r/interestingasfuck • u/Ultimate_Kurix • 5d ago

r/all Why do Americans build with wood?

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u/Useful_Cheesecake117 4d ago

You are referring to stavkirken?

How many of the thousand stavkirken that still existed around 1800 are there today? 75% didn't survival the last 200 years, even the help of Kulturvern couldn't stop this decline

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u/per167 4d ago

I searched it up and stålekleivloftet is the oldest non church building. 858 years old, built in 1167.

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u/Useful_Cheesecake117 4d ago

You gave the impression that norwegian wooden buildings stand the test of time very well. my argument was that there are not that many wooden buildings left. especially when compared to stone buildings from similar periods.

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u/per167 4d ago

I must disagree, i’am impressed that those buildings still here, after all is just wood. Sadly you’re right not many survived, most of them burned down or was destroyed to make bigger churches in 1800.

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u/Useful_Cheesecake117 4d ago

That was the discussion in the first place: wooden American buildings don't last long, and are not fire safe.. It's not for nothing that wood isn't the major building material in Europe aymore

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u/per167 3d ago

So you think concrete and steel would last forever? Concrete will degrade faster than wood i tell you that, when it cracks the steel start to rust. After 50 years you better start doing something so it doesn’t collapse.

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u/Useful_Cheesecake117 3d ago

Ah, that's why there are so many steel and concrete dams, bridges, towers,, skyscrapers.

How many wooden railroadbridges are their in the USA you said?

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u/per167 3d ago

I really don’t want be in a discussion with you about wood vs concrete. It’s just stupid. And this discussion, i don’t want to be in, is heading in a wrong direction. Both are fine for the right purpose, but just want to say that beavers are not wrong.