or like so:
or like so: 
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Posted on 02/10/2019 10:54:32 AM PST by Jonty30
We have winter in tornado alley. My brother owned a warehouse made like this. Coldest place on the face of the earth, and St Louis isn’t that far north.
There’s multi-bubble looking house off the Interstate between San Jose and San Francisco that looks like a case of sublimated ovary envy.
I was in a company building near the center and away from the windows as a tornado passed overhead in Atlanta. Sounded like a steam locomotive high-balling through your living room.
or like so:
or like so:
?
Soon, 3D printing of walls and houses will surpass human skills.
First we had stone buildings. Heavy thick walls, limit in heights. Next came cast iron super structure. Better than stone yet still limiting. With the invention of the Otis elevator and steel, buildings have become virtually limitless in size and function.
Then there are the building codes, life safety codes and the pure logistics of construction.
Anyhow to answer your question, its about money, cost.
Wood construction for houses is the cheapest and easiest. The technology is proven and when properly designed and built, have good resistance to earthquakes, tornado and hurricane.
There certainly are different materials that can achieve the same results, but cost and time prohibit there use.
Why don’t we build homes using interlocking cement blocks?
Notice the truth of the builders is the truth just about everywhere (with a few exceptions) - creative use of locally available materials.
My dream is to retire someday in one of those. It would be the only way I’d move to a state with regular tornado activity.
ICF blocks will work in any climate. Insulated Concrete Blocks that have rebar anchoring wall to the footing with lightweight concrete filler. They are very energy efficient and will withstand tornadoes.
Theresa better system.
It involves styraform forms with channels that you put in rebar, and then pour in concrete.
It’s more effective because it has an insulating value much higher than concrete alone (the concrete blocks have air gaps to help with weight and insulate, but still have a big problem with heat(cold) transfer.
Since you are pouring the concrete into the top of the wall, the walls go up faster with less manpower and cost as well.
My neighbor built a home - it’s stronger than cinderblock with rebar! Insulating value is incredible. His electric bills are <50-60$ a month here in texas no matter if it’s 30 degrees or 105 outside.
They use cinderblocks instead of concrete blocks because of the weight. Foundation structure gets harder with solid or hollow concrete blocks. Cinder blocks require sealing also, as do hollow concrete blocks.
Now stabilized adobe is a good building material in a dry climate. 3’-4’ thick walls work well for that.
Is that over Macho Grandé way?
That’s a common construction technique for large warehouses and industrial buildings, up to 40-50’ tall walls, in say 12–15’ wide sections.
If you don't use computers, you have to build in a larger margin of error. Compare the longevity of a B-52 or U-2 or C-130 to a computer designed plane. Compare computer designed highway bridges of today which quickly fail to the depression era bridges still in use.
The insulation creates the forming for the concrete pour.
In the 70s there was a modular home movement...an outgrowth of the trailer home industry. It was blocked and stopped by the labor unions and building code inspectors.
It was based on 4x8 modules and multiples of 4x8. We see it now, but without the inter-locking feature.
“Is that over Macho Grandé way?”
Nah, it’s down near Nacho Grande’.
A lot of new homes built in Alaska use this for the sub grade walls and above grade walls. If assembled and sealed properly you bring in a concrete pump and pump in a specific mix design thats different from all purpose concrete, usually more cement per yard and with a smaller rock.
We loosely call it wall grout mix.
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