Nett Zero Madness #379 : Wooden Houses Are Potentially Lower Maintenance.

[cressida 1,585]

Just now, cressida said:

my posts????????

One way to dry your shorts I guess.  You've discovered a new toy haven't you.

[Padders 2,885]

39 minutes ago, PRESLEY said:

I knew someone at Shiregreen who had a Paper shop,  its not there anymore, it blew away. 

Stick to the day job, Mr. P.

[hackey lad 3,991]

2 hours ago, Prettytom said:

 

I would bet one of those fancy eco friendly homes wouldn’t last as long as that has 

[Prettytom 1,648]

12 minutes ago, hackey lad said:

I would bet one of those fancy eco friendly homes wouldn’t last as long as that has 

You’ll never know.

[PRESLEY 1,233]

Just now, Prettytom said:

You’ll never know.

Absolutely Brilliant.  

[Anna B 1,417]

Modern prefabricated houses go up in a jiffy and, as far as I know, can last as long as brick built houses.

 

There are some postwar prefabs near me still going strong, and I would imagine methods have improved a lot since then. Modern ones can also be put together with grey water sustems, solar panels and all energy saving mod cons.

 

I don't know why more aren't built.

[cuttsie 1,093]

1680 brick built houses are still going strong in America .  The bricklayers are dead

[Padders 2,885]

41 minutes ago, Anna B said:

Modern prefabricated houses go up in a jiffy and, as far as I know, can last as long as brick built houses.

 

There are some postwar prefabs near me still going strong, and I would imagine methods have improved a lot since then. Modern ones can also be put together with grey water sustems, solar panels and all energy saving mod cons.

 

I don't know why more aren't built.

I've always thought that Anna.

I drive past them on Mill Rd Ecclesfield often, and I'm always amazed at what good condition their in.

Think they were built in 1946, that's nearly 80 years old.

[Chekhov 488]

3 hours ago, Prettytom said:

Which experts have we had on here, or anywhere else, who have said a prefabricated wooden house would last as long as a bricks built house with a pitched slate roof ?

That article I quoted implied the prefab house could "potentially need less maintenance", but I am arguing that is absolute tosh. And since a brick built house doesn't need any maintenance (other than, possibly, repointing every 40 to 50 years) how can that article possibly be right ?

[Chekhov 488]

2 hours ago, hackey lad said:

I would bet one of those fancy eco friendly homes wouldn’t last as long as that has 

Absolutely no chance whatsoever.

[Chekhov 488]

1 hour ago, Anna B said:

Modern prefabricated houses go up in a jiffy and, as far as I know, can last as long as brick built houses.

There are some postwar prefabs near me still going strong, and I would imagine methods have improved a lot since then. Modern ones can also be put together with grey water sustems, solar panels and all energy saving mod cons.

I don't know why more aren't built.

Bearing in mind that a decent brick built house with a pitched slate roof should last well over 100 years how can you say that ?

Quite apart from anything I thought many Prefabs had flat and/or felt roofs

One thing is absolutely certain, the prefabs you refer to will have been well maintained, i.e. had a lot of maintenance, painting, reroofing etc.

I would agree that any building if enough time and money is spent on maintenance would last 100 years, but it would need a hell of a lot of money spending on it in maintenance.

 

Interesting sidelight on Prefabs :

 

What were prefabs made of?
Early temporary prefabs were constructed using a timber frame and asbestos cladding or cement, while some later buildings used aluminium. Later, permanent prefabs were made using precast reinforced concrete or steel frames clad in asbestos panels

 

I accept asbestos walls would last a long time (and be fire proof ! ) but I doubt they'd be allowed now, so it'd be wood, which rots if not kept scrupulously dry.....

[Anna B 1,417]

1 hour ago, Chekhov said:

Bearing in mind that a decent brick built house with a pitched slate roof should last well over 100 years how can you say that ?

Quite apart from anything I thought many Prefabs had flat and/or felt roofs

One thing is absolutely certain, the prefabs you refer to will have been well maintained, i.e. had a lot of maintenance, painting, reroofing etc.

I would agree that any building if enough time and money is spent on maintenance would last 100 years, but it would need a hell of a lot of money spending on it in maintenance.

 

Interesting sidelight on Prefabs :

 

What were prefabs made of?
Early temporary prefabs were constructed using a timber frame and asbestos cladding or cement, while some later buildings used aluminium. Later, permanent prefabs were made using precast reinforced concrete or steel frames clad in asbestos panels

 

I accept asbestos walls would last a long time (and be fire proof ! ) but I doubt they'd be allowed now, so it'd be wood, which rots if not kept scrupulously dry.....

Things have moved on a lot since the old postwar prefabs. So have modern materials. 

(Of course nobody uses asbestos these days...) You would be hard pressed to tell they were prefabricated these days just by looking at them, they often have a brick or stone skin. Most have internal steel frames, and multiple new methods of sealing, waterproofing and insulating. 

 

Try watching programmes like 'Grand Designs' to see where we're at now. They've come a long, long way.