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Eightfingers, your fear of concrete is misplaced. What you fear is "unreinforced masonry" which does indeed crumble and fail in earthquakes.
My home, by example and test data, is concrete and tested as following in seismic simulators:
Wood frame was built to code with plywood shearwall and placed in the earthquake rack at U.C. Irvine. The test was to determine the shear force to create failure and determine if the failure was gradual (you get to get out of the building) or catastrophic (you get trapped in the rubble.) The wood frame suffered catastrophic failure at 9 k.p.s.
The concrete system I live in was tested in the same rack for the same criteria. The failure was gradual at 84 k.p.s.
The difference between 9 and 84 is not small. 933% improvement in seismic resistance. If your 20 mpg car could be improved that much you would be getting 186 mpg.
Ultimately I do remind my customers that everything made by man can be defeated by nature. But we have the technology to do very, very much better.
BTW: Shear forces of an earthquake are similar to, as a lateral force, wind loads such as hurricane winds.
Assume the best and ask questions.
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quote:
Originally posted by Rob Tucker... What you fear is "unreinforced masonry" which does indeed crumble and fail in earthquakes....
Rob, you hit the nail on the head, so to speak! Unreinforced masonary is the problem. I am often surprised when SB asks about putting in more steel that so many people want to save the $200-300 when the foundation is one of the most important structural parts.
Catherine Dumond
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That is really true.
One complaint that I will not contest with wood building--in houses--is that its techniques are really stuck in a rut, and it is most commonly a very materials intensive way of building--at least compared to the very slick methods employed by modern boat builders. It doesn't have to be, but often it is, and sloppy to boot. Concrete work has become much much more sophisticated and smart in application and can be very effective indeed. You could probably build a concrete airplane at this point, if you really set out to do it as a stunt.
To clarify my position, if it isn't clear, not to look like I'm busting Rob, because I'm not--if you're interested in building a large home in the tropics, in an area riddled with termites, of course concrete makes a LOT of sense. I know for some reason a lot of people want to do that. I don't advocate building large homes, and I don't advocate building in areas riddled with termites.
On the other hand, a composite built wood ocean sailing boat of 50 feet weighs as much is a house, is designed to take 10 plus earthquakes or the equivalent at sea, or worse, on a daily basis, and really needs to be able to withstand a free fall drop from 30 feet more or less flat upside down on its "roof." And they do, and do just fine. Materials matter not nearly as much as application and technique, although obviously some materials are better for one thing or another by some margin.
As well, you must consider not only the materials but the application. If you have a lot that is cleared, or else wise already screwed up, there's little to be lost by the damage that large machinery, cement trucks, boom trucks or the rest will cause to the site. If you're interested in very low impact with a high level of sensitivity to the native forest that may still exist on your land, you will need a style of building that you can mostly cart in on your shoulders. Different strokes for different folks, and, of course, different value sets.
It's simply a matter of the tool for the job. That all involves site, scale, your priorities and sensitivities, and ultimately, aesthetics. What's best? What does best mean to you? That is an unanswerable question, for a lot of reasons.
By the way, does any one know what the large maggot borer is that one will find in dead ohia? It's a great big thing, nearly the size of my thumb, looks like a beetle larva of some sort, but I generally don't get to see them too well as generally I just get a glimpse before they're sucked into the thickness planer. . .
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quote:
Originally posted by JWFITZ
That is really true.
One complaint that I will not contest with wood building--in houses--is that its techniques are really stuck in a rut, and it is most commonly a very materials intensive way of building--at least compared to the very slick methods employed by modern boat builders. It doesn't have to be, but often it is, and sloppy to boot. Concrete work has become much much more sophisticated and smart in application and can be very effective indeed. You could probably build a concrete airplane at this point, if you really set out to do it as a stunt.
[  ] I think Jon Olsen did a concrete boat! [ ]
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Jay, we really do need to get together and compare notes and trade war stories....
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Rob,don't forget to bring a concrete boat model for the meeting ]
Jay,if the majority people were like you,the world would be a paradise - no wars,peace and "green" living!
I am not being sarcastic,I admire people like you,but most of us,ordinary folks,first think about their way to survive in this world,and only then about the whole mankind..
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Jay already knows more about concrete boats than I ever will. I am not a boat enthusiast. I like my feet on land.
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Hey, I'm no saint, and don't pretend to be. Thanks though!
I'm basically, an atheist pirate with precocious tendencies, possessing as a sufficiently developed imagination that I can understand--life for most of humanity is hard, and it sucks. As someone only blessed by fate with better than average skills, attitudes, and abilities, I'd like to share my good luck with those born with shriveled frontal lobes, bad teeth, and unfortunate geographical locations. I take it seriously. I'm pretty high octane, but basically love wine, women and song--and a good night's sleep.
The world, if people thought the way I do, would be no paradise. There's still malaria, MS, club foot, and things to screw it all up. There still would be violence. The main difference would be the violence would be directed towards people that deserved it, the liars, cheats, and stinkers of all colors. There's a lot of colors of those.
There would still be pretty girls to fight over, and all in all, maybe that's ok.
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ad in today's midweek: "eliminate temites without tent fumigation."
"how the homeguard program controls termites in your home...by using the termite's habits of continuously foraging and their social nature, combined with giving them a non repellent borate infused moisture, making their food toxic, and killing off their mold farms we can effectively control them, and protect against future infestations."
"what are borates? borates are a mineral salt that have long been used as a safer alternative to highly volatile, synthetic chemical pesticides. so far insects have shown no ability to develop a resistance to borates."
according to the advertisement, "the process begins with a thorough inspection and all active termite infestations are identified. experienced inspectors using new microwave and thermal imagery terite detection technology are employed to identify the prescence of termites." looks like they then drill holes in the affected areas and inject the borates.
"chaos reigns within.
reflect, repent and reboot.
order shall return."
microsoft error message with haiku poetry
"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
w. james
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I'd say : " Bon appétit !"
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