[Greenbuilding] sturdiness of old houses

Benjamin Pratt benjamin.g.pratt at gmail.com
Tue Oct 25 18:59:38 CDT 2011


In an earthquake, tornado, or hurricane, I'd take my 1929 house over a
newer house any day. In a "wind event", i had a huge tree fall on my
house and it was amazing how little damage it did.  the beams running
across my basement ceiling are at least 12" by 12" old growth timber.
The floor joist are 2" x 12" (A full 2" too).
As far as not being strapped down--the rim joist areas are filled with
solid concrete. It's hard to insulate and make air tight, but it is
solid.




b e n j a m i n p r a t t

professor art+design
the university of wisconsin stout




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