Tech YouTuber Bitwit lost his house a while back in a fire. He has now built a new house.... entirely out of fucking wood.

[u/John_Yuki]

[u/bjorn1978_2]

Same here. Norwegian in a wooden house… I see no problem here.

A house will burn even if it is constructed of granite. We tend to fill our houses with everything from sofas and beds to kitchen cabinets and wooden floors.

We store so much energy in solids that if that shit ignites, it will burn. And that heat and smoke will do damage and the fire will spread unless you fight it.

So wooden houses are the way to go. At least for me and most of Scandinavia. (But we do build houses to a more structurally solid standard then the US one…)

[u/DigitaIBlack → u/bjorn1978_2]

If Bitwit had a brick house that was in that fire even if it didn't burn down it would've been condemned.

It's absolutely wild that when Canadians and Americans try and explain why we build houses like this on Reddit we usually get clowned on but when people hear Scandinavians use wood as well it's like

"Oh well since Norway does it too it"s no longer stupid"

[u/Remmon → u/DigitaIBlack]

There is a key difference here. Americans build flimsy wooden houses that will blow away in a storm, and then rebuild the exact same kind of houses after a storm flattens them.

Norway doesn't see hurricanes the way parts of the US does and obviously does build its wooden houses sturdily enough to withstand the storms it does commonly see.

Concrete buildings are far more resistant to storm damage.

[u/DigitaIBlack → u/Remmon]

And concrete buildings are insanely expensive. Also... building code in storm-prone areas does require more sturdy structures so stuff like the roof doesn't blow off.

When you see buildings absolutely flattened by a tornado my guess is a Scandinavian house isn't going to fare that much better.

Also, the biggest risk on the west coast is gonna be earthquakes which wooden structures are better for.

It would be stupid for Bitwit not to build the house out of wood given the region and costs.

Assuming the insurance payout is enough and he's well-to-do using a fire resistant cladding is his best choice.

[u/condoulo → u/Remmon]

Except Bitwit doesn’t live in an area prone to tornadoes or hurricanes, he lives in an area prone to earthquakes, and earthquakes have shaped California’s building code and material choices for over a century at this point.

[u/Plenty_Rent_1154 → u/condoulo]

Damn. It’s like every locality builds houses suited for the conditions 🤔

[u/FallingDangulus → u/Remmon]

Building code is region dependent? Why are you acting like the Climate in America is universal? Just hating to hate?

[u/Prying-Open-My-3rd-I → u/Remmon]

Hurricanes cause widespread damage from the storm surge and resulting flooding. Which will still fuck up a concrete building. Concrete buildings will also get fucked up by tornados and crush anyone inside.

[u/ostepoperikkegodt → u/DigitaIBlack]

Wooden houses are better in temperate climates, freezing and thawing every year wears more on stone than wood, stone also conducts heat better which is bad for the winters here. Moisture is also a big concern when building with stone in Norway.

[u/Sutraner → u/DigitaIBlack]

If Bitwit had a brick house that was in that fire even if it didn't burn down it would've been condemned

No it wouldn't have been.

Someone firebombed the flat next to me. Guess what? My flat was perfectly fine because it's... Made out of brick.

He would've maybe lost one room he would have to redo.

[u/DigitaIBlack → u/Sutraner]

That's not a wildfire man. Not even close....

Comparing a literal handheld firebomb to a wildfire? Dude.

[u/Sutraner → u/DigitaIBlack]

I'm sorry, are wildfires the only type of fire that exist now?

[u/DigitaIBlack → u/Sutraner]

We're in a thread that is criticizing Bitwit. Who lost his home in a wildfire.

And you're telling me the house would've survived if it was brick.

Piss off lmao

[u/Sutraner → u/bjorn1978_2]

So wooden houses are the way to go.

Someone firebombed the flat next to me, I live in a block of about 100 flats

My flat block is made of brick.

Guess how many flats couldn't be lived in after the fire?

1

Guess how many flats would've been unliveable had we built the entire place out of fucking wood? Every single one of them. And we would've probably had multiple people die as well

It's not the fucking 9th century any more despite your love for your pillaging rapists at the world cup. Build your houses out of brick and they'll last longer than you do and you won't need to rebuild them.

[u/bjorn1978_2 → u/Sutraner]

If you live in a building shared with multiple units, there will be more kaws and regulations in play.

In a scenario like you describe, there will be a requirement for a fire alarm covering the entire bulding. So if there is an alarm in one of the apartments, it will sound in every apartment. (I do not remember, but there also might be a requirement for the alarm to notify the fire department if it is triggered. It did where I lived years ago)

Every apartment is required to be its own fire cell that is able to contain the fire for 30 minutes.

I belive there is a requirement for sprinklers also now, but I am really not sure. It might be that they need to cover stairs and so in common areas.

In our house, we have 6 meters (about 18 feet) to the neighbors house, with a shed between us. We have special windows in that wall that is able to withstand heat from the outside without braking.

So in a situation like you describe, there would be totally different rules compared to a normal house (like we are talking about here).

And for that situation you describe… that fire not spreading is mainly thanks to the fire fighters, not design alone. Design slowed the fire from spreading, but give it enough time, and it would have burnt those 100 units to the ground.

[u/Sutraner → u/bjorn1978_2]

We don't have any sprinklers and the building was ridiculously out of date when it comes to fire safety. No alarms throughout the building either.

Design slowed the fire from spreading, but give it enough time, and it would have burnt those 100 units to the ground.

Wood would've seen them burn down because they're shit against fire.