4 ms·

> The reason we don't build out of stone/brick, besides cost of construction, is that they're terrible insulators. So your heating or AC bill is going to go abs

> The reason we don't build out of stone/brick, besides cost of construction, is that they're terrible insulators. So your heating or AC bill is going to go absolutely through the roof. The very opposite. A thin layer of plywood is a terrible insulator. Bricks are very good.

PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago
Bricks are actually very poor insulators. A wood-frame house with the framing elements filled with appropriate thicknesses of insulation is a very, very much better insulated structure than one made (only) of brick.
crazygringo 7y ago
I mentioned in another comment, nobody's building houses out of sheets of plywood. (I mean plywood may or may not be involved, but that's not the "wood" part of a "wooden house".) Wooden houses have wooden frames, with the wooden beams spread out, so that the space between them is chock-full of insulation. This insulation is far, far, far superior than brick/stone can ever be. Brick is a terrible insulator. That's just a fact.
- avmich 7y ago
  The point in brick/concrete walls is that they are much sturdier and harder to break - voluntarily or involuntarily - than plywood. It sounds like proponents of wooden structures keep forgetting that. For thermal protection you can add the same insulation as for the wooden frame. How those stone houses in New England fare during the year, are they that obsolete in terms of insulation?
  - freeone3000 7y ago
    I can tell you how the stone houses in Quebec fare - they're shit. It's drafty and awful and you have to continually run the heater. Compared to my modern insulated condo with drywall walls and joist-and-beam construction (with a concrete support beam and an entire wall of windows), where I run the heater for maybe 20 minutes a day? It's a difference.
  - mturmon 7y ago
    The stone houses are cold in the Northeast, and the brick or stone ones fall down in earthquakes in the West.

PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago

Bricks are actually very poor insulators. A wood-frame house with the framing elements filled with appropriate thicknesses of insulation is a very, very much better insulated structure than one made (only) of brick.

crazygringo 7y ago

I mentioned in another comment, nobody's building houses out of sheets of plywood. (I mean plywood may or may not be involved, but that's not the "wood" part of a "wooden house".) Wooden houses have wooden frames, with the wooden beams spread out, so that the space between them is chock-full of insulation. This insulation is far, far, far superior than brick/stone can ever be. Brick is a terrible insulator. That's just a fact.

avmich 7y ago
The point in brick/concrete walls is that they are much sturdier and harder to break - voluntarily or involuntarily - than plywood. It sounds like proponents of wooden structures keep forgetting that. For thermal protection you can add the same insulation as for the wooden frame. How those stone houses in New England fare during the year, are they that obsolete in terms of insulation?
- freeone3000 7y ago
  I can tell you how the stone houses in Quebec fare - they're shit. It's drafty and awful and you have to continually run the heater. Compared to my modern insulated condo with drywall walls and joist-and-beam construction (with a concrete support beam and an entire wall of windows), where I run the heater for maybe 20 minutes a day? It's a difference.
- mturmon 7y ago
  The stone houses are cold in the Northeast, and the brick or stone ones fall down in earthquakes in the West.