American reacts to 'Why American homes are Flimsy compared to Europe'

Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to 'Why American homes are Flimsy compared to Europe'

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[insu_na]

The problem with American houses isn't so much the material but the architecture. You can build really solid and sturdy houses with wood, but Americans just keep using 2x4s with drywall and plywood as walls. In America "punching through a wall" is a bit of a meme, but it's certainly possible. Anywhere in Europe, even the parts that build their houses from wood, you'll just break your hand.

[tschaytschay]

As a German I just can't never get over holes in north american walls. Just the concept of a wall someone can punch a hole in is so... strange. And I don't want to imagine how much you can hear from your neighbours or family members, I like my privacy, thanks.

[claracatlady]

Suddenly the never ending trope of “Noise Complaints” in American movies, shows and books makes more sense. I always thought that was unrealistic, like how could you make THAT much noise even if it is a party. In my house (with closed windows) unless there are fireworks or a freaking parade I don’t hear nothing.

[Nemioke]

We in Finland have the most forest by area in Europe - maybe even in the world. We use wood, but the houses are way sturdier than in the US. Triple or four paned windows, insulation methods and overall construction is very solid - very different to US methods. Our building code is very strict - that's also very important.

[TheJackD]

I live in North Peloponnese, Greece, on the slope of a mountain about 800 meters above sea level. My place is a two-story stone house build 103 years ago, so it's relatively new since there are some stone houses in our village made way back in 1820's, after the greek revolution against the Ottomans. We have pretty harsh winters with lots of rain and snow and the temperature falls well under 0C specially at night. In the summer the sun is very hot and the temperature reaches many times over 36C, sometimes even over 40C, specially in mid/end July. We expect such temps at the end of this week actually. The Corinthian Gulf is right below us, very close and is a territory well known for it's seismic activity. We have tectonic tremors/earthquakes (2-3R) every 2-3 months, a couple of 4-5R eartquakes every year and a big one about 6R every 10-20 years.Our houses are made to protect us from all these elements, stay cool in the summer, warm during winter (stone walls are over a meter thick) and while they shake hard during earthquakes, they don't fall. Only the inside plaster surfaces get cracked, but that's something that some new plaster and paint easily covers. I understand that the problem with american wooden houses is that are not made to last like wooden houses in northen Europe do. It's a shame because once upon a time american products in general were famous for their sturdiness, a few still do, like Harleys❤. I think Americans nowdays treat their houses like any other product, use it while it's new and then throw it away and get another. No sustainability concept involved, probably because of your newer-bigger-better approach to things. Might be good for a few things, definitely not for houses.

[melange]

I have lived in the US for three years and I have studied architecture and building. American houses IN GENERAL are built to last for maximum 30 years. In Europe they are built in general to last at least 100 years but often more. A Swedish wooden house is built to last more than 100 years so it is not just the choice of materials, it is the initial plan of the builder.

[avmavm]

Europe has a past history of building wooden houses, but it also has a history of large fires - The Great Fire of London 1666 for instance. Building regulations were often strict to encourage sturdier houses made of stone to cope better

[smol_hamster_]

Strong(er) earthquakes and tornadoes are pretty rare in Europe (the tectonic plate is pretty stable and the continent is very mountainous), that's why you don't really hear about this stuff happening in Europe.
When it comes to the energy-saving part, brick houses (at least here in Europe) are built in a way so that they retain heat during winter (you don't have to heat them as often) but remain cool in the summer. That's why many places in Europe don't have AC. In my family's house, we have a wood stove on both floors and during winter we save some extra money on heating by burning wood in the stove. The heat from a few hours of burning wood can last us 3-4 days until we have to burn wood again.

[annab]

In Sweden, Where I live, we use wood a lot because we have the materials growing in abundance. However, the more south you go, the more stone and brick you encounter. In my home country, Poland, it is almost always brick and stone.

[sarahlemke]

Up until like 10 years ago I used to think that those thin walls were just built for movies, sitcoms and such, for the effect of punching through them. Because our German walls are usually made of bricks.
Actually, I thought that several things that wouldn’t make sense in Germany were just for the camera: windows that slide up (so teen girls’ bf can climb through at night), toilet bowls with much water in them (so the highschool bully can have their moment), doorknobs instead of handles (so it’s easier to break in), vents instead of radiators (for the villain to poison an entire family by gas or sth) etc… 😅

[NOGlameows]

I’m guessing the reason you’re not able to save 4000 dollars a year if you moved to a brick house, is because you live in a warm area and you don’t probably spend that much money on heating your house in the winter. Heating the house during a very cold winter is super expensive and that’s where most of the savings are made.

[LordStradh]

Here in Sweden and Finland wood is abundant, and used to build houses. But unlike the US you can't walk through the inner walls...
Even with wood we build sturdy and lasting, we simply have harder building code.
Our interior walls are thicker than the standard us exterior wall, and the exterior ones much thicker, and well insulated, and yes we insulate internal walls as well, so sound is dampened.

If your home is from the 1920:s it is likely of higher quality and building than what is represented in this video.

[freakymeff]

it's mindboggling that anyone would tie themselves into 30-year mortgage payments over a house you can punch holes through. Like, this doesn't make sense to me.

[Malabrace]

Him: moved 7 times.
Me: still living in my great-great-grandparent's house, built in the 1800s

[anoitecerempobrecido]

Brick and concrete houses also take much longer to build, which further adds to construction price. The oldest house I lived in was from the 12th century. Walls were made of 50 cm (~20 inch) thick granite stones. I couldn't get phone signal inside the house.

[chrischi]

I find it fascinating. I’m from Germany and the oldest wall in my house is from 1180 and the newer parts are from the 1580.
It’s fun to live in a old house with tons of history in my city. I learned a lot from my city’s history just to be interested in my house. But it’s has big wood beans in it like in the old Fachwerkhäuser in Germany.

[Trashbd]

A friend of mine moved to US (New Hampshire) to work at Boyd's and the first thing he did was buying a house and then insulate it properly (to Swedish standard), his energy consumption shrunk to less than half the projected consumption, his point was that insulation don't only keep warmth in, it also keeps it out when it's hot...

[Rnd]

Some towns were built (out stone) in the middle-ages. There was no shortage of wood at the time. So the quantity of available wood was no factor.

[robertotarter]

Tornadoes are less of a problem in Europe ( we still have them tho) but earthquakes are a HUGE problem in many areas, Italy and the balkans especially!

[tronotrond]

As a Scandinavian now living in Texas it's definitively not the wood, but this video resonated a lot. Houses are generally constructed very cheaply here, that's for sure. And many just doesn't seem interested in taking care and maintaining their homes either. There are definitively less regulations in place to ensure a properly built houses, and there are less safety mechanisms built in to avoid things like a bathroom leak causing major flood damage. Overall you can see the windows, doors, and materials are of the cheapest types, with gaps and inaccuracies everywhere. I'm sure it varies a bit, but one other major difference is the use of drywall which cracks and breaks as the house matures. My house was constructed in the late 2000s but the design and material choices makes it seem so much older. Not to mention it came with a gray, generic carpet in every room. I thought carpets went out of fashion in the 70s! You can visibly see many places how the ceiling or walls are crooked. It's "hidden" by applying "orange peel" texture absolutely everywhere. In Scandinavia, people want hardwood floors and flat, straight surfaces - which naturally takes more time to get right. The roof has shingles that lasts 10-15 years, vs roof stones that lasts 30-40 years in Europe. Naturally many things are also different due to different climates and other things.