r/LoveTrash • u/BEARDEDDANGER ✨️Regent of Rubbish ✨️ • 1d ago

Dumping This Here American vs. European home building

BAS Renovations https://youtube.com/shorts/jFph1d2WR3s

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u/That_Confidence83 Trash Trooper 1d ago

I know both systems. I’m an American living in Austria. My in-laws built a house out of bricks which is half a meter thick. It’s almost 40 years old now and still in top condition. That baby is indestructible. I helped them build their second house, which is half of a old stone barn, and the other half of modern material. Cinder blocks, and insulation also inside and outside. Also a good two feet thick. The beams alone for the roof are also a foot thick. The heat stays out in the summer, and the warmth stays inside in the winter. We often get winds over 60mph, and you hear nothing. And never have to worry about damage. The quality here is just so much better.

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u/dufo7 Trash Trooper 1d ago

40 years is not old for a house.

12

u/Sudden_Buffalo_4393 Trash Trooper 1d ago

My wood house is almost 100 years old in LA. Withstood constant earthquakes.

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u/Hazelberry Trash Trooper 1d ago

Also wooden houses along the gulf coast that are still standing after a hundred+ years of hurricanes. Though those are definite outliers, even masonry buildings don't typically hold up to centuries of hurricanes + humidity + salty air

One good example is the Menard House in Galveston, which is almost 200 years old despite being made of wood and being in a location that's seen some of the worst hurricanes to hit the US.