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And given good construction, a wooden house can last hundreds of years as seen in the surviving houses in Europe. Doesn't of course mean they all will.


Yes, there are still standing timber frame tithe barns in England from the 800's.

Just gotta keep the timbers dry and insect-free (or -free-enough).

But all the modern stick frames, hmm, no so much..


I bought a wood framed house that is probably 150 years old. Nobody really knows when it was built. The framing and the fieldstone foundation are in perfect order.

It was built on the highest point in the farm field. Water flows away from the house at all times. It uses full size framing (actual 2x4) with solid boards as sheathing. The roof was maintained and the shading trees do their job to keep UV exposure low.

A building is a system. You can neglect major parts and it breaks down. Modern construction unfortunately optimises for less time on the job site and ready-made cheap materials. Easy to make mistakes that reduce the lifetime of the structure.


It seems to mostly depend on how big the overhangs are, if you don't have flooding or seismic issues.




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