Stupid thoughts about durability of modern building materials

There's a lot of survivors bias in this thread

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

All the naff old buildings from the 1890s have already fallen down and a decent fraction of the survivors are like triggers broom.
And some confirmation bias in looking for something to support your own point of view.

Buildings don't fall down, they are knocked down. Those buildings tend to be structurally sound and serviceable, but deemed unsuitable or otherwise unwanted.
 
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a lot of survivors bias in this thread

Interesting, I was thinking the same - only the good ones are left... Got interested in numbers:

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/English_housing_stock_age said:
According to the English housing survey 2014 to 2015: housing stock report, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the age of the housing stock in England in 2014 was:



[The number of houses is shown in thousands]

20% were built before 1919 and 24% were built after 1980. There were approximately 23.4 million homes in total, just over a million of which were vacant.

Ok, so that chart doesnt record the housing stock 100 years ago, but, 1 in 5 houses are over 100 years old (in England).
 
does it stipulate your b&q osb must not be exposed?
That's in the BBA certificate, and various BS/ENs and codes of practice.

But here's a helpful snip

" .. will normally be confined within the building structure and, in most cases, will be covered with finishes, maintenance is not required."
 
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Am in a Victorian cottage, earliest records can find is 1856, where it's referenced to on an old hand drawn map. Our bricks are crumbling now, quite badly in some places. I fear though that's because modern methods & ways don't agree with old builds rather than just down to age. Am in a conservation area, the whole street I live in is full of old properties, some dating back to the fifteen hundreds, all still standing!

I like Victorian/Georgian/Edwardian homes, I like the look of 1930's homes and those 30's houses that were build well back then are still very good. Thing I really dislike about modern houses is they lack any soundproofing, I don't wish to hear everything my neighbours are doing.
 
They are building a new estate along the road from me. 49 private dwelling, (I think), and 26 'social housing units, (does that mean council owned?).
Because we are in the countryside and not connect to, either, gas or mains drainage it has taken over 5 years to get through planning apparently. They will have mains drainage and, I suspect, mains gas. The foundations were laid for the first phase of houses just as lockdown was about to begin. The site then stayed silent for at least 3 months until early July. They now have the studwork and roof trusses erected, with big blocks of cellotex insulation between the stud uprights, for about 15 houses. Gaps for the doors and windows and 2 or 3 courses of the exterior brickwork. I would hate a house where all the internal structures were made of timber, plasterboard and thick insulation. Whats puzzling me is there have been no electricians or plumbers seen around the site. Lots of telecoms vans putting fibre optics stuff in somewhere but none of the 'essential' trades.
 
They are building a new estate along the road from me. 49 private dwelling, (I think), and 26 'social housing units, (does that mean council owned?).
Because we are in the countryside and not connect to, either, gas or mains drainage it has taken over 5 years to get through planning apparently. They will have mains drainage and, I suspect, mains gas. The foundations were laid for the first phase of houses just as lockdown was about to begin. The site then stayed silent for at least 3 months until early July. They now have the studwork and roof trusses erected, with big blocks of cellotex insulation between the stud uprights, for about 15 houses. Gaps for the doors and windows and 2 or 3 courses of the exterior brickwork. I would hate a house where all the internal structures were made of timber, plasterboard and thick insulation. Whats puzzling me is there have been no electricians or plumbers seen around the site. Lots of telecoms vans putting fibre optics stuff in somewhere but none of the 'essential' trades.
council / social housing agencies same thing , they normally work hand in hand.
 
Timber Framed Buildings are not new , many were built in Tudor/Elizabethan times and are still standing !!!
 
Timber Framed Buildings are not new , many were built in Tudor/Elizabethan times and are still standing !!!

Agreed, but they were good solid timbers, usually oak, unlike modern timbers which are felled and processed into the 'thin' boards we use today.
 
I've got a lifetime guarantee on the receipt from B&Q.

Do B&Q specify how long it will be before the item dies naturally of old age ?,

There are many timber frame buildings that were built more than 400 years ago and the timbers are still in good safe condition. Some of those timbers are found to be "as hard as steel" when it is necessary to drill holes in them.
 
The first time i saw concrete poured over insulation boards i wondered how long the floor would last before the board got squashed under the weight. Maybe they will last decades....
 
Do B&Q specify how long it will be before the item dies naturally of old age ?,

There are many timber frame buildings that were built more than 400 years ago and the timbers are still in good safe condition. Some of those timbers are found to be "as hard as steel" when it is necessary to drill holes in them.
are you comparing 400 year old oak to osb:LOL:
 
Timber Framed Buildings are not new , many were built in Tudor/Elizabethan times and are still standing !!!
This is one down the road from us. Oldest parts are 14thC.
Surprisingly, it was to be demolished if no acceptable offers were received when put up for auction in 1925. The then neighbouring Stockport County Council made an offer but it was rejected.
No offers were received, but the president of Manchester United offered to buy it for £15K. In 1935 his widow sold it to the local council for £14K on the understanding that the house and remaining 70 acres of grounds be opened to the public.

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