[jgibson]

I'm not so sure. Whats the average lifespan of a house? 50-80 years? To me it makes sense to invest the time to optimize design to make best use of the land area. I guess you could still use somewhat standarized parts though, spend more effort in the design phase.

[kazen44]

> I'm not so sure. Whats the average lifespan of a house? 50-80 years?

make that a 100 years easily. (atleast in my country).

Heck, some houses don't even have architectural drawings because of their age.

[Jarb]

My architecture wife said houses today are designed (in the US) to last at least 50 years. However I seriously have my doubts that a house could make it that long without some major renovations/overhauls along the way, given that they're essentially built as plywood sheets, stapled to wood planks, protected by plastic siding, and covered with a tar sheet roof down here where I live. I wish the developers invested more into the longevity of a house instead of pinching every penny they can.

[adventured]

US houses can easily last 100+ years. Once they're enclosed, basic maintenance and rare exterior repair/replace gets you a century, unless a natural disaster hits or a freak accident (major fire). With metal roofing becoming common, that removes having to replace the roof except every ~40 years.

You can find plenty of poorly constructed 100+ year old homes in the US, with original innards put together every which way in a shoddy fashion before there were building codes and standardization of construction. And yet there they are, still going with basic maintenance.

[Jarb]

Nice, did not know all that. TIL ^^

[zip1234]

As long as you keep the innards dry it could last hundreds of years.

[planteen]

What city do you live in?

I live in Denver. Houses last way longer than 50 years here. Old houses here are quite desirable due to many of these neighborhoods proximity to downtown. The last two houses I rented were from the 1929 and 1943. They were in great shape. They were not the "old house" on the block either, both neighborhoods dated to that era.

Of course they have had several roofs in that time, but roofs don't last much longer than 15-20 years here due to hail. Siding has a limited life, but Hardie Plank which most new builds I see around here has a very long life. Brick will last basically forever along with plaster walls and hard wood floors. The foundation, framing, and plywood basically last forever if you keep it dry.

[astura]

Even the highest quality roof only lasts ~30 years at the most.

I have asphalt roll roofing which is cheap but needs to be replaced every 5-8 years.

[andrewksu]

Metal goes 100+ yrs. Doing the same thing (asphalt) and expecting different results = insanity.

[lallysingh]

My house is 65 years old, built like this. The wood's kept dry, and the rest of the house is just gypsum, wire, and pipe.

As long as the roof and exterior walls hold up, there's not much to it. And the roof you change every dozen years or so.

[rm_-rf_slash]

Here in Ithaca, NY, many of the houses standing today were built before Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn. Ironically, they’re among the best housing stock, because unlike many mid-20th century constructions, the older houses are free of asbestos and lead paint.

[TulliusCicero]

Survivorship bias: you don't see the shoddy homes from that time period because they didn't make it.

[aorloff]

More likely the quality of wood and carpentry is higher. You can't buy wood these days, certainly not economically, that compares with what was standard 100+ years ago.

[greedo]

Yup. Most studs and beams were made of far better would than the short growth wood we have now. Heck, there are firms that specialize in recovering old wood from barns and factories since the wood is so much denser, and the size is simply unavailable elsewhere.

[cbr]

Huh? People used lead paint widely, and many 100+ year old houses were painted with it.

[gnopgnip]

The lifespan of a house is a ship of theseus type question. The wiring in the walls, plumbing, foundation and frame could last 50+ years if everything else was done right, and there is no water going where it is not supposed to. Modern roofs, windows, air conditioner and heater last 25-30 years. A water heater is going to last about 15 years. Exterior paint, interior paint, carpet, all last about 10 years. After 50 years you will have replaced a substantial portion of the value of a house even if it looks more or less the same.

Even if the home is habitable there are other reasons they are removed. After a certain point it makes more sense financially to tear a home down and rebuild than to continue to renovate it. Also markets change over time, and homes are not always built in a way that maximizes the use of the land. An area that was mostly bungalows and ranches can have homes replaced with larger homes or multifamily buildings.

[astura]

The majority of the houses in my neighborhood are older than 50-80 years. Mine is close to 80 and doing just fine.

A house should last 150 years at least, provided it's maintained.