How come more new builds don't use all concrete?

[Anonymous]

There a numerous advantages for an all concrete home, so why don't new builds opt for all concrete these days? Cost? You'd have to never deal with wood rot, termites, and numerous other problems that occur with homes built out of wood, brick, etc, so why don't we build all concrete homes?

[Anonymous]

Cost. Concrete is very expensive.

[Anonymous]

Concrete is expensive. It has terrible ecological impact. It's not very insulating, so you'd still have to insulate it, so the walls would have to be very thick.

A properly built wood house has few problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Concrete is expensive. It has terrible ecological impact. It's not very insulating, so you'd still have to insulate it, so the walls would have to be very thick.

A properly built wood house has few problems.

Not true at all. Concrete homes are way better insulated than homes built with wood and walls. You will save as much as 30% in energy in a concrete home. Traditional homes have to be constantly repaired due to rot, insects, and from weathering. How ecologically green is having to replace a traditional roof multiple times over the life of a home, vs a concrete home that may never need a new roof? There are just a lot of problems with traditional homes you don’t have with concrete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Concrete is expensive. It has terrible ecological impact. It's not very insulating, so you'd still have to insulate it, so the walls would have to be very thick.

A properly built wood house has few problems.

Not true at all. Concrete homes are way better insulated than homes built with wood and walls. You will save as much as 30% in energy in a concrete home. Traditional homes have to be constantly repaired due to rot, insects, and from weathering. How ecologically green is having to replace a traditional roof multiple times over the life of a home, vs a concrete home that may never need a new roof? There are just a lot of problems with traditional homes you don’t have with concrete.

Have you ever built a house? You have no idea what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Concrete is terrible for the environment.

https://amp.theguardian.com/cities/2019/feb/25/concrete-the-most-destructive-material-on-earth

https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/11/3/cement-and-concrete-the-environmental-impact

https://climate.mit.edu/explainers/concrete

https://www.fairplanet.org/story/concrete-climate-change-environmental-injustice/

https://www.greenspec.co.uk/building-design/environmental-impacts-of-concrete/

[Anonymous]

When you say concrete, do you mean brick? Most homes in Europe are built out of bricks, even the cheaper new builds. It blows my mind to see bits of 2 x 4 thrown up on new housing developments over here and then the for sale sign saying ‘starting at the low 900’s’ !! As if I’m paying $900k for a house made out of wood. No f-ing way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you say concrete, do you mean brick? Most homes in Europe are built out of bricks, even the cheaper new builds. It blows my mind to see bits of 2 x 4 thrown up on new housing developments over here and then the for sale sign saying ‘starting at the low 900’s’ !! As if I’m paying $900k for a house made out of wood. No f-ing way.

A properly built and maintained wood house lasts essentially forever. There are wood houses in Europe that are a thousand years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Concrete is expensive. It has terrible ecological impact. It's not very insulating, so you'd still have to insulate it, so the walls would have to be very thick.

A properly built wood house has few problems.

Not true at all. Concrete homes are way better insulated than homes built with wood and walls. You will save as much as 30% in energy in a concrete home.

So tell us, oh building science master, what is the typical wall r-value for a concrete house? And what is code minimum in the US?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you say concrete, do you mean brick? Most homes in Europe are built out of bricks, even the cheaper new builds. It blows my mind to see bits of 2 x 4 thrown up on new housing developments over here and then the for sale sign saying ‘starting at the low 900’s’ !! As if I’m paying $900k for a house made out of wood. No f-ing way.

You're smart enough to know you're mainly paying for location.

[Anonymous]

concrete walls have an r value of around .1 per inch, so basically a thermal conductive highway.

[Anonymous]

I know someone out west that built with a product like this. Environmentally it was a good choice for out west because it cut down so significantly on cooling costs for the life of the house, plus wood is not often used out there for exterior walls:
https://greenbuildingelements.com/new-insulated-concrete-blocks-made-from-recycled-styrofoam/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:concrete walls have an r value of around .1 per inch, so basically a thermal conductive highway.

You use insulated concrete. Typical modern concrete structures are extremely efficient. Pools built with ICF need much less heating, for another example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Concrete is expensive. It has terrible ecological impact. It's not very insulating, so you'd still have to insulate it, so the walls would have to be very thick.

A properly built wood house has few problems.

Not true at all. Concrete homes are way better insulated than homes built with wood and walls. You will save as much as 30% in energy in a concrete home.

So tell us, oh building science master, what is the typical wall r-value for a concrete house? And what is code minimum in the US?

Tell me you’ve never heard about ICF without telling me you’ve never heard about ICF.

[Anonymous]

Brick too! Why isn't anyone using beautiful brick anymore?! It's such a shame.