58 Dead in Russia from Counterfeit Skin Lotion

Infinite Chaos said:

We call it plasterboard. I wouldn't live in a house where the walls are plasterboard / sheetrock unless there were good sound proofing too. Even then, I like to feel the house around me is substantial rather than likely to be blown away in the next hard wind.

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Just about every home in America and the UK are put up with Sheetrock.

Even plaster walls are nothing but specialized sheetrock panels with a couple layers of veneer plaster coating.

Proper framing codes are what make a house withstand winds, not the wall products.

RetiredUSN said:

Just about every home in America and the UK are put up with Sheetrock.

Even plaster walls are nothing but specialized sheetrock panels with a couple layers of veneer plaster coating.

Proper framing codes are what make a house withstand winds, not the wall products.

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Maybe some of the newer homes but most houses here are still dual brick walls with plaster coating.

Infinite Chaos said:

Maybe some of the newer homes but most houses here are still dual brick walls with plaster coating.

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Mostly apartment flats, or row houses....I know.

I have done plaster veneer with a sand swirl finish over block and brick on a couple units myself.

RetiredUSN said:

Mostly apartment flats, or row houses....I know.

I have done plaster veneer with a sand swirl finish over block and brick on a couple units myself.

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Plastering is a huge skill and not that I dislike sand swirl or similar texture finishes - I feel they date quickly. I like the idea of plaster with cut stencil finish or even relief carved surfaces into the plaster - trouble is the UK housing market is really conservative (small "c") and anything that your neighbours don't have drops the value of house resale.

Infinite Chaos said:

Plastering is a huge skill and not that I dislike sand swirl or similar texture finishes - I feel they date quickly. I like the idea of plaster with cut stencil finish or even relief carved surfaces into the plaster - trouble is the UK housing market is really conservative (small "c") and anything that your neighbours don't have drops the value of house resale.

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I have a small network of old school plasterers who create ceiling patterns by using just a string and a serrated trowel.

Their skills are slowly fading away now that you can buy preformed styrofoam patterns.

:coffeepap

truthatallcost said:

Wow man, everyone seems to want a newer home but old standards are far better than today's. There are homes on the east coast that are 200+ years old, and some in Europe that are 500 years old.

I wonder how long new homes made of imported Chinese materials will last?

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Is how long they will last really the matter?

* Old buildings are damn cold. You need to waste a ton of money to heat them, and you will still shiver with a 22°C atmosphere because of the cold points.
* They have fewer, narrower, and often smaller windows.
* They have thick walls that eat a lot of space.
* They have very compartmentalized and boring layouts with dark corridors serving little rooms rather than being built around large central rooms full of interesting spatial features.
* Once you get old you will no longer be autonomous because it is a pain to use a wheelchair in them.
* And don't get me started on wood heating and how 1% of my compatriots create as much smog as all of our cars together.

Old buildings have their charm, without any doubt. But I prefer a modern building anytime over an old mansion.

RetiredUSN said:

I have a small network of old school plasterers who create ceiling patterns by using just a string and a serrated trowel.

Their skills are slowly fading away now that you can buy preformed styrofoam patterns.

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Pass my congrats to these guys! Reminds me of working with a French plaster modeller who produced wheel trims for Renault many years ago - we built a compass like rig for scraping the plaster into shape while he poured fresh plaster. Would have loved to work more with that guy buy he had to go back to France after a 3 month placement with us.

Auvergnat said:

Is how long they will last really the matter?

* Old buildings are damn cold. You need to waste a ton of money to heat them, and you will still shiver with a 22°C atmosphere because of the cold points.
* They have fewer, narrower, and often smaller windows.
* They have thick walls that eat a lot of space.
* They have very compartmentalized and boring layouts with dark corridors serving little rooms rather than being built around large central rooms full of interesting spatial features.
* Once you get old you will no longer be autonomous because it is a pain to use a wheelchair in them.
* And don't get me started on wood heating and how 1% of my compatriots create as much smog as all of our cars together.

Old buildings have their charm, without any doubt. But I prefer a modern building anytime over an old mansion.

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I have done quite a few rehabs on the old Victorian styled homes in the downtown Norfolk area. Opening up walls, newer triple pane glass, and spraytech insultion, totally updated wiring, and plumbing. They were very effecient afterwards, but it took pretty deep pockets to get them there.

Auvergnat said:

Is how long they will last really the matter?

* Old buildings are damn cold. You need to waste a ton of money to heat them, and you will still shiver with a 22°C atmosphere because of the cold points.
* They have fewer, narrower, and often smaller windows.
* They have thick walls that eat a lot of space.
* They have very compartmentalized and boring layouts with dark corridors serving little rooms rather than being built around large central rooms full of interesting spatial features.
* Once you get old you will no longer be autonomous because it is a pain to use a wheelchair in them.
* And don't get me started on wood heating and how 1% of my compatriots create as much smog as all of our cars together.

Old buildings have their charm, without any doubt. But I prefer a modern building anytime over an old mansion.

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Sorry, they just look cool in pictures :lol:

I'm from California, we think something is old if it was built in the 1950's. You probably have much more experience with older buildings.

truthatallcost said:

I'm from California, we think something is old if it was built in the 1950's. You probably have much more experience with older buildings.

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Quite a bit, yes. :lol:

That being said the American architecture may be recent (no longer so much actually), yet it is very rich. Whether we talk about the colonial architectures, neo-classical movements, the Art Déco era of New York, the Prairie School, modernism, ... This huge virgin land waiting to be possessed met the American optimism and its shameless ambition, and this greatly inspired your architects.

However it is true that California is not the best example. From what I saw, Spanish architecture aside, it mostly looks like a bizarre juxtaposition of Nouveaux Riches' capricious desires trying to boldly and cheaply imitate foreign architectures without any care for architecture or urbanism. There is nothing like a movie star or startuper to make you appreciate the qualities of a good old industrial capitalist. Well, I guess that neo-classicism also looked ridiculous initially. And time will sort out the good from the bad.