4 ms·
> that this area may not be habitable long-term Or we may have to change building materials. In Asia, houses are built using granite foundation, brick and ceme
by breadwinner 2y ago
> that this area may not be habitable long-term
Or we may have to change building materials. In Asia, houses are built using granite foundation, brick and cement walls, and concrete slab roofs. Houses built using those materials don't go up in flames.
- crowcroft 2y agoYes, and then we can all complain about inconvenient truths when an earthquake levels everything.
- breadwinner 2y agoConcrete slabs have steel rods, which makes it resilient to earthquakes. In an earthquake-prone zone you will need more steel. The structure will be supported by concrete columns which also have steel.
- Reubachi 2y agoConcrete is rampant in developing nations as it's cheap, scalable, and hardy. It is only cheap because of purchasing power parity, labor costs, resource parity. (For example, construction workers in IN are part of the servant class, and essentially are not paid. they live in the construction sites before it's completed/move on to the next.) In the west.....a concrete/rebar home would cost more per sq foot than a modern hardwood/brick luxury home, because a contractor would have to do some pretty insane procurement, and work...a lot. Plastics/Vinys/Composites used in the west satisfy 2 of those 3 qualities listed earlier, anyway You could even call them hardy as compared to old thatched roofs, sod walls etc. Now.....let's be realistic. 70 MPH firestorms are historically devastating. Your concrete home in this scenario is destroyed and no longer structurally sound due to the heat stress, exploded water pipes, carcinogens. Everything is fuel when the heat/wind is that high. And if it isn't fuel, it's getting beat up by it. I have problems with the way this fire waas handled (IE, not maintaining a properly paid wildland force or AIR corps of said force), but I really can't see mass concretization as away out. Simply put: anyone building in LA right now is on some good drugs.
- breadwinner 2y ago- As far as labor cost, this is where we need to bring in cheap labor from south of the border, legally, on temporary visas. Win-win for everyone. - 70 MPH firestorms: Currently houses made of wood are fuel for the fire. When houses are made of concrete and steel the fuel is taken away and fires don't spread as easily. Why don't we hear of fire devastating homes in the Middle East? Because buildings in the Middle East are constructed using concrete and steel. These materials are less likely to ignite and spread fire compared to traditional wooden structures.
- hollerith 2y agoBuildings in the Middle East are constructed using concrete and steel mostly because wood would need to be imported from 1000 miles away and because the thermal mass of the concrete is very useful for moderating the extremely continental climate.
- _DeadFred_ 2y agoIs this where I indulge my inner hippie annoyingly advocate for straw bale homes?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- dragon96 2y agoInconvenient truths about the big bad wolf disaster of 2027
- y-c-o-m-b 2y agoOr superadobe homes, the structure that broke the California seismic testing equipment: https://calearth.org/pages/what-is-superadobe https://calearth.org/pages/what-is-superadobe They are also fire resistant