Why dont Americans make their houses out of concrete ?
By shogunly
@shogunly (1397)
Libya
March 26, 2007 4:56am CST
Especially those living in Tornado and flood zones , I think its ridiculous watching tornado struck areas in America with all the houses levelled to the floor - by wind ! Here in my country , ALL houses are built with bricks and concrete foundations for all floors . I am sure switching to concrete houses would be cheaper than cutting wood from forests .There is the heating issue ( concrete houses get VERY cold ) , but not ALL America is cold ?
1 person likes this
1 response
@redyellowblackdog (10629)
• United States
26 Mar 07
A few Americans do make their houses out of concrete. I am one of them. My house has 3/4's of its outer walls and the floor made of concrete.
I did this for ease and cost of construction along with energy efficiency. My house is also built into the side of a small rise in the ground. Often times homes like mine are called earth sheltered. You are right. It really makes a lot of sense.
You can see a winter time photo of my house at my profile page under "my photos".
@shogunly (1397)
• Libya
27 Mar 07
Hello there , red ! I checked your profile and your house looks great . Also apparently you enjoy a lot of space around the house , I like that part a lot . Which would be more expensive in America , building the whole framework and walls ,floors from WOOD , or using IRON frames with concrete for the floors and roof and bricks for walls ?
1 person likes this
@redyellowblackdog (10629)
• United States
27 Mar 07
Building the frame and the roof trusses with steel is more expensive than wood. However, there are now construction companies and manufacturers specializing in exactly this kind of construction.
A house build internally with steel is almost huricanne proof and those nasty termites are going to break whatever they have that passes for teeth.
So, there are some coastal areas in the south where termites and huricannes are both a problem that the new internally built with steel frameworks are becoming quite popular.
