Why Do Europeans Built Their Homes out of Concrete and We Just Use Sheetrock??
Answers:
I've been in many countries in Europe and beyond. Consider that someone building, in Europe for example, 400 years ago,,,didn't have sheetrock. They used what was most readily available, and found it to be very effective.
No offense but I challenge anyone to find a home, built today, still standing 400 years into the future.
It has as much to do with the mindset as it does the materials used. We have no concern beyond one, next generation perhaps,,,if even that.
Rev. Steven
Other answers:
I'm not an expert, but I understand house materials vary from location to location, even in America. In Florida I noticed a lot more concrete houses than in New England where I live. And I believe it depends mostly on climate. In hotter places such as Florida will use concrete because it maintain less heat during the day and will cool off faster at night. In New England however using concrete will create very cold houses with bad insulation during the winter time, so wood is used. Not always concrete is stronger than wood. Wood can bend more before braking which can be key, instead of concrete that won't bend, but compromise the whole structure of the house.
I'm not an expert, but I understand house materials vary from location to location, even in America. In Florida I noticed a lot more concrete houses than in New England where I live. And I believe it depends mostly on climate. In hotter places such as Florida will use concrete because it maintain less heat during the day and will cool off faster at night. In New England however using concrete will create very cold houses with bad insulation during the winter time, so wood is used. Not always concrete is stronger than wood. Wood can bend more before braking which can be key, instead of concrete that won't bend, but compromise the whole structure of the house.
Today the idea is disposable living. When something wears out or breaks it is discarded and another is bought. Houses seem the same. People move around a lot buying and selling. To build a quality home that will last just isn't practical today. Cost would be prohibitative and also finding a contractor that could do such a job would be a task in itself.
Mindset, customs, expensive wood.
People usualy live in their house most of their life. Change houses maybe twice three times in their lifetime. So you build your (or your customers') house to last.
Even new houses are built from brick and concrete. Nowdays you may find sheetrock on the inside walls though . New office builids are pretty common to have sheetrock.
Historically houses where built using the most readily available material. Therefore bricks of mud in the near east, wooden homes in northern europe for commoners (only fortresses were built with stone) marble and concrete in the mediterranean region etc. Also the building material resulted in retaining heat (or not).
As cities grew people observed wooden building resulted in fires so building with a material that retarded the spread of a fire became the norm. However in suburbia this would be usless as a fire would (normally) only destroy one house. Rock houses could maintain the frame, but the inside would still burn.
Now when people began to settle in high hurricane areas (en masse) most afforable housing was made out of cheap material (it blows up in a hurricane) while the good buildings where expensive and did not get destroyed. However in many cases the local goverment began to get involved and require new buildings to be made out of a hurricane resistant material.
As far as tornadoes go, the chance of your houses being hit directly is too small for requiring mandatory concrete housing (although many buildings have high wind support). Even so if your house gets a direct hit with an f5 odds are its going to be destroyed regardless of its material.
Most of Europe builds homes the same way we do- only in the Mediterranean area are homes made of Stone and mortar- has nothing to do with Storms, its about Material availibility. Not so long ago, homes in Florida were mostly Cement Blocks. The Roof's blow off, and they flood, so whats the point.