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Is this satire, are you really advocating building houses with an expected life-span of 40 years? So if i buy a new house when im 30, i should expect to have to

Is this satire, are you really advocating building houses with an expected life-span of 40 years? So if i buy a new house when im 30, i should expect to have to buy new if i live to be more than 70 and I havent moved. If we assume your idea of close to perfectly recyclable houses comes true, i think people would have to really dial down their expectations and standards. No more drywall, particle boards everywhere. Tiles.. forget it, kitchen counters made by reclaimed wood etc

seanmcdirmid 5y ago
> Is this satire, are you really advocating building houses with an expected life-span of 40 years? I'm really not sure. On the one hand, I agree it is wasteful. On the other hand, I personally like living in a new home. > No more drywall, particle boards everywhere. Tiles.. forget it, kitchen counters made by reclaimed wood etc The average kitchen where I live is renovated every 10 years, so the drywall, much of the electrical and plumbing, the floor, tile backsplash, etc...is redone. Bathrooms are also on a 10 year schedule. You can let the reno slide, of course, or perhaps you can do a higher quality reno and hope it lasts longer than a decade. (I'm looking at a kitchen reno right now and my house was built in 2016...the builders just made too many mistakes, but $150k to redo the kitchen...ugh) In Japan, they don't do the reno every 10 years, they just rebuild the house every 30. How is that much different?
- ghaff 5y ago
  I have never seen that in the US. Any significant remodels are on the order of decades. My house is 200 years old.
  - seanmcdirmid 5y ago
    https://www.usacabinetstore.com/how-often-should-you-remodel-your-kitchen/#:~:text=Practically%2C%20you%20don't%20undertake,every%2010%20to%2015%20years https://www.usacabinetstore.com/how-often-should-you-remodel....
  - bombcar 5y ago
    Median duration of home ownership is 13 years - only need them to do one remodel and we basically hit the proposed numbers. Being in a 200 year old house already puts you WAY into the far outliers - the median US house is 37 years old.

seanmcdirmid 5y ago

> Is this satire, are you really advocating building houses with an expected life-span of 40 years? I'm really not sure. On the one hand, I agree it is wasteful. On the other hand, I personally like living in a new home. > No more drywall, particle boards everywhere. Tiles.. forget it, kitchen counters made by reclaimed wood etc The average kitchen where I live is renovated every 10 years, so the drywall, much of the electrical and plumbing, the floor, tile backsplash, etc...is redone. Bathrooms are also on a 10 year schedule. You can let the reno slide, of course, or perhaps you can do a higher quality reno and hope it lasts longer than a decade. (I'm looking at a kitchen reno right now and my house was built in 2016...the builders just made too many mistakes, but $150k to redo the kitchen...ugh) In Japan, they don't do the reno every 10 years, they just rebuild the house every 30. How is that much different?

ghaff 5y ago
I have never seen that in the US. Any significant remodels are on the order of decades. My house is 200 years old.
- seanmcdirmid 5y ago
  https://www.usacabinetstore.com/how-often-should-you-remodel-your-kitchen/#:~:text=Practically%2C%20you%20don't%20undertake,every%2010%20to%2015%20years https://www.usacabinetstore.com/how-often-should-you-remodel....
- bombcar 5y ago
  Median duration of home ownership is 13 years - only need them to do one remodel and we basically hit the proposed numbers. Being in a 200 year old house already puts you WAY into the far outliers - the median US house is 37 years old.