post and pier vs slab

[Rob Tucker]

You can build from cinder blocks. They would need to be grouted and have rebar, otherwise they are kind of a death trap in an earthquake. There are only two main downsides to block work.

1) It requires mason's skills. Masons are expensive.
2) The thermal mass properties are kind of a negative in the tropics. The masonry holds heat.

Indeed, why use wood for the roof framing? Why is everyone so in love with a material that rots, burns, cracks, splits, warps, has a high waste factor, gets eaten by termites and has a lot of inherent defects? It is not even cheap.

Rarely does business invest in wood buildings. Prudent money doesn't build with wood.