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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
21,018
50,373
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I remember them going up. I had friends on a farm in Little Cornard. They swore they'd sell up and move when those horrible boxes started appearing over Prospect Hill. And they did. I don't care to go back that way again, and look. The old farmouse is now probably part of an extension to that housing estate. And that, dear Americans, is another stupid thing about this country that you missed so far - we build crappy little houses all over perfectly good, food-producing farmland.
Oh, we did a lot of building crap housing over rich farmland. The San Fernando Valley is a perfect example of it.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
21,018
50,373
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Likewise. Built cheap and built quick.

I bought a brick built house in Great Cornard in 1989 that was a mere 2 years old. Freezing cold, draughty, thin walls and ill fitting doors & windows. I couldn't wait to sell it.

Jay.
I thought quirky products were considered part of British culture.

Regarding brick versus stick construction, guess which does better in earthquakes.
 
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mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,822
8,632
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Regarding brick versus stick construction, guess which does better in earthquakes.
Thankfully we don't have many earthquakes in these parts rather like most of the US. California is the only earthquake hotspot I believe.

I read the excellent Simon Winchester book 'A Crack In The Edge Of The World: America And The Great California Earthquake Of 1906' and that made me very thankful I didn't live there. It's only a matter of time before the next 'Big One'!

That said, living in a wooden house, I'd never sleep for fear of it burning down. Once those stick houses get going, there's no putting them out.

Jay.
 
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mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,822
8,632
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
More on chicken anatomy for those unfamiliar.
I'm very familiar with most of it.....but only by sticking my hand up the vent to pull the rest of it out :rolleyes:

Turkey livers make a splendid pate, I made tons of the stuff. Also their eggs make great omelettes though the yolks are rather pale. I used to collect the eggs at the turkey farm (they were normally just wasted) and sold them to an egg dealer on Sudbury market.

No news from the Forum's favourite Welshman aka @Flatfish. Methinks either he got blown away in the recent gales or his power is down.

Jay.
 
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Infantry23

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 8, 2020
887
2,572
44
Smithsburg, Maryland
And that, dear Americans, is another stupid thing about this country that you missed so far - we build crappy little houses all over perfectly good, food-producing farmland.

Hey, we do that too!! 😁 It's either a poorly built cookie-cutter subdivision or many acres of Amazon warehouses. Either way, farmland goes away, crappy construction appears.
 

Egg Shen

Lifer
Nov 26, 2021
1,187
3,960
Pennsylvania
Thankfully we don't have many earthquakes in these parts rather like most of the US. California is the only earthquake hotspot I believe.

I read the excellent Simon Winchester book 'A Crack In The Edge Of The World: America And The Great California Earthquake Of 1906' and that made me very thankful I didn't live there. It's only a matter of time before the next 'Big One'!

That said, living in a wooden house, I'd never sleep for fear of it burning down. Once those stick houses get going, there's no putting them out.

Jay.
Your first paragraph is not true. I do seismic engineering stuff at work. New York City and northern Jersey are in seismic zones. There is a huge zone in the Ozarks that is past due for seismic shift.

To your third paragraph- we have concrete fire barriers between our wood-framed row homes.

All in all though i think Americans should get back to homes made of more permanent materials. It would cost more, but we could offset that by reducing our average square footage per house (and yard). I see a lot of unused yards and spare rooms in the average American family home.

I do love the turn this thread has taken, heading into architectural discourse. I recently read a book by Bill Bryson, called At Home. He’s a writer who has lived much of his life in England + America, where he takes a deep dive into our architectural differences, and the reasons for them.
 

dd57chevy

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 7, 2023
192
561
Iowa
Ac
Your first paragraph is not true. I do seismic engineering stuff at work. New York City and northern Jersey are in seismic zones. There is a huge zone in the Ozarks that is past due for seismic shift.
According to the Missouri DNR , there was a humongous one (and aftershocks) in the winter of 1811-1812 . Estimated mag 7.0 + .
 
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warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
12,358
18,572
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Thankfully we don't have many earthquakes in these parts rather like most of the US. California is the only earthquake hotspot I believe.
Alaska is the US hot spot. California is certainly up there though and , as far as major damage, has a larger population and may more built up areas so, if/when they ever get a major quake it could be catastrophic.
 

dd57chevy

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 7, 2023
192
561
Iowa
Alaska is the US hot spot. California is certainly up there though and , as far as major damage, has a larger population and may more built up areas so, if/when they ever get a major quake it could be catastrophic.
The '64 Alaska quake was the worst ever recorded in US history , 9.2 magnitude ! 131 killed !
What a horrible mess !
 
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Jan 30, 2020
2,329
7,690
New Jersey
All in all though i think Americans should get back to homes made of more permanent materials. It would cost more, but we could offset that by reducing our average square footage per house (and yard). I see a lot of unused yards and spare rooms in the average American family home.
I feel like there was a desired shift around the 08-09 mess that lasted a little while, then the size thing started creeping back up before totally blowing up after 2020. Now everyone needs their own bedrooms, everyone needs their offices, etc., etc.

Everyone around me keeps adding additions or knocking down to build 2-3x the house that was there while I sit in my sub-1000 square foot home feeling like it's kind of spacious.

Wouldn't want any smaller yards though. Don't need to start over crowding out here. it's busy enough.
 
we build crappy little houses all over perfectly good, food-producing farmland.
I'm going to plead guilty. I developed my family's farmland this last year. Most of our farming is moving to Mexico, because the money sucks.

I don't mind not having houses that'll last 1000 years. Heck, in my neighborhood, the trend is to buy, knock down and build what you want. Maybe Americans are just too individualistic to live in a house designed by someone else. We all want our own space to meet our own specs.
 
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mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,822
8,632
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Maybe Americans are just too individualistic to live in a house designed by someone else. We all want our own space to meet our own specs.
So if your let's say grandfather left you the totally unique house that he built with his own blood, sweat and money, you wouldn't feel a certain amount of pride in living in it yourself, and with a view to passing it on to one of your offspring?

*Serious question.

Jay.
 
So if your let's say grandfather left you the totally unique house that he built with his own blood, sweat and money, you wouldn't feel a certain amount of pride in living in it yourself, and with a view to passing it on to one of your offspring?

*Serious question.

Jay.
Oh, I used to own my grandfather's house. I let my sister live in it for a while, and then sold it. It was torn down before i started developing the land.
I owned by dad's house for a while, but... why would I want to hang on to their flimsy paper houses? Ha ha.
 
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