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Cake day: September 21st, 2024

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  • related to another comment I made, the materials they used just don’t exist.

    the wood they used to build a house in 1900 were from trees that were at or over 100 years old much of that time was never around humans or pollution. this means the growth rings were tight and dense. very sturdy. in California they were cutting down the great Sequoia red woods to build homes. much of San Fransisco still has redwood framing to this day. those trees are multiple hundreds of years old.

    compared to the white pine we used in framing today, the tree is anywhere from 5-7 years old and are bred to grow tall, and fast. this makes the growth rings loose and soft. sturdy enough.


  • in fairness, the materials were cheaper then compared to now only because they were practically raw materials.

    if you look at 17th century European construction and compare domiciles constructed for nobles vs commoners the only difference other than scale, is the quality of the post processing.

    example; walls in a manor were stone bricks and plasterwork. commoners used the stone laying around(free) and had no plaster. lords had slate roofs, commoners had thatched (free).

    as time marched on, the consumer market grew throughout the 19th and 20th century where homes were developed with manufactured/engineered materials. the cost of materials dropped due to supply and demand. lowest home development peaked in the 1990s.

    after 2008 and then 2020, building a new home is far out of reach of most due to costs of materials and land.

    one could say our ancestors had cheaper homes, but our ancestors would think we’re royalty if they saw the amenities we live with inside out homes today.

    either way, we peaked in the 90s and will never be as prosperous in our lives again.