I survived Hurricane Irma

[northernladyuk]

Sheep have standards.

They don't allow smoking for one thing.

[NickFitz]

Seriously, I'm always puzzled why so many people in hurricane prone areas like Florida persist in building houses out of wood and cardboard, especially when they also have termites to contend with.

I mean surely houses built of bricks or stone, or just reinforced concrete (which needn't imply bunker-like thickness) would make far more sense, especially if built on stilts in effect so cars could be parked in basement garages and the house would be unharmed by the occasional flood.

The British liking for building dwellings almost exclusively of brick or similar materials arose from the strict restrictions on building materials imposed in London after the Great Fire of 1666 in an attempt to prevent a recurrence. (The regulations seem to have worked to the extent of largely frustrating the Luftwaffe's plans to orchestrate a repeat of that event.)

Whereas the USA is still a young nation, and many of the murderers of the indigenous population pioneer settlers had to build of wood because that was all that was really available and workable by an ordinary family - it was usual for a family to build their own house in those early days. So the idea of building houses out of wood just doesn't seem so weird to them.

That's my theory anyway

[Lance]

The British liking for building dwellings almost exclusively of brick or similar materials arose from the strict restrictions on building materials imposed in London after the Great Fire of 1666 in an attempt to prevent a recurrence. (The regulations seem to have worked to the extent of largely frustrating the Luftwaffe's plans to orchestrate a repeat of that event.)

Whereas the USA is still a young nation, and many of the murderers of the indigenous population pioneer settlers had to build of wood because that was all that was really available and workable by an ordinary family - it was usual for a family to build their own house in those early days. So the idea of building houses out of wood just doesn't seem so weird to them.

That's my theory anyway

I think you're not far off.
Building from wood makes a lot of sense in a country without dangerous weather and is moderately temperate. Like the UK.
I'm not sure if we build out of brick for your reason, or because we ran out of forests but had mud and coal.
Wood is an excellent insulator and is cheap. And can last sufficient decades that a rebuild every 50 years or so is economically viable due to reduced costs.