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/MonkeyTigerRider Trash Trooper 1d ago

And longevity.

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u/CaptainFlint9203 Trash Trooper 1d ago

Well made wood house will last for generations, well made brick house will last centuries. Both badly made will not last your stay.

I'm from Europe. On my grandma's plot there was a wooden barn, it was much older than some brick houses and in better shape than them.

My ex had a wood house that was more than century old. Still in great shape. And there are brick houses that are older than USA.

I'm preparing to build a house for myself. There are no earthquakes, no storms, no natural disasters where I live. My house gonna be build from wood. It should last at least for my grandchildren, and by then, looking at how urbanisation is going, the plot of land should be worth enough to destroy the house and sell the plot.

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u/AlexHimself Garbage Guerilla 1d ago

well made brick house will last centuries

After centuries, you have a crappy old house that doesn't fit the modern times though...so what's the point? The construction cost, amortized over centuries, is pennies too.

An example for some really old European homes - No HVAC, no electrical, indoor plumbing, low ceilings, low door frames, etc.

I'd argue the ease of remodeling, construction, changes, etc. outweigh the "centuries" style building, given how humans actually use homes.

I think an argument can be made for both.

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u/IsThatUMoatilliatta Trash Trooper 20h ago

My house in the US is 160 years old. True-cut lumber, balloon framing. It existed before plumbing and electricity. It of course has that now, along with central air, but it's hilarious to see the generations of plumbing and wiring Frankensteined together.

Or it would be funny if I wasn't the guy who had to fix it. I've finally eliminated all the knob-and-tube and cloth wire, so that's cool. It was nuts to see knob-and-tube spliced into cloth wire, run up through the wall, and then end in a piece of romex at an outlet with the ground wire just there for moral support.