Fortunately, they won't touch Cedar, Redwood, or Cypress, none of which are available here. If only they didn't like Pine.
A house that has been properly designed and built with wood glue generously applied on all joints will be almost as strong as a house made of blocks.
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