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Build This House in Four Days With a Screwdriver
When I bought my house, the door looked like new.All shiny and newly painted with urethane clear varnish. After a couple of years, a hole appeared. I poked at the hole and my finger went through. It was riddled with termites. That was in 1980. I had the house tented, then I bought a mahogany door, put it on a couple of sawhorses, and painted all six surfaces with an insect repellent treatment, let it dry and painted it again, Let that dry and put on urethane. That was 33 years ago and it still has nary a termite. It is indeed possible to keep termites from eating wood.
A door, perhaps.
Wood foundations are MUCH more difficult without extreme measures.
There is some new tech out there that uses a kind of fungus that lives on termites. The termites can detect it and stay clear of it. The termites that get infected have fungus that grows out of their heads. When they are detected, other termites carry them off away from the nest and then kill themselves to prevent transmitted it back to the colony. They're also looking for fungi that will kill fire and pharaoh ants. Once a house is treated with it, no new colonies will come near it.
The DR is a lot more afraid of Hurricanes which we get big ones every few years than earthquakes which we (fortunately) haven't gotten a big one in almost a century 1946 Dominican Republic earthquake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I would rather be in a concrete structure when a hurricane hits. When an earthquake hits is all about luck where you are at that moment in time.
My sister lives in the top floor of a high rise in Santo Domingo. Great views of the city and the caribbean from there, but I just keep my fingers crossed that we never have an earthquake anywhere near the city as we all know the quality of those constructions. The building may look imposing and pretty, but that's all. I'm not confident the "bones" are designed to properly withstand a major quake. In addition it is one of those buildings for which the foundation also functions as the parking lot, which I hear are even more vulnerable. Knock on wood....
I would rather be in a concrete structure when a hurricane hits. When an earthquake hits is all about luck where you are at that moment in time.
My sister lives in the top floor of a high rise in Santo Domingo. Great views of the city and the caribbean from there, but I just keep my fingers crossed that we never have an earthquake anywhere near the city as we all know the quality of those constructions. The building may look imposing and pretty, but that's all. I'm not confident the "bones" are designed to properly withstand a major quake. In addition it is one of those buildings for which the foundation also functions as the parking lot, which I hear are even more vulnerable. Knock on wood....
The problem with wood on foundations is that few people will go to the expense or bother of applying termite poison to every plank and board. You can buy pressure treated timber. I have used it every time I swap out a board in my house, and those I have used have never had any termites.
For earthquakes, some flexibility in the structure is a good thing. Concrete tend to be inflexible. In Japan, Taiwan and Chile as well as California they are pretty good at making buildings somewhat flexible. In Mexico, the worst damage occurred when the sand used in making concrete had salt in it. It seeps through the paint on inside walls and is called "salitre".
For earthquakes, some flexibility in the structure is a good thing. Concrete tend to be inflexible. In Japan, Taiwan and Chile as well as California they are pretty good at making buildings somewhat flexible. In Mexico, the worst damage occurred when the sand used in making concrete had salt in it. It seeps through the paint on inside walls and is called "salitre".
I worked construction in Japan many years ago. Most historic wooden buildings use post and beam construction with lightweight, non load bearing walls. Very effective against quakes.
This is a good point, and i might add if i may, i find a wood house to be much cooler in the heat, and therefore, much more comfortable. In a hot, sunny climate like the DR, coolness is paramount. One's whole day is fixated with staying cool. Even sex is out of the question. A wooden house is much cooler then a concrete house. Down here, the concrete bakes in the sun all day long and heats up like a pizza oven. I've come out of the house with third degree burns. Even after the sun has gone down here, the concrete walls remains hotter then coal for quite a long time.
Concrete radiates heat, where as the wood--and right now i'm thinking of my grandparents house here in Bonao--seems much more airy and cool and promotes procreation at all hours of the day. Why do you think Dominicans had many more children here before concrete arrived.
And now, if we talk about aesthetics, wood just looks infinitely more pleasing to the eye; it's also much more beautiful and attractive then concrete. And oh yeah...its smells better to. Wood also doesn't need painted, just a nice stain to highlight the grain.
So, yeah, i much rather have a wooden house--meshed with chicken wire, Styrofoam and cork. That way, not only would i be cooler inside my house and feel more horny, but if my wine bottles need a cork or a Coolie, i can just borrow from the interior of the house.
You could kill two birds with one stone. Genius!!
Frank
I've posted this link before. Hybrid Container/Bamboo house in the tropics. Four containers make up two of the sides, glass on the ends, and a bamboo roof, which could just as well be thatch or metal.
PREFAB FRIDAY: Container Homes for the Tropics | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
PREFAB FRIDAY: Container Homes for the Tropics | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
Manufacturers stopped using arsenic in P-T chemicals more than 10 years ago, so P-T lumber is not an issue indoors. In fact it is recommended for use where termites are an issue.Just don't use it as a counter top.....
I saw this all over the internet after the Haiti quake. *Cheap* 15 ft x20ft transition homes with a foundation and made from 2x4s and plywood (some with glass windows!)designed for the Haitian refugees at $4000-$6000 per unit. That was with Mainland prices. The designs were over complicated and required a much higher skill base than what would be available. More than 90% of the materials would have to be imported. What does a 1/2" sheet of plywood go for in the DR? Prob double that in Haiti.
I live in a Shipping Container, my address is written on the side, "Property of Canadian National Railway"..
"XO", correct me if I'm wrong, BUT, isn't your "Termite Experience" limited to the USA???????
THAT is not the same as the DR!
And neither are the termites!
When I bought my house HERE IN SANTO DOMINGO, all the wood was hollow.
TOTALLY eaten inside by termites!!!
I had every shred torn out, and all "Caoba" installed, EVERYTHING!
That was 16 years ago!
No termites in ANY of that wood.
They did eat a large picture frame, and the "Pressed Board" cupboards in my laundry, so their "Scouts" are still looking!
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THAT is not the same as the DR!
And neither are the termites!
When I bought my house HERE IN SANTO DOMINGO, all the wood was hollow.
TOTALLY eaten inside by termites!!!
I had every shred torn out, and all "Caoba" installed, EVERYTHING!
That was 16 years ago!
No termites in ANY of that wood.
They did eat a large picture frame, and the "Pressed Board" cupboards in my laundry, so their "Scouts" are still looking!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
There are Taiwanese termites that are faster eaters, and require less moisture.
A lot of people have bought Haitian wood carvings and discovered that they were infested with termites, which then spread out to the rest of the house.The Miami Herald had an article about a women whose piano was eaten by Haitian termites
Termites don't like at least some kinds of mahogany, and there was a very resinous type of pine native to Miami called Dade county pine that they could not eat, either. Dade County Pine is a pretty ugly tree as pines go, they have no shape to them, and resemble those Australian Pines they planted here to drain the swamps.
A lot of people have bought Haitian wood carvings and discovered that they were infested with termites, which then spread out to the rest of the house.The Miami Herald had an article about a women whose piano was eaten by Haitian termites
Termites don't like at least some kinds of mahogany, and there was a very resinous type of pine native to Miami called Dade county pine that they could not eat, either. Dade County Pine is a pretty ugly tree as pines go, they have no shape to them, and resemble those Australian Pines they planted here to drain the swamps.