1970’s redwood homes?

[Ccat]

There are a lot of owner/Builder singlewall all redwood homes in puna. Many seem to still be in fairly original Decent condition. I am told that the redwood of that era held up a lot better.

I will admit to kinda having a soft spot for these as they are straightforward, honest and authentic to the Hawaiian lifestyle.

But are they worth restoring? Does the older redwood rot and decay if not exposed to roof leaks?


What’s your experience with this kind of house?

Ccat

[Peter Epperson]

You must be referring to Hicks Homes. Yes that is really their name. Very practical for Hawai’i. Affordable, cool, durable. There are still plenty around because redwood doesn’t rot or get eaten by termites. I rode through the 7.8 earthquake in 1975 in a Hicks Home. It danced a mean hula. We laid in bed and rode it like a bucking bronco. Next morning we looked around and no damage to the structure. Single wall rocks! Really. Too bad we can’t have single wall homes anymore.

[Durian Fiend]

Heck yeah! I'd love to have a single wall redwood home. Single wall cedar second best. As Peter said, the wood will not rot or be consumed by termites.

[Rob Tucker]

Well folks, I bought a property with a single wall plantation house made of old growth redwood. It was a tear down. The termites owned it. I tore it down and replaced it with a home with no structural wood. Wood is a poor investment.

Redwood is high in tannin which does resist rot and termites... but not forever. And the old growth stuff is gone.

[lquade]

my parents home was redwood and cedar that my father shipped every piece from oregon lumberyard. when we built it in late 70s, i remember spending time with the copper green and every single cut i soaked the ends before my father nailed it up. house still standing today, now my daughter is living there. the old growth wood was so different from what is available today.

[Mangosteen]

quote:

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Originally posted by Peter Epperson

You must be referring to Hicks Homes. Yes that is really their name. Very practical for Hawai’i. Affordable, cool, durable. There are still plenty around because redwood doesn’t rot or get eaten by termites. I rode through the 7.8 earthquake in 1975 in a Hicks Home. It danced a mean hula. We laid in bed and rode it like a bucking bronco. Next morning we looked around and no damage to the structure. Single wall rocks! Really. Too bad we can’t have single wall homes anymore.

---

USGS has it as a 7.2. I rode it out on an old wood house on Hilo Bay.

https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/volcano...earthquake

[Ccat]

So, how do you evaluate the still standing hicks homes?

Are they at end of lifespan? Or just need a little mostly cosmetic refurb? Or is it, strictly, case by case basis?

( I have seen some that have rotten kitchen cabs, but mostly otherwise ok.)

You do have to consider market value though. Do modern times value them properly?


Ccat

[Rob Tucker]

According to the U.S. Govt statistics the average lifespan of a wood frame home (modern) on the Big Island is 33 years. Personally I would rate the old plantation old growth redwood homes at 50-60 years.... What shape they are in now will largely depend on the circumstances on their site and whether or not the roof(s) are maintained.

So it is a case by case basis.

At this point it would be exceptional to find one that needed little or light renovation.

My opinion.

One problem I have observed in some of the old plantation homes are they are so lightly framed. Ones I saw had 2" x 3" floor joists on 24" centers and were intended for the small stature and weight of the Japanese plantation workers. Others might be sturdier.

[Ccat]

Oh, yes. The skinny floor joists. I had wondered about that.

Good point.

Ccat

[1voyager1]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ccat

... I am told that the redwood of that era held up a lot better. ...

Ccat

---

The reputation of being long lasting was built by old growth timber.
Redwood, cedar and any other wood that is resistant to rot, and any similar degradation, is now almost only available as second growth timber, mostly from timber farms where it is harvested by yield economics not wood quality.

While living on Washington's Olympic Peninsula back in the '60s, we cut and loaded a lower butt cut log from a swamp cedar onto a logging truck.
The cedar log had a diameter at the bottom of over 12'.
It was the only log on the truck and it almost broke the trailer.
We would normally use dynamite to split big logs to fit the trailers.

The truck was greatly overloaded, but permitted to allow it to be entered into the Forks, WA 4th of July Parade.
A tree that size had not been seen in many years.

Within the next few years, shake and shingle mills began to close down because old growth timber had almost disappeared.
For all practical purposes old growth timber is now gone.
It has since been logged of off almost everywhere except within the protected park areas.


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Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, nothing left.