This is a question that has been pestering me for a while now. I see that every year on TV that a few F5 tornadoes have ripped through a town in Tornado Alley causing millions of dollars of damage and taken many lives. It's the same every year and I'm sat there wondering why the fuck people continue to re build their houses using timber, bits of toilet paper and 4 toothpicks? Surely common sense would tell you that your just pissing in the wind! (bad pun I know)
I have heard the argument that there is low chance of tornadoes touching down but every year they touch down somewhere, ruining lives and wreaking havoc. If people say it costs too much to build brick houses then they should think about the savings they are going to get if they don't have to re build year after year.
The three little pigs from the fairy tale learnt this lesson and fast, they sheltered in a house made of bricks. So why don't the Yanks do the same?
Somebody enlighten me, feel free to discuss.
Because concrete houses with shutters look like shit.
Also, it's not viable to make mobile homes out of concrete. They then aren't all that "mobile"
Because probably the concrete/brick houses also get destroyed by the tornadoes, and it's probably cheaper and more convenient to build a wooden house then remake it after the tornado than a concrete house (that is, if it is destroyed).
same reason people build houses in the flood plain in places like new orleans
Because the people living in tornado alley can't exactly afford reinforced houses
But think of the savings if they re build using sturdy materials. No re building in the long run.
A well built brick house with steel reinforcements will not fall against a tornado, maybe a few roof tiles missing.
There are stricter building standards there because of the tornadoes. Certain reinforcements are standard to support beams and such to reinforce things better. Why we still use wood: cheap and strong. It also has a little give to it, unlike bricks or concrete.
[QUOTE=mankind_me;33506273]Because probably the concrete/brick houses also get destroyed by the tornadoes, and it's probably cheaper and more convenient to build a wooden house then remake it after the tornado than a concrete house (that is, if it is destroyed).[/QUOTE]
Exactly this
Because anything short of something that resembles a bunker will get its shit fucked up so there's no point.
Because they're easily made.
*Wood is cheap
*Wood is easy to work with
*Wood looks nice
*Wood is common, and easy to get.
*People doubt a Tornado will ever hit them, even when the live in tornado ally.
They should build better houses!
[QUOTE=Sumap;33507908]*Wood is cheap
*Wood is easy to work with
*Wood looks nice
*Wood is common, and easy to get.
*People doubt a Tornado will ever hit them, even when the live in tornado ally.[/QUOTE]*People are stupid, thinking form over function when living in motherfuckin tornado alley.
They should build their houses underground, since tornadoes don't go underground ya know.
A severe enough tornado will rip most any house apart, and I'd rather have wood thrown at me than iron bars and chunks of concrete.
[QUOTE=SiMoN 23259;33506123]This is a question that has been pestering me for a while now. I see that every year on TV that a few F5 tornadoes have ripped through a town in Tornado Alley causing millions of dollars of damage and taken many lives. It's the same every year and I'm sat there wondering why the fuck people continue to re build their houses using timber, bits of toilet paper and 4 toothpicks? Surely common sense would tell you that your just pissing in the wind! (bad pun I know)
I have heard the argument that there is low chance of tornadoes touching down but every year they touch down somewhere, ruining lives and wreaking havoc. If people say it costs too much to build brick houses then they should think about the savings they are going to get if they don't have to re build year after year.
The three little pigs from the fairy tale learnt this lesson and fast, they sheltered in a house made of bricks. So why don't the Yanks do the same?
Somebody enlighten me, feel free to discuss.[/QUOTE]
Because it is all about cost and effectiveness. A tornado can still tear though a concrete building to a certain degree. People can't afford to build a house that is completely made out of concrete.
Wood is a fantastic material, it can hold up a lot of weight, maintain its shape and is fairly weather resistant if treated properly. It is also more ready available and low cost.
Building a concrete house would be stupid and expensive.
[QUOTE=SiMoN 23259;33506444]But think of the savings if they re build using sturdy materials. No re building in the long run.
A well built brick house with steel reinforcements will not fall against a tornado, maybe a few roof tiles missing.[/QUOTE]
Uh yes, a brick house can still get knocked over by a tornado. Tornado can pretty much take out anything in its path, that is why people seek shelter in underground shelters or basements. Second of all people have insurance for these types of things.
[QUOTE=SiMoN 23259;33506444]But think of the savings if they re build using sturdy materials. No re building in the long run.
A well built brick house with steel reinforcements will not fall against a tornado, maybe a few roof tiles missing.[/QUOTE]
A while back in Oklahoma, in 98 I think, we had an F5. It ripped a few of the fucking foundations out of the ground.
[editline]30th November 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Lizzrd;33508652]*People are stupid, thinking form over function when living in motherfuckin tornado alley.[/QUOTE]
No, you're a fucking idiot. Not everyone is able to afford their own small bunker.
I live in Oklahoma, tornado alley central, and I've yet to actually need to take refuge for one. My dad saw one though back in the 90s. Him and his friend at work were watching it tear up a burger lot across the street while everyone else was in the back praying for dear life :v:.
Why not just build houses underground?
[QUOTE=Lizzrd;33508652]*People are stupid, thinking form over function when living in motherfuckin tornado alley.[/QUOTE]
Goddamn, that's the stupidest thing I've heard all day.
1st off: Concrete is pretty expensive, and proper re-enforcement takes a lot of time and money.
2: Concrete is very difficult to rebuild when damaged, and some tornadoes can [I]bend[/I] steel
3: Concrete is gross looking, and can easily house mold or spores
4: Concrete is heavy, and can't make a roof without most of it caving in
Lastly: You probably have never seen the damage that a Tornado can do.
[editline]30th November 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=.enasnI;33513307]Why not just build houses underground?[/QUOTE]
Because it's not economically viable.
[QUOTE=.enasnI;33513307]Why not just build houses underground?[/QUOTE]
I would imagine that it could get expensive, and unreliable. People's basments always flood where I live, imagine if you had to live down there?
Other than that, people like windows.
But everyone in the UK uses concrete blocks or brick, why can't the guys in Tonrado valley?
Because its fucking expensive
Our old house was hit by an F4 tornado, it was a 100 year old brick home and a good 90% of it went away, including the good 1/2 foot of brick outside.
It isn't as simple as lining your house with brick, flying debris can go though CEMENT, windows make for structural weakpoints and building an entire house out of reinforced concrete can run into the millions depending upon it's size.
Plus you have to conciser running water, heat and electricity through that house AND heating it. Concrete cools faster than wood so in the winter time it's either very cold or very expensive.
Even if you built a house like that, unless it's underground it will still be vulnerable to flying debris and winds.
The cost to benefit ratio of building every house out of reinforced concrete is bad, the number of houses hit is a small percentage of the total number of houses in Tornado ally.
I live in Kansas, so yes this has been brought up a number of times. It's better to have a secure saferoom in the ground than to spend the time trying to make your entire house secure.
When it comes down to it, a house is a house, most people will be glad to have a 5ft by 5ft bunker to shelter in then take their chances by remaining in a supposedly 'tornado proof' house. What happens if that house fails and people are inside?
[QUOTE=MIPS;33506177]Because concrete houses look like shit.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://www.homefurnituremag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010-03-Modern-Concrete-House.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Esrange;33514025]Because its fucking expensive
Our old house was hit by an F4 tornado, it was a 100 year old brick home and a good 90% of it went away, including the good 1/2 foot of brick outside.
It isn't as simple as lining your house with brick, flying debris can go though CEMENT, windows make for structural weakpoints and building an entire house out of reinforced concrete can run into the millions depending upon it's size.
Plus you have to conciser running water, heat and electricity through that house AND heating it. Concrete cools faster than wood so in the winter time it's either very cold or very expensive.
Even if you built a house like that, unless it's underground it will still be vulnerable to flying debris and winds.
The cost to benefit ratio of building every house out of reinforced concrete is bad, the number of houses hit is a small percentage of the total number of houses in Tornado ally.
I live in Kansas, so yes this has been brought up a number of times. It's better to have a secure saferoom in the ground than to spend the time trying to make your entire house secure.
When it comes down to it, a house is a house, most people will be glad to have a 5ft by 5ft bunker to shelter in then take their chances by remaining in a supposedly 'tornado proof' house. What happens if that house fails and people are inside?[/QUOTE]
Well theres your problem, its 100 years old! :v:
Because Missouri is so absurdly boring that people secretly hope the Tornado will maul them in their sleep.
Build houses out of solid iron. Problem solved!
[QUOTE=Lemonator;33514198][img]http://www.homefurnituremag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010-03-Modern-Concrete-House.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
And those windows are a major tornado hazard, not to mention the lack of anywhere to take cover.
It's a death can, what about it.
I don't think you guys really get tornado alley.
Most people in it never see a tornado. It's isolated communities that see them and then get wind-fucked. Furthermore, issurance covers the house repairs/reconstruction a lot of the time, so there isn't a point in building extremely sturdy the first time when losing your house only becomes an inconvenience.
Over here in TEXAS the soil ain't all that great for basements either. So we end up huddling in the nearest closet or bathroom in the event of a tornado.
And no one wants to live in a concrete house. People would put their hand prints in it before it dried.
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