# Why are American houses built so cheaply/poorly? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460 "2019-07-03T17:51:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/1 "2019-07-03T17:51:01Z")
Why does the richest nation in the world build such shoddy houses? The poor quality of American housing is quite frankly disgraceful. OSB, really? Fine for a shed or temporary dwelling, not a house. Asphalt roof shingles? Again, not acceptable for a human dwelling- a bird/doghouse sure. European nations would never allow their homes to be built like this. They build their homes from concrete/masonry. We build our homes, not even out of solid wood, but OSB which seems to be basically compressed wood chips. Even so-called third world countries build their homes far more solidly and durably than we do. The architecture of many of these suburban tract housing is also HIDEOUS, with the garage displayed prominently on the front as if it were the most important room in the house. I’m sure someone in the construction industry or someone more knowledgeable than me could point out a thousand other way in which American houses are crappily built. Older American houses seem to be far better constructed. In the old Mid-western and Northeast cities, it’s not hard to find homes from the late Victorian era that are still in good condition. These ‘modern’ homes I feel will be ready for the bulldozer after 30-40 years. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/2 "2019-07-03T17:55:37Z")
I’m confident the construction could, theoretically, be better, but I’m less certain that there are other places that, on the whole, do it better than we do. If I had to pick a home to ride out a severe earthquake in, for example, and the options were: A) the average American home B) the average European home C) the average third-world home I’d pick A). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/3 "2019-07-03T18:01:25Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > We build our homes, not even out of solid wood, but OSB which seems to be basically compressed wood chips. No, we _sheathe_ our homes in OSB (sometimes). By and large, homes are built out of good old pieces of American pine forest, cut down and milled to dimensions of 2x4, 2x6, 2x8, and so on. Sheathing is laid over that to help stop racking and to provide a surface onto which to attach the siding and/or roofing. And the answer to the question of why OSB is used for that purpose is simple: it’s cheaper than plywood. As to why Americans build homes out of wood instead of masonry as a rule, the traditional answer I’ve heard is, when we started building houses here, there was a crap-ton of wood available. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/4 "2019-07-03T18:10:21Z")
Almost everything the OP’s people ever built has deteriorated into ruins. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/5 "2019-07-03T18:12:58Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > The architecture of many of these suburban tract housing is also HIDEOUS, with the garage displayed prominently on the front as if it were the most important room in the house. As an American, I can agree with this. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/6 "2019-07-03T18:15:07Z")
I admit that, as an English poster, I’ve been a little startled by comments on homeowning along the lines of ‘You’ll have to budget to replace the roof at least every 20 years’. I mean, my parents have replaced the odd tile blown off in storms in my lifetime, but that’s been it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/7 "2019-07-03T18:16:44Z")
The American garage frequently **is** the “most important room in the house”, or at least the driveway leading up to it is. Which is to say that American society is super-dependent on the private automobile, so yeah, the garage is going to be featured very prominently in most modern houses. Though I agree it’s usually not the greatest look aesthetically. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/8 "2019-07-03T18:16:50Z")
You don’t want to live in an unreinforced masonry (or brick) house in earthquake country (where I am). And it’s expensive to reinforce them. You want something with more “give.” ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/9 "2019-07-03T18:23:38Z")
Building codes are local. I was originally from the Chicago area in Illinois. When I was looking to buy a home in NW Indiana, I was shocked at the crappy construction I encountered. Also, a considerable number of Americans seem to desire far more square footage than people in many other places consider necessary or desireable. To build big homes cheaply, you gotta scrimp somewhere. My suburban 3-bedroom split-level, built in the late 50s - is built like a fortress. Plaster walls, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/10 "2019-07-03T18:23:47Z")
The OP will swoon upon looking at the floor joists of modern houses. They look like osb, but they aren’t, they’re engineered lumber. Supposedly stronger and longer lasting than the solid wood floor joist (and lighter) that would have been used 20 years or so ago. Also, there are different grades of composite lumber for different purposes and sometimes they are treated during manufacture to make them more resistant to things like water damage and mold. I beleive roofing and sheathing for houses are two of those things that they make purpose specific boards for. I can’t argue about design and layout though. Sometimes it defies reason ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/11 "2019-07-03T18:25:14Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > Why does the richest nation in the world build such shoddy houses? The poor quality of American housing is quite frankly disgraceful. I’m curious, how do they construct new middle-class homes in other countries? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/12 "2019-07-03T18:31:47Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m confident the construction could, theoretically, be better, but I’m less certain that there are other places that, on the whole, do it better than we do. If I had to pick a home to ride out a severe earthquake in, for example, and the options were: > > A) the average American home > B) the average European home > C) the average third-world home > > I’d pick A). This may be a reasonable point; but you could turn it around and say, if I had to pick a home to ride out a hurricane in… Which leads me to a couple of questions. Is the Typical American Home as vulnerable to extreme weather as I imagine it to be? Are more people in the US at risk from earthquakes or hurricanes? And do building practices vary depending on the perceived risk of either (ie, by location)? As an aside, I once went out for a bike ride of 30 miles or so with my friend D in rural NJ - not much of an earthquake or hurricane risk in those parts. A house that was standing on the way out had been completely demolished (deliberately) on the way back. Razed to the ground, as in _WTF - where did that go_?? Not a good advert for housebuilding standards if you can do that, IMHO. In the UK I complain that modern British building practices are crap, but… j ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/13 "2019-07-03T18:51:11Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I’m curious, how do they construct new middle-class homes in other countries? Well, in the UK if you buy a new build you would expect at least an outer layer of brick. Forty or fifty years ago, that came with an inner layer of brick too. Then that gave way to an inner layer of breeze block or similar, and these days often an inner timber frame. [Here](https://www.shanlyhomes.com/developments/west-sussex/the-willows/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhauu_bGZ4wIVA0PTCh1x3QFUEAAYBCAAEgJQ8vD_BwE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhauu_bGZ4wIVA0PTCh1x3QFUEAAYBCAAEgJQ8vD_BwE)’s a new build not so very far from us. I would have thought the blurb would mention “traditional” block and brick construction, if that was what they were. The building is ongoing - I may pass by and take another look to be sure. [Here](https://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn209.pdf)’s a not very recent parliamentary briefing document on the subject. It states (2003) that > [@](#): > > The majority of homes in the UK are still constructed using traditional ‘brick and block’ masonry. However, within the last few years there has been increased use of MMC [_modern methods of construction_] for housing, driven by a range of factors including demands for faster construction and skills shortages. j ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/14 "2019-07-03T18:53:38Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Which leads me to a couple of questions. Is the Typical American Home as vulnerable to extreme weather as I imagine it to be? Are more people in the US at risk from earthquakes or hurricanes? And do building practices vary depending on the perceived risk of either (ie, by location)? Well, anyplace along the Gulf of Mexico is subject to Hurricanes/Tropical Storms, including maybe 100 miles inland. The Atlantic Coast from the Florida Keys up to New Jersey, and perhaps a little further north is about the same. Inland from Texas up though the Midwest we have tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Further north and west, heavy snows rule. And of course California has earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/15 "2019-07-03T18:55:58Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Well, in the UK if you buy a new build you would expect at least an outer layer of brick. Forty or fifty years ago, that came with an inner layer of brick too. Then that gave way to an inner layer of breeze block or similar, and these days often an inner timber frame. [Here](https://www.shanlyhomes.com/developments/west-sussex/the-willows/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhauu_bGZ4wIVA0PTCh1x3QFUEAAYBCAAEgJQ8vD_BwE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhauu_bGZ4wIVA0PTCh1x3QFUEAAYBCAAEgJQ8vD_BwE)’s a new build not so very far from us. I would have thought the blurb would mention “traditional” block and brick construction, if that was what they were. The building is ongoing - I may pass by and take another look to be sure. > > [\*\*Here](https://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn209.pdf)’s a not very recent parliamentary briefing document on the subject. It states (2003) that > > \*\* > The majority of homes in the UK are still constructed using traditional ‘brick and block’ masonry. However, within the last few years there has been increased use of MMC [modern methods of construction] for housing, driven by a range of factors including demands for faster construction and skills shortages. > j Yes, I’ve suspected that these are some of the reasons for the poor quality of ‘modern’ homes- the decline of the skilled trades and the desire for speed over quality. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/16 "2019-07-03T19:03:34Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Which leads me to a couple of questions. Is the Typical American Home as vulnerable to extreme weather as I imagine it to be? Are more people in the US at risk from earthquakes or hurricanes? And do building practices vary depending on the perceived risk of either (ie, by location)? Most of the U.S. is under minimal threat to home damage from hurricanes – the threat is highest in Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Atlantic coast along Georgia and the Carolinas, though Atlantic hurricanes can and do hit further north. (California and Hawaii do get occasional hurricanes, as well.) Similarly, most of the U.S. isn’t particularly susceptible to earthquakes (with a few exceptions, the earthquake-prone areas are along the Pacific coast). And, yes, building standards in the US do vary. [In Florida, for example, the building code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Building_Code) now has more stringent requirements for buildings to make them more able to withstand hurricanes (and, apparently, those codes are even more stringent in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties). [California’s building codes](https://homeguides.sfgate.com/california-building-codes-earthquakes-2592.html) address making structures sound enough to withstand earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/17 "2019-07-03T19:09:48Z")
In America we believe in freedom! Like the freedom to build and buy shoddy homes! ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/18 "2019-07-03T19:14:46Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Most of the U.S. is under minimal threat to home damage from hurricanes – the threat is highest in Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Atlantic coast along Georgia and the Carolinas, though Atlantic hurricanes can and do hit further north. (California and Hawaii do get occasional hurricanes, as well.) Similarly, most of the U.S. isn’t particularly susceptible to earthquakes (with a few exceptions, the earthquake-prone areas are along the Pacific coast). > > And, yes, building standards in the US do vary. [In Florida, for example, the building code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Building_Code) now has more stringent requirements for buildings to make them more able to withstand hurricanes (and, apparently, those codes are even more stringent in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties). [California’s building codes](https://homeguides.sfgate.com/california-building-codes-earthquakes-2592.html) address making structures sound enough to withstand earthquakes. That’s a _mighty_ answer to a question. Thank you. j ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/19 "2019-07-03T19:17:01Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > In America we believe in freedom! Like the freedom to build and buy shoddy homes! That’s nothing! In the UK we DEMAND shoddy homes! (See #13) j ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460/20 "2019-07-03T19:19:44Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > That’s a _mighty_ answer to a question. Thank you. You are very welcome! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-american-houses-built-so-cheaply-poorly/836460.md?page=2)