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Fiberglass insulation is used inside exterior walls and makes them better insulating than brick. Major heat/cold losses are through windows, the same kinds of
by CydeWeys 8y ago
Fiberglass insulation is used inside exterior walls and makes them better insulating than brick. Major heat/cold losses are through windows, the same kinds of problems you have in brick buildings. Put in a good enough window (and seal the edges tightly) and you will do amazingly well with heat/cold.
And Notre Dame is made out of hewn stone blocks, not brick, which is a big difference. Brick isn't stone; it's just baked clay, which isn't as good. There are actual houses out there that are made out of hewn stone, and that's another thing entirely. My relatives live in a manor in Tuscany where the oldest part of the house is stone from the 14th century.
- NeedMoreTea 8y agoThere's plenty of brick built that are pushing 200. If engineering brick there's no reason they shouldn't last another 300+. Very little built since the 60s is likely to reach that age. If humanity is serious about sustainability we have to learn to build to last once again.
- vonmoltke 8y agoYet there are plenty of wood-framed, and even wood-foundationed, houses in older cities that are already at 100+, and a decent portion of those are pushing 150. The problem with more recent construction is not the material, but the building methods (specifically corner-cutting in mass-produced tract houses).