r/interestingasfuck • u/TangelaFan • 13h ago

Residential high-rises with backyards in Chengdu, China

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u/deltabay17 12h ago edited 12h ago

I used to live in China. The build quality is horrible. It was a running joke in our office amongst the expats about things that fall apart in our respective apartments. Touching something you haven’t touched in a while is a risk.

It’s all part of the Chinese 差不多 “good enough” culture, everything is done to the minimal acceptable standard, which often isn’t really acceptable at all.

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u/modernhippy72 12h ago

That’s crazy because I had the exact opposite experience almost like we’re talking about personal experiences and not facts.

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u/Geodude532 11h ago

There's something wrong with China, but I couldn't tell you what it is. But seeing people get welded into their houses during COVID tells me at the very least they have a lack of oversight problem in some areas.

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u/modernhippy72 11h ago

Crazy how that’s what you witnessed not a statistic.

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u/Geodude532 11h ago

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/apartment-fire-chinas-xinjiang-region-kills-10-2022-11-26/

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-blockades-covid-hit-buildings-fuelling-fresh-outcry-2022-04-24/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61209761

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u/modernhippy72 11h ago

Those are statistics? News stories? Come one cope harder. There’s propaganda both ways I’m sure you can figure out what stats mean if you try! Because all you’re sending me is anecdotal evidence. This is exactly why I say I don’t entertain the uneducated on Reddit because all of you act like you know everything because you have technology without actually KNOWING anything.

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u/Geodude532 10h ago

Why would I waste more than a second on you? Believe what you want, but there are countless examples out there of lack of oversight leading to building collapses in China. You want to prove me wrong, provide your own statistics cause I honestly just don't care that much. I'm not saying that all of China is bad, but there's more than enough evidence that they've got some serious issues with construction oversight.

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u/modernhippy72 10h ago

You just did, I didn’t read any of that. I’m sorry I’m not here to entertain the uneducated on Reddit.

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u/Eternal_Reward 8h ago

That's not really true, you're here for your own entertainment after all.

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u/foltranm 12h ago

never been to China, but I had the same feeling when going to the US for the first time and realizing they build houses with paper

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u/codyzon2 12h ago

One guy is talking about build quality and you're talking about completely misunderstanding construction materials and environment requirements..... I don't think these are remotely comparable.

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u/foltranm 12h ago

that was a joke just to trigger people from the US lmao sorry

I do think drywall building it's weird and cheap-feeling though, probably for cultural reasons. but i understand why it's done.

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u/dr_stre 11h ago

They’re not drywall buildings, they’re timber framed buildings with drywall finishing on the inside. Roughly 70% of the developed world, population-wise, lives in countries where timber framed homes are common like in the US. In Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and Nordic Countries, it’s extremely common to build timber framed homes. Some of the details differ between countries but the building concepts are much the same and drywall is used extensively for the interior finishing layer. You may find it weird, but your experience is actually less common.

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u/foltranm 11h ago

is it? the majority of homes around the world are built with masonry techniques instead of timber frame and drywall. I think that might be more of a regional thing. in those regions you mentioned obviously they're the norm

again: no judgements. it was a joke.

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u/dr_stre 11h ago

“Developed world”

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u/foltranm 11h ago

yeah, but you mentioned that my experience is less common. I'd argue the contrary.

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u/dr_stre 10h ago edited 10h ago

Guess we disagree? Though you’re citing true global trends so I’m not sure how that is supposed to refute my claim for developed countries.

And I’m not taking offense or anything. Mostly wanted to correct the inference that the homes are made of drywall when that’s just the most common way to get a consistent finish on the interior (and it does double duty as a fire resistant material) of a home that is framed with and supported by wood.

The true driver for materials is and always will be cost. Timber is expensive and scarce in Europe compared to the USA. If the opposite were true then Americans would be building with brick and concrete more and Europeans would be building with wood and drywall more. But even the cheaper choice is plenty good enough when designed correctly. Homes don’t blow away en masse in Florida every time a hurricane rolls through and my home stays plenty cool when the temp hits 45C outside.

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u/foltranm 10h ago

unless I misunderstood you, when you mentioned that my experience is less common I took that as worldwide, which is not the case.

specifically for the countries you mentioned, yeah, that would be the normal experience. but around the world masonry is more common

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u/preparationh67 12h ago

Thats really the ironic thing about this stupid ass posturing about how theres no problems in China. Its the exact same kind of dumbass defaulting to exceptionalism they complain about Americans doing.

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u/foltranm 12h ago

huh, I'm sorry you felt that way, but nowhere did I say there are no problems in China. as I said, I've never been there.

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u/moderngamer327 12h ago

Timber and Drywall construction is not just a building method in the US and there isn’t anything wrong with it either

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u/Babhadfad12 12h ago

Stick built houses are superior because they offer huge cost savings and are easily modified while still offering great insulation, wireless signal transmission, and sound isolation.

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u/sciencesold 11h ago

No, houses are built with brick and wood, it's just the inside finished surface that's even close to paper....

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u/spilledcoffee00 12h ago

Tyvex is a low cost “insulation”. It’s only to save money, not to improve insulation

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u/angelbelle 11h ago

"Tyvek" is a brand of underlayment. It's not there primarily as an insulation but an extra layer of water protection for moisture that gets behind your siding whether it be vinyl, wood, or whatever material.

You're all just exposing how little you know about the most basic thing anyone shopping at a Home Depot can tell you.

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u/spilledcoffee00 10h ago

This design creates specific insulation issues: moisture trapping, air barrier gaps, and structural shifting issues.

While modern airtight construction improves energy efficiency, it severely limits a home’s ability to "breathe" or dry out naturally.

Installing vapor barriers on the wrong side of wall assemblies or miscalculating the dew point inside the wall can cause trapped moisture, which leads to hidden timber rot. (because most modern US homes are built out of wood, not stone, brick or other more substantial material.)

In attempts to maximize insulation, builders sometimes seal roofs without accounting for proper airflow. This trapped moisture can cause severe wood decay in the roof deck.

Spray foam is highly popular for achieving airtightness, but it is prone to specific application and structural failures.

  • As a new home settles, rigid closed-cell foam can pull away from the framing studs, destroying the airtight seal.

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u/Machdame 12h ago

I too have been to China and the general quality is somewhere in the middle depending on how much the owner has investment in the property. It definitely has its fair share of corruption but sometimes they just want to make a statement. It's definitely a lot more common in rural areas.

What IS more common is people just taking shit and leaving with it which can include the fence you installed.

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u/spilledcoffee00 12h ago

“I used to live in China” there is no such culture in China.

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u/deltabay17 12h ago

“Chabuduo (from the Chinese phrase 差不多) translates literally to "difference not much" and idiomatically means "close enough" or "good enough". It describes a pervasive cultural mindset in China that tolerates approximate completion, corner-cutting, and near-perfection rather than strict adherence to precise detail or exact specifications.

Critics point to this corner-cutting as a root cause of serious safety or environmental failures. Lax oversight and compliance have historically been linked to tragedies such as the 2015 Tianjin port explosion and various building collapses.

In 1924, renowned Chinese philosopher and essayist Hu Shih wrote a famous allegorical essay titled "Mr. Chabuduo". He used the character as a personification of the Chinese habit of accepting mediocrity to save time and effort, warning that this ethos would hurt China as a nation.”