No, literally all the internal walls in my house are built from two solid layers of red bricks. There's no wood or metal involved. This is normal in most of the west outside America.
I did not use the word "wood" once. I don't think houses with walls you can kick holes in qualify as wood houses. They're closer to cardboard than wood.
Anyways, the point isn't the materials - the point is that the houses are fundamentally unsuited to the environment they are in.
The wood being used in this construction is not for the exterior of the home, but for the frame and internal walls. Most homes in the US are built with wood frames but brick and / or concrete exteriors.
> You won't find a new house in South Florida built out of wood.
Interesting, what do they build them from?
> In Texas you will find a lot of new houses with internal wooden frames, but the outside walls are made of solid brick, I think this is called "brick veneer".
Brick veneer is just a decoration. It’s not structural in any way. There is usually an inch wide gap between the veneer and the actual wall for drying purposes.
That's not really an accurate description of wooden-framed construction. For one, there's a lot more structure to it than just bricks and plywood, and it's also safer against earthquakes and other environmental damage.
One thing I wonder is, how frequently are new European buildings made of stone? I occasionally encounter comments from people confused by American home renovation shows where people literally burst through walls Kool-Aid Man style[1] when demolishing them, but most of our walls (even exterior) are wood-framed and mostly hollow, and once you take out the framing there’s just drywall.
If the old apartments in Germany are anything like those in Belgium, the inside walls are probably plastered brick (or worse - concrete). Wooden houses are a rarity here. Living in old buildings I've never encountered one of these walls built around a wooden frame.
Yes, houses in England are not made from frames almost ever. They are made of solid brick. It was always so confusing to hear about Americans punching through walls. You can't do that here. There's no wood.
Wood doesn't get any weaker with age. Assuming no water damage, 200 year old timber houses are just as durable now as when they were built. In fact 200 year old timber houses in America are more durable than anything you can build now because the quality of wood 200 years ago, even 100 years ago, is better than what you can get now, and the quality of wood 100 years ago in America is better than anything Europe has had for multiple hundreds of years!
Also drywall is a nice material for many reasons. Need a new wall? One day of work. Want to remove a wall? If there isn't a support beam, not an issue. American houses can be reconfigured as the needs of family and society change. My 1950s house has had walls removed and added throughout its life and owners, which is why it has an up to date flow despite what was a very constricted original floor plan.
Also dry wall is easy to fix and paint.
Water is an issue, yes. That part sucks.
Finally, in regards to natural disasters, wood construction can withstand earthquakes far better than stone construction!
I have a certain dislike for wooden houses because a) they seem to have high maintenance requirements, since wood as an organic material is often attacked by fungi, mould, or insects b) the ones I've lived in were old buildings lacking insulation and draughty, thus freezing in winter. That could be fixed with insulation of course.
Even the concrete and steel houses often start with wood framing of some sort and end with wood as a structural part of any ceilings and roofs. Not to mention stairs, room structures/interior walls, ...
I mentioned in another comment, nobody's building houses out of sheets of plywood. (I mean plywood may or may not be involved, but that's not the "wood" part of a "wooden house".)
Wooden houses have wooden frames, with the wooden beams spread out, so that the space between them is chock-full of insulation.
This insulation is far, far, far superior than brick/stone can ever be. Brick is a terrible insulator. That's just a fact.
Well, this depends on _where_ the house is built. Building codes vary wildly across the US. You won't find a new house in South Florida built out of wood.
In Texas you will find a lot of new houses with internal wooden frames, but the outside walls are made of solid brick, I think this is called "brick veneer".
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