5 ms·
I've read this style of comment a lot lately. I'm an amateur wood worker, carpenter, and occasional framer; to call a wood structure toothpicks is a bit mislead
by oooyay 2y ago
I've read this style of comment a lot lately. I'm an amateur wood worker, carpenter, and occasional framer; to call a wood structure toothpicks is a bit misleading. Houses are primarily composed of "sticks" aka 2x4s that are themselves composed in a series of frames. The frames put together are part of supporting the load of the forces put on top of the house, while beams distribute that load evenly. Places where there's peak load they'll reinforce with metal bracing. The last structural components of a house are sheething and siding, which are equally important.
The concept isn't dissimilar to timberframing which uses all the same mechanisms but leverages wood joinery instead of metal brackets and would still use stick framing and sheething. Timber frames have stood for hundreds of years.
Frankly, just because your house is built from solid structure masonry doesn't mean that it will withstand hurricane level forces or dense flying objects at tens or hundreds of mph.
- Jensson 2y agoOnly house standing in Hiroshima was made out of stone. Stone is far superior as a material to withstand extreme winds, no hurricane comes close to a nuclear bomb. So there is really no reason to argue wood can be as strong, it can't, you can of course make a stone building that is as brittle as wood though. https://www.expedia.com/Atomic-Bomb-Dome-Hiroshima-City-Centre.d6102476.Vacation-Attraction https://www.expedia.com/Atomic-Bomb-Dome-Hiroshima-City-Cent...
- oooyay 2y agoThat building is made of steel with a stone and mortar facade. Facade is not structural. You can tell what side of the building absorbed the blast because that side is missing and likely melted. Structural stone is carved out of large slabs. It's much more expensive pound for pound and non-renewable, but will be equal to large timbers for structural purposes. https://www.archidust.com/blog/2023/11/20/stone-or-timber-dense-or-perforated-various-types-of-building-materials-and-their-applications/ https://www.archidust.com/blog/2023/11/20/stone-or-timber-de...