a styrofoam base. Though extremely attractive that would make me feel (I think) as if I lived in a take out coffee cup.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I was a custom home builder here for over 30 years. Now I consult on Historic Restoration. We have lots of trees here so lumber is plentiful and a renewable resource. Even brick homes built here in the last 100 years are brick veneer over a wooden frame. I only know of one house in our county that is solid brick both exterior and interior walls. No one lives in it because it costs too much to heat. It was built around 1915. Of course there are ways to insulate now but there is no good reason for anyone to build a house like that here.

There is nothing unsafe about a properly built wooden framed house. The houses you see trashed by hurricanes on TV are built right on the coast and little effort is made to make them withstand 150 mile per hour winds and solid water although there have been some changes in the last 20 years from lessons learned by hurricane damage. The ground for a long ways inland from the coast, at least on the east coast, is just pure sand and it would cost way more to build a structure that would withstand hurricane forces. 

It's not that one way it better than the other but more what is economically feasible with the locality.


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## DAJsMom (Oct 27, 2006)

Our last house here in Arizona was concrete block construction, built in the 70's. That was common here for a while and is still built occasionally. I think all the other houses I haved lived in (California, Nebraska, Arizona) have been wood frame.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

Definitely not like in Europe. Wood framing is far less common in Europe. My mom always finds it strange to see all the houses being built with wood frames around my area.


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## Suuske747 (May 9, 2007)

Wow, thank you for all your responses!!

Thank you for answerring my question! :whoo:


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## ginny (Mar 29, 2008)

Where I live if a house is built has brick, stone, or stucco, it is more difficult to sell. We have one very nice brand new house that has alot of stone work and it has been for sale for years. Our historic districts will not allow homes not true to their era. These homes are restricted in color as well. They are usually clapboard and shingle as are the majority of home with some being totally shingle. We need to consider the effects of salt air and lack of rock by the shore. 
There are also regional styles. When I am showing clients from other parts of the country around they are drawn to homes that resemble what they are familiar with. I need to point out that these homes will be difficult on resale.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

My house in Ohio was brick. It had two of the interior walls that were brick too- one was painted  It was a pain to try and hang anything on it though! But I loved the look of the house. It was built in 1940 with most of the homes around it also being built at the same time with brick. The area that I was in was very popular and people loved the interior brick walls. I do think I saved on my heating bill during the winter time there. But then again I lived on a third floor on a lake in Michigan before that! I love the old brick homes but they are hard to come by in other parts of the country. Down here, I don't think I have seen one.

Amanda


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## The Fussy Puppy Gang (May 21, 2007)

I've grown up in California and, while all the houses I've lived in were wood frame, I have to say I dislike the change that's taken place with the interior walls. The house I grew up in and the first house I lived in on my own were built in the '30's and '40's. The interior walls were wood and plaster, so very thick and sturdy. My latest house was built in '89 and it's interior walls are drywall. I hate it. Both of my sons have damaged multiple walls just by being boys when they were young. I finally told them they had to remember we don't have real walls but more like cubicle walls. 

If I could choose, I think I would love living in a castle simply because it's stone. Not here in California of course, but somewhere with no earthquakes. Even with the drafty conditions, I think I would love a sturdy house of stone.


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## Julie (Feb 8, 2007)

In my area almost all the houses are stick frame,but you do see brick houses. New ones are almost always wood,and a few have brick....or fake brick fronts. My house is old.It is an old 2 story craftsman's bungalow and to be honest,even with it's flaws,I love it much more then the new cracker box styles they build here. I wouldn't trade mine for theirs.:laugh:

I love the old plaster walls(though the reoccuring cracks piss me off)....but there is something about the real oak that is in my house that I just love. It gives it real character. It has old beams on the ceilings,picture rail,and colinades.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

I think it has to do with the age of our country. Unlike Europe the United States is only a few hundred years old. When the pilgrims settled there were no Masons to build the stone fortresses that were in Europe--And then through the years the style developed into the wood frame colonial house. And now that is what you expect to see at least here in New England.


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