[shrubble]

The frustrating thing is, that for not much more spent at the time of construction, we could have nearly maintenance-free homes for 80 years or more.

Like, why use wood in an climate like the American South, where there are multiple species of termites that like to eat wood?

I was a member at a maker space - the building has been around since the 40s or 50s and never damaged by a hurricane - why? The roof (with a rubber rolled roof on top) along with the rest of the building is made out of concrete.

[jandrewrogers]

It probably depends on where you are in the South and also cost sensitivity. If you are hugging the Gulf Coast then you do see a fair amount of cinder block in new builds, at least in wealthier parts.

As you move north, you enter either the South Carolina or New Madrid seismic hazard zones. Building codes require reinforcing new masonry construction to modern US seismic standards which adds significant expense. Older masonry construction that pre-dates the current seismic standards are typically grandfathered in but you might not want to be inside it during one of the infrequent strong earthquakes.

The US uses wood because it is abundant and cheap. But people also forget that most of the US is subject to strong earthquakes, so the alternative to wood is massive amounts of steel which is expensive. The original masonry construction in the US was mostly destroyed by earthquakes.

Where I live a new house is required to survive a M8.5 earthquake without material structural damage. If you avoid the use of wood in construction, the amount of steel required to meet that standard tends to be cost prohibitive. Steel construction also requires much more expensive labor in addition to the material costs.

[BobbyTables2]

I’ve always wondered why the South uses black asphalt shingles. Aside from being the worst possible color, they like neither the hot summers, the hailstorms, nor the hurricanes.

The level of stupidity exceeds California homes using sun-baked wood shingles that can be torched off from the suggestion of a single spark.

[xnx]

Job security for roofers. Individual home buyers are too dumb to understand or too busy too think about tco.

There's a reason you don't see shingles on commercial buildings.

[xnx]

Exactly. I daydream about building a simple house to commercial standards that is optimized for low total cost of ownership and easy cleaning.