So I posted some pictures of the house yesterday on my Facebook wall. I don't do it very often but since people keep on asking me how things are progressing, photos are the best way to show what's happening.
Anyhow, this morning I was on skype with my sister who lives in Paris and she tells me that she and another friend were joking about the North American Construction Technique. She asked me if there was any risk that the house would fly off in case of strong winds and said the pictures reminded them of that reality show called "extreme makeover"... I had a glance at the show and wow... I realized that it wasn't a flattering comparison at all! In fact, none of what she mentioned during the conversation was flattering... It is obvious that Europeans are not impressed with the way houses are built over here.
Although I thought their remarks were very funny, I was like "what's up with those Frenchies, they are so critical!". But then I remembered my initial reaction when I came to North America and saw how houses were built here. My other half and I were driving around in the middle of winter, a few years ago, and we passed by a construction site. I looked at it and all I saw was basically a flimsy wooden structure. I was puzzled and said " WTF, you build your houses entirely out of wood here? That looks kind of cheap. Is it even strong enough? I don't understand. Where I live, we build houses out of concrete blocks. Yeah, we are much better than you". My other half reacted to what I had said but the other way around "What? You build your houses out of concrete blocks... WTF? That's why your houses are so cold in the winter. You don't know what you are doing."
Yes, on the old continent, we took the 3 Little Pigs story very very seriously. Building houses in wood belongs to the Middle Ages, and nowadays, we only use concrete blocks, okay? Anything else is considered "el cheapo". Meanwhile, in North America, people like their wood and because wood is such high quality, they use it to build houses. And that's that.
So, what's the best way to build a house? Here is a rather superficial/incomplete but non-partisan overview of the two techniques:
From what I understand, a lot has to do with climate.
In tropical, hotter places, concrete block construction is recommended because it will insulate houses from the heat. Concrete blocks will not be the target of termites and wood rot. As well, concrete blocks are less labour intensive. Once you've installed the blocks, you are pretty much done while with traditional wood framing, you still have to do framing, insulation, siding, drywall, trim, paint... So it can get expensive.
In a colder climate, it is recommended to use wood framing apparently, and that's probably why most houses in North America and Scandinavia are built that way. Wood has a greater insulation value than blocks, especially when it comes to cold. Another thing is that concrete blocks don't allow a lot of room for electrical wiring, plumbing, duct work. As well, with wood, you don't get the typical settlement cracks connected to concrete block construction.
So, as I see it, it appears each technique has its pluses and minuses but both are obviously good enough, as long as the contractors are doing a proper job putting the structure together. That's key I would say! At any rate, it looks like the Frenchies had a good laugh over the Canadian construction technique. I have to admit I can't really blame them, since I felt the same way a few years ago!
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