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PaperclipPerfector  9mo ago (text post)   3408 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 5, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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So - looking at The Palisades Fire - everything that is made of concrete/brick or stone is standing, everything else is gone. Is there any amount of fire damage that will convince the US residential construction companies to finish reading The Three Little Piggies book, when they have obviously stopped at the house of the second piggy?

Platform framing is great because it doesn't require specialized equipment. You might want an auto crane for roof trusses, but that's like half a day of work per house. Otherwise it's just power tools and Mexicans.

There are a few options for earthquake-resistant concrete housing.

  1. The fanciest one is AAC working as permanent formwork. Can we done with Mexicans if buy them a long enough vibrator, but there aren't enough AAC factories in the US (there's just one, I think)
  2. Then there's a concrete frame infilled with AAC or bricks. Requires some removable formwork, like plywood, a concrete mixer and a concrete pump.
  3. Finally, you can make prefab concrete panels and assemble them on site. Requires an auto crane and a welder, but you still want to pour a concrete ceiling to tie them together, so see point 2.

All three are quite feasible if California straight up bans combustible single-family homes, then construction companies will invest into new construction methods. Otherwise it makes more sense to reuse the technology used in the rest of the lower 48 states.

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