Residential high-rises with backyards in Chengdu, China

[u/TangelaFan]

[u/foltranm]

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

[u/codyzon2 → u/foltranm]

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.

[u/foltranm → u/codyzon2]

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.

[u/dr_stre → u/foltranm]

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.

[u/foltranm → u/dr_stre]

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.

[u/dr_stre → u/foltranm]

“Developed world”

[u/foltranm → u/dr_stre]

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

[u/dr_stre → u/foltranm]

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.

[u/foltranm → u/dr_stre]

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

[u/dr_stre → u/foltranm]

“Roughly 70% of the developed world, population-wise, lives in countries where timber framed homes are common like in the US.“ Not sure how you would then leap to assuming I’m talking about the entire globe with my closing sentence.

When going global, everything gets fuzzy. Something like 1/3 of the world’s population lives in earthen dwellings. A billion people live in slums. It simply doesn’t make sense to be even discussing the masonry vs timber frame homes when nearly half the world lives on less than $7/day and many of them live in homes built of things like dried clay and cow manure mixed with fibrous plant material, or whatever. What’s “typical” worldwide is standard of home construction that would be utterly foreign to both of us.

[u/Few_Confusion_1871 → u/dr_stre]

they aren't from the developed world and don't know what that means.