Certain parts of the United States, particularly the south-east, including Florida, are regularly subject to hurricanes – as we have seen just now with Hurricanes Helene and Milton. However despite these natural risks, wood is still regularly used in the U.S. construction market. There are many reasons why houses are still made of wood; it is much more economical, building is quicker, and wood has special features that make it resistant to bad weather conditions.
Cost-effectiveness and speed of construction
Probably the most important reason why wood houses remain very popular in construction is their inexpensiveness. In general, a wooden frame is much cheaper compared to, say, concrete or brick. This makes much sense when there is a great demand for housing with very limited budgets.
More so, it is possible to construct a house made of wood faster than one whose major material is concrete. Not only is the labor cost less due to the fact that the actual construction takes a shorter time, but also the people are quickly able to occupy the new homes, which is very important in areas prone to disasters. In the case of hurricanes and tornadoes, for example, this leads to an entire community having to rebuild its homes just to return back to normal, hence finding wood especially attractive.
Advances in building techniques
The building codes and building techniques have mostly changed over the years, specially for those areas that are prone to hurricanes. After certain disasters, as in the case of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Florida brought a strict new building code for all types of homes, including wooden ones, that must ensure the structure is strong. Presently, wooden houses have some special features that make them stand up to critical weather conditions:
- Stronger connections: The latest building codes require strong connections among the wooden components so that the house may not face structural failure during strong winds.
- Impact-resistant windows: Installation of impact-resistant windows blocks the entry of wind and debris into the house.
- Use of Southern Yellow Pine (SYP): The type of wood is found to be one of the most solid and durable and ideal for withstanding hurricane winds. SYP has been found to withstand winds as high as 150 mph since its load-carrying capacity submits to many immensely strong forces with ease.
These provide the avenue for the construction of wooden houses that are not only pleasing to the eyes but also capable of withstanding unfavorable weather conditions.
Natural properties of wood
Wood, while often seen as weaker than brick or concrete, actually has several characteristics that make it fairly durable. Unlike brick or concrete, when under stress, wood is the only one which, without necessarily cracking, bends when under intense pressure. This characteristic plays a great role during strong storms where wind forces may exert tremendous pressure on a structure.
Moreover, the wood house is less likely to break during extreme conditions than more rigid materials might. For example, tornadoes kill far more people from flying debris than from building collapses; on the other hand, when wood does break it generally breaks into smaller pieces rather than large sharp blocks. This characteristic is likely to minimize the risk of injury in such events.
Environmental considerations
The use of sustainable materials in building and other fields is gaining momentum as more people become ecologically aware. Wood is also a renewable resource when harvested responsibly and therefore an environmentally friendly product to take the place of non-renewable materials such as concrete and steel.
Such application of timber is also in good agreement with current trends to go environmentally friendly. Methods like timber framing not only add more style but also offer superior energy efficiency due to its better insulation compared to the conventional stick framing method.
