Why the US builds houses wrong

[jar546]

Yet another very fresh video with several angles.

 

[cda]

Well

I have known for 60 years California burns every year

East coast and southern states get hurricanes

Midwest gets twisters and floods

So to me not a new problem

Just some people do not want to protect where they live???

 

[tmurray]

People have a tendency to overestimate their chances of success, or underestimate their chances of failure, even when there is no supporting data. I would suggest that this phenomena influences people's decisions on what to prepare for in relation to natural disasters as well. This is why regulation is so important. If you can approach the issue based on the "hard" sciences, you can develop reasonable regulations that provide actual protection to people. Once that is done, you use the "soft" sciences to sell the regulations to the people.

 

[steveray]

Stop the federal government and insurance companies from bailing them out and you will see a change....

 

[tbz]

The way I see it, or should I say view it.

Building and or owning a private residence is like owning a vehicle, very personal.

There is a reason stone housing in Europe is still standing after decades and log cabins and barns have disappeared, yes the materials and the elements they are exposed to.

However, at what price point is access denied?

Compare just a few things like

• vinyl siding vs. cement board
• asphalt shingles vs. metal roofing or tile
• Geothermal vs. Natural Gas

Yes over time you might save, but with people moving more often as generations progress, at what savings to the owners?

I loved the example of the single home on the beach standing after the hurricane in the broadcast, it says a lot.

But at what cost of building?

We had a client that built his home on the ocean in a town on the Jersey Shore, 30 ft drop from lot to high tide.

• 2 story with a basement
  • 12" poured foundation
  • 2x10 exterior walls
  • 3/4" sheathing
  • house wrap
  • 3" air gap
  • 12" block exterior walls with rebar and filled solid and braced to sheathing with tie backs for the façade with stucco
  • All windows and doors had automated hurricane shutters
  • I wont even go into the roof system
• Then you have all the surrounding neighbors that pretty much had
  • 10" poured foundations
  • 2x6 walls
  • 1/2" sheathing
  • Cement fiber board exteriors
  • High impact windows and doors
  • Metal roofs

Everyone remembers Irene & Sandy correct,

Well the first one went through both storms like a pea shooter was hitting it.

The others were close to total losses twice, and yes the neighbors rebuilt in less than a year not to loose the summer season.

The neighbors spent less (3) times, with the original purchase and 2 rebuilds, than the first one cost to build by half.

So bought and built twice roughly the same square footage for half what the first one paid for once.

For the record all out of pocket as insurance where they selected to build would not cover for hurricane.

Yes we can build it, but other than the top 5%, who can afford to build it.

And then there is always, why do we think that everyone in 50 to 100 years will want to be living in the same home or building that was built a half of decade or more earlier?

People are creatures of Habit,

I loved my first home a 1850's farmhouse on 3 acres and 540 sqft on each floor with a craw space. Total fixer upper.

Not anymore, building for decades of life assumes that future generations will want to live the same way, there is IMO a point of more than needed, and in todays world even though people say they like the old, what they mean is, they like new, with an older look and feel.

Yes billions saved, but how many people actually want to live in historical buildings and be told what they can and can't do?

Firs Safety Yes, Flooding yes, but where is the balance point is the question vs. the reality that can't keep the attention of people you think 140 charters is to long to read, neither long write out on paper by hand.

 

[jar546]

The way I see it, or should I say view it.

Building and or owning a private residence is like owning a vehicle, very personal.

There is a reason stone housing in Europe is still standing after decades and log cabins and barns have disappeared, yes the materials and the elements they are exposed to.

However, at what price point is access denied?

Compare just a few things like

• vinyl siding vs. cement board
• asphalt shingles vs. metal roofing or tile
• Geothermal vs. Natural Gas

Yes over time you might save, but with people moving more often as generations progress, at what savings to the owners?

I loved the example of the single home on the beach standing after the hurricane in the broadcast, it says a lot.

But at what cost of building?

We had a client that built his home on the ocean in a town on the Jersey Shore, 30 ft drop from lot to high tide.

• 2 story with a basement
  • 12" poured foundation
  • 2x10 exterior walls
  • 3/4" sheathing
  • house wrap
  • 3" air gap
  • 12" block exterior walls with rebar and filled solid and braced to sheathing with tie backs for the façade with stucco
  • All windows and doors had automated hurricane shutters
  • I wont even go into the roof system
• Then you have all the surrounding neighbors that pretty much had
  • 10" poured foundations
  • 2x6 walls
  • 1/2" sheathing
  • Cement fiber board exteriors
  • High impact windows and doors
  • Metal roofs

Everyone remembers Irene & Sandy correct,

Well the first one went through both storms like a pea shooter was hitting it.

The others were close to total losses twice, and yes the neighbors rebuilt in less than a year not to loose the summer season.

The neighbors spent less (3) times, with the original purchase and 2 rebuilds, than the first one cost to build by half.

So bought and built twice roughly the same square footage for half what the first one paid for once.

For the record all out of pocket as insurance where they selected to build would not cover for hurricane.

Yes we can build it, but other than the top 5%, who can afford to build it.

And then there is always, why do we think that everyone in 50 to 100 years will want to be living in the same home or building that was built a half of decade or more earlier?

People are creatures of Habit,

I loved my first home a 1850's farmhouse on 3 acres and 540 sqft on each floor with a craw space. Total fixer upper.

Not anymore, building for decades of life assumes that future generations will want to live the same way, there is IMO a point of more than needed, and in todays world even though people say they like the old, what they mean is, they like new, with an older look and feel.

Yes billions saved, but how many people actually want to live in historical buildings and be told what they can and can't do?

Firs Safety Yes, Flooding yes, but where is the balance point is the question vs. the reality that can't keep the attention of people you think 140 charters is to long to read, neither long write out on paper by hand.

The cost of the land usually outweighs the cost of the structure built on it when it comes to SFRs so those that can afford the ocean front property can afford to build a house that meets the requirements for the location.

 

[JCraver]

Stop the federal government and insurance companies from bailing them out and you will see a change....

Better would be to get the federal government out of the insurance business. Mandating flood insurance, for example, gives random-homebuyer a false sense of security when they buy/build a house in a hole, and it almost guarantees that when there's a flood, they'll get a check and rebuild that house right back in the same stupid spot. Get rid of the mandate, and people will only make that mistake once.