I’m from the uk and I want to move to Florida specifically Orlando or tampa and am actively trying to convince my parents to move (I’m 16) my dad would also like to move but his main concern is the houses being “unstable” because they are all made of wood but when we visited Orlando in august the air bnb we stayed at the walls felt like concrete on the outside but then in the inside it felt like wood and that if I hit it a lil too hard my hand would go through. So what are they actually made of is it actually made of concrete or is it just wood with a concrete “coating” ?
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Wood framing is still used for it’s strength in many homes in the Orlando area in my observations.
Concrete, cinder block, or other forms of masonry are all more common in FL than they are in other parts of the country.
Interiors wall surfaces are still likely to be plasterboard (aka Sheetrock). You’d have to hit really hard to punch a hole with your fist. A medium impact with a light or medium hammer would be more likely to dent than create a hole. But that’s not providing structural support. It’s just providing an easy to use surface, while allowing space underneath to have insulation, run wires and pipes, etc. for example, we wanted an extra outlet in our office and it was easy to do, because the plasterboard is easy to cut and there was room to run the cable.
You can find concrete block homes in Florida. But some are wood framed with stucco on the outer walls.
For piece of mind you should look up building codes in Florida. Everything changed after hurricane Andrew. So anything built after that will have much stricter building codes. The codes are always changing, definitely worth checking out though. Especially if you’re worried about a stable home
Only inner walls are made of sheetrock, outer walls are concrete/cinder block.
Unstable? Wood construction is very good.
Anyway, in Orlando specifically, most homes are concrete block on the ground floor and wood framed on the second floor, if there is one. The outside coating is usually stucco (called render in the UK, I think). Older homes may be entirely wood.
Interior walls are drywall (gypsum/plasterboard). You *could* punch through it but you might break your hand. Plasterboard is a good thing because it is easy to add new electric outlets or light fixtures or whatever, you just cut through it with a saw and there you go.
Your father is ignorant. Houses are made from materials that are suitable to local climate and safety. The outer and inner cladding of the house are not structural elements and have nothing to do with stability.
Most houses in the US are made from wood framing covered on the inside with plasterboard. You could likely put your fist through it. But why would you? It is not a structural element, it is purely decorative.
It’s frankly inconceivable to me the amount of hubris it would take to say “I want to move to this country, the wealthiest and most powerful in the history of civilization, but I worry they are too stupid to build structurally sound housing,” and you should examine whether that sounds logical to you as well.
It’s interesting to me how people are so confident about questioning construction technology when they’re demonstrating they have absolutely no understanding of it. Yes, you can put a fist through a gypsum wall panel but that doesn’t make it structurally unsound.
Wood framing, insulation layer, exterior sheathing and protective layer (made of singles, siding, brick, stucco etc), gypsum panels for interior walls (just like all over Europe)
https://extremehowto.com/understanding-house-framing/
These houses can stand for centuries with proper maintenance.
OP Just curious–what are houses made out of where you live?
I’ll never understand why so many Europeans seem to think wooden houses are such a bad resource to build houses with. It’s a cheap, replenishable resource that is very stable and strong. Scandinavian countries build their houses with wood too.
That being said, my house in Florida was made with concrete and brick, with wooden framing on the inner walls.
They’re made of materials used in the housing industry to build houses.
Your father knows nothing of construction methods. Interior facade is not structural…
Also, houses are usually made of cinder block in Florida.
Yes, houses with hurricanes are flimsy because no one, in the last 200 years, has thought “what if hurricanes, that happen every year, hit our house?”. The question isn’t about the housing material, it’s about the foundation. Sorry if I’m railing on your dad but this is one of those things where it’s pretty obvious who does and doesn’t have any sort of critical thinking skills
These are also the type of shit where I wonder what exactly people try to prove… like even if you could why would you try to punch through a wall? Sure it can probably break, but as a person 200+ lbs I’ve fallen into a wall full weight and have not broken through it. The exterior of interior walls are not for structural integrity. Idk why anyone would want to drive up housing costs anyways with full solid sheets of whatever instead of using the most financially efficient material/structure
>his main concern is the houses being “unstable” because they are all made of wood
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we have building codes and FL has some of the strictest building codes in the country because of the hurricanes they get. Wood is completely stable as long as it’s done correctly, the building codes make sure that it IS done correctly.
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I will never ever understand why Europeans think we’d live in rickety houses that aren’t safe. My old house was built in the late 1800s out of wood, it’s still fucking standing, it’s fine after 150 years
Your father is being a Brit.
Houses are made out of whatever materials are necessary for the local climate. They may very well be made out of wood, this is not a defect.
i see just as many brick as wood houses where i live. turns out both houses are safe to live in and hold up. europeans do not need to tell us how to construct our homes. we already figured that out, thanks
Europeans think wood is a defective building material cause they cut their forests down a long time ago.
Wood frame houses are basically built like skyscrapers. It’s serious engineering. If it’s good enough for a 100 story building, it’s probably good enough for a house. You can’t build a 100 story building out of masonry. It would collapse on itself. Unless the walls were half a mile thick, or something. It would basically have to be a pyramid.
A house just has wooden beams and “girders” instead of steel beams. That’s plenty strong enough for two or three stories. It’s a rigid frame upon which other materials are hung for other functions – like insulation, weather protection, room dividers, pipes and wires. It’s advanced engineering and a whole different philosophy of building than “Pile up heavy things to make wall. Wall good!”
It’s more sophisticated.
I’m just curious here- why do you want to move to Florida?
Houses in Florida tend more towards concrete block because of the climate.
But wood houses are extremely sturdy in climates that have them.
They’re made out of sargassum seaweed and bits of coral that have washed up
I find it kind of funny that the sticking point of moving to FL of all places is construction… and not… idk… anything else lol
Our homes are designed to survive hurricanes, I guarantee you it’s fine.
In FL: Some homes are wood, but not a majority by any means. Many newer homes and those in more Southern parts are cinderblock. When looking on say zillow or whatever it will say what the frame is.
Tell your dad that Florida has the highest standards for building homes because they have to withstand a hurricane. Miami Dade specifically but the rest of the state generally follows suit to some extent.
Yes they are made out of wood frame and they can survive just fine. My old 75 year old home has survived many storms.
Of course if you have the money there are builders that would make you a home out of any material you desire.
The UK doesn’t get EF3 tornadoes or any kind of hurricanes
So say the Kings and Queens of moldy houses literally all right on top of each other breathing down each others necks! They also in trap heat and cold in the summer and winter! 😂
>I’m from the uk and I want to move to Florida specifically Orlando or tampa
Boy, you are gunna cook like a pig in that heat. I’ve seen many brits struggle with just how humid and hot it gets down there. To give you an idea, that’s as far south as North Africa.
I have a townhouse. It’s made of concrete. It’s not a coating.
I’m sure many detached houses are wood, which is not necessarily bad at all.
You will need to get an inspection of the house as part of the buying process – this is standard and the inspector is independent so you can choose them. Our inspector was quite detailed.
One note – if you buy and if you buy in an association, try to look for a place that is less than 3 stories. There was a new law passed after the Surfside condo collapse in Miami that is going to cost condo associations a lot of money.
Tell your father people have been living in Florida for quite some time now, and men far smarter than him have figured out how to build houses that withstand fucking hurricanes. If the houses weren’t stable.. people wouldn’t be living there.