Originally Posted by Roody
Even the high end houses look pretty substandard as they're being built. These modern houses are basically just a shell of rigid insulation tacked onto a lightweight wooden skeleton. Any "brick" or "shingle" siding is just stapled onto that. I guess they're alleged to be as strong as tradiionally built houses, but I find that hard to believe. The ironic thing is that they have replaced sustainable building materials (wood, cement and brick) with unsustainable materials manufactured from petrochemicals (like the rigid sheathing).
And out here in the Northwest, they're susceptible to mold and fungus due to all the plastic trapping moisture. I've met quite a few people who have sold houses only a few years old after the mold climbed right through the walls behind any large furniture. And that only cut the resale value by a few percent! No wonder houses are being built so cheap, you can sell anything right now.
That's why we rent. We're in some higher end apartments, and the owner seems to have paid attention to future maintenance costs during construction. Much better construction than any of the new houses I've been in. And smaller than anything we could find to buy that wasn't on the brink of condemnation. Only 1000 square feet! Our friends can't imagine how a married couple could possibly get by in such a tiny space.