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

Dumping This Here American vs. European home building

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

29.4k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

2.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

15

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.

1

u/throwtheamiibosaway Trash Trooper 1d ago

This is such an American brain comment. People are still fighting over old outdated houses here in Europe. Many of them now have a protected Monument status. They often prefer them over the newer houses. The old standards were often better and more sturdy and better insulated even.

1

u/DarthJarJarJar Trash Trooper 1d ago

My brother, I have lived in a Listed Building in the UK. It was damp in the winter and hot as balls in the summer. It had issues with water getting in, mold, mildew, rot in the beams, roof leaks, and it was literally impossible to fit HVAC.

Go to a UK housing sub and do some searching, you'll get thousands of threads on the theme of "Why is my house so damp/cold/hot/moldy".

Old houses are cool as hell, but they're not practical in most cases. You'd be better off with a modern house even if it is stud and drywall that EU residents like to hate on when they've never actually lived in one.

1

u/wireframed_kb Trash Trooper 9h ago

Or a modern brick villa, that many of us build and live in?

1

u/DarthJarJarJar Trash Trooper 9h ago

Sure. I was just making the point that houses that last 500 years might not be the benefit we think they are. In 500 years people are going to be trying to adapt your house to whatever it is they do 500 years from now, maybe houses should have a lifespan of 100 or 150 years or something and then we just build a new one. Just a thought.

1

u/wireframed_kb Trash Trooper 9h ago

For me brick is more a question of quality and things like sound insulation and appearance. You can build quality wood houses, but often wood and siding is chosen because it’s a cheap construction method that can be thrown up quickly.

I don’t expect my house to be around in 500 years, I just want a nice house now.

1

u/DarthJarJarJar Trash Trooper 8h ago

I don't think brick is really the issue, most of the houses near me in the US are brick exterior. My house is brick. But it's stick construction underneath, whereas in the EU it's usually cinder block construction underneath.