7 ms·
I generally agree with the point you're making, but to be fair, there are plenty of 200-year-old houses in my neighborhood in the U.S., and few younger than 100
by alamortsubite 7y ago
I generally agree with the point you're making, but to be fair, there are plenty of 200-year-old houses in my neighborhood in the U.S., and few younger than 100. And unlike the canal houses in Amsterdam, all were originally built as residential structures rather than commercial, which I think speaks even more highly to their ratio of craftsmanship per cost.
In our case, however, we're lucky not to be sitting on top of a swamp!
- kurthr 7y agoI think you make the real point. These "houses" were highly overbuilt warehouses for stacked storage of relatively heavy trade goods on multiple floors... with an intentional overhang for winch loading. But also, houses built before the end of WW II were often built significantly better than now (e.g. with more "European" standards) to last for a century or more. Since then the commoditization and rapid suburban building (and now multi-story mixed use "urban" condos as well) are meant for maximum profit and 30-50 year lifetimes, just long enough for the mortgage to be paid.
- rootusrootus 7y agoThat sounds more like "get off my lawn" than objective truth. I grew up in a house built in 1914, and almost 10 years ago I bought a brand new house. The new one is built better in nearly all regards.
- bcrosby95 7y agoBeyond that, most people are comparing old houses built by well off people vs modern middle class houses. If you look at "middle class" houses built 300 years ago they were basically shacks.
- kurthr 7y agoAt least those shacks didn’t ‘cost’ a $million so the developer’s REIT could show 12% returns on quickly degrading crap. At least they have to meet some modern codes, but that doesn’t mean they won’t fall apart, leak and mold, or burn quickly.
- kurthr 7y agoYou should compare your modern house to a commercial building with steel beams or concrete slabs, if you want a real comparison. Those ‘houses’ were not built for people to live in, but for commercial storage and transport. Of course they were expensive and well built... the owners were wealthy and the warehouses profitable.
- em500 7y agoMost (older) residential buildings also have hoist beams, mostly to get furniture in and out when moving. Because older Amsterdam houses have narrow stairs and no elevators. http://shadowsofaforgottenworld.blogspot.com/2016/06/hoisting-beams-in-amsterdam.html http://shadowsofaforgottenworld.blogspot.com/2016/06/hoistin...