How do these compare for longevity to regular houses? I actually seriously considered possibilities like narrowboats and static caravans when I left uni, but wa

How do these compare for longevity to regular houses? I actually seriously considered possibilities like narrowboats and static caravans when I left uni, but was put off by the need to basically get a new one (or spend the equivalent amount patching up the old one) every 10 years or so - it doesn't seem much of an improvement? That said, in parts of the world (cough Japan) it is expected that you demolish the old building and build your own when you buy a property (and you build cheap and light, accordingly), so perhaps this is another UK-centric concern. Another UK consideration: we have a tendency here to build housing outwards rather than upwards. In a country with relatively little land, if we're considering alternatives, IMO it's well worth considering more high-rise buildings in place of low-density sprawl - not only do they not carry the stigma elsewhere in the world that they do in the UK, but they're even now losing it in the UK; check out the "luxury apartment" blocks going up like mushrooms in the London docklands and around rail stations in sleeper towns.