Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this once.
We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which weighs many
tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny nails and screws
that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce. How in the heck
are those small things supposed to hold together a large house? Sure,
under ideal conditions they do, and that is mostly just because the
wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that any stacked objects will
stay in a stack as long as the stack is not pushed or shoved. The
nails do not hold anything, they only retain the stack in position.
But when force is applied, the stack collapses because the nails are
weak. Consider the facts. How can a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece
of steel hold together a megaton house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT.
That thin piece of steel can easily be broken with a simple plyers and
a few pounds of muscle power. Nails and screws are obsolete and
outdated. They should have become history many years ago, when the
settlers to this country moved out of tents and discovered how to
build a log cabin. Yet, in this modern age we still use them, and
people die constantly when storms apply some force to the houses and
other structures that we build with nails. When are we going to learn
to build properly, where all wood is welded together using glues and
adhesives, along with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in
the earlier barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked
AND glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......

Larry

Continuing the logic, why use ordinary WOOD as the material? The
geodesic dome homes that are concrete over a foam core produce a
superior strength and insulation value. When the joints in wood are
superior to the material itself, then the wood itself shatters.

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 06:43:05 -0500, wrote:

Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this once.
We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which weighs many
tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny nails and screws
that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce. How in the heck
are those small things supposed to hold together a large house? Sure,
under ideal conditions they do, and that is mostly just because the
wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that any stacked objects will
stay in a stack as long as the stack is not pushed or shoved. The
nails do not hold anything, they only retain the stack in position.
But when force is applied, the stack collapses because the nails are
weak. Consider the facts. How can a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece
of steel hold together a megaton house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT.
That thin piece of steel can easily be broken with a simple plyers and
a few pounds of muscle power. Nails and screws are obsolete and
outdated. They should have become history many years ago, when the
settlers to this country moved out of tents and discovered how to
build a log cabin. Yet, in this modern age we still use them, and
people die constantly when storms apply some force to the houses and
other structures that we build with nails. When are we going to learn
to build properly, where all wood is welded together using glues and
adhesives, along with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in
the earlier barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked
AND glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......

Larry

On Jun 22, 8:04?am, Tom Kendrick wrote:
Continuing the logic, why use ordinary WOOD as the material? The
geodesic dome homes that are concrete over a foam core produce a
superior strength and insulation value. When the joints in wood are
superior to the material itself, then the wood itself shatters.



On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 06:43:05 -0500, wrote:
Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this once.
We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which weighs many
tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny nails and screws
that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce. How in the heck
are those small things supposed to hold together a large house? Sure,
under ideal conditions they do, and that is mostly just because the
wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that any stacked objects will
stay in a stack as long as the stack is not pushed or shoved. The
nails do not hold anything, they only retain the stack in position.
But when force is applied, the stack collapses because the nails are
weak. Consider the facts. How can a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece
of steel hold together a megaton house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT.
That thin piece of steel can easily be broken with a simple plyers and
a few pounds of muscle power. Nails and screws are obsolete and
outdated. They should have become history many years ago, when the
settlers to this country moved out of tents and discovered how to
build a log cabin. Yet, in this modern age we still use them, and
people die constantly when storms apply some force to the houses and
other structures that we build with nails. When are we going to learn
to build properly, where all wood is welded together using glues and
adhesives, along with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in
the earlier barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked
AND glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......

Larry- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

there are concrete homes being built today in florida, hurricane
reststant to 300 MPH winds. yet have regular sloped roofs

way stronger and better

On Jun 22, 6:43 am, wrote:
Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this once.
We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which weighs many
tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny nails and screws
that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce. How in the heck
are those small things supposed to hold together a large house? Sure,
under ideal conditions they do, and that is mostly just because the
wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that any stacked objects will
stay in a stack as long as the stack is not pushed or shoved. The
nails do not hold anything, they only retain the stack in position.
But when force is applied, the stack collapses because the nails are
weak. Consider the facts. How can a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece
of steel hold together a megaton house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT.
That thin piece of steel can easily be broken with a simple plyers and
a few pounds of muscle power. Nails and screws are obsolete and
outdated. They should have become history many years ago, when the
settlers to this country moved out of tents and discovered how to
build a log cabin. Yet, in this modern age we still use them, and
people die constantly when storms apply some force to the houses and
other structures that we build with nails. When are we going to learn
to build properly, where all wood is welded together using glues and
adhesives, along with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in
the earlier barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked
AND glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......

Larry

When it's your time and money you can build any kind of house you
want. That's the bottom line. Your suggestions are good ones but not
unusual.

There is alway a trade off of time, materials, and structural value
in any design. These things have already been thought of, believe it
or not.

Houses are built the way they are because that is what the builder
wants given the above stated trade-offs. It is not because he is not
aware of the options.

Welcome to Usenet Troll Spotting 101.

The handout you just received is a classic example of the spout-and-
run technique of trolling, intended to create a flurry of posting
activity denouncing the OP's claims.

Now, before we go any further, does anyone know how to best deal with
trolls? Yes, you in the back.


Don't feed the trolls, sir!


Well done! You'll be getting an A. Feel free to skip out of my class
and visit a more advanced one at Usenet University.

R

wrote:
Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes.

This one sure has the smell of a troll.

In any case very few homes or any kind of buildings are going to
withstand a tornado. It better be totally underground.

As for standard construction, most of the strength of a home is really
from gravity of the parts sitting on each other. The fasteners just keep
the parts aligned so the weight is transferred down the the foundation.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

On Jun 22, 9:22?am, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:
wrote:
Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes.

This one sure has the smell of a troll.

In any case very few homes or any kind of buildings are going to
withstand a tornado. It better be totally underground.

As for standard construction, most of the strength of a home is really
from gravity of the parts sitting on each other. The fasteners just keep
the parts aligned so the weight is transferred down the the foundation.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

300 MPH would likely cover most hurricanes and tornadoes..

On Jun 22, 6:43 am, wrote:
Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this once.
We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which weighs many
tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny nails and screws
that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce. How in the heck
are those small things supposed to hold together a large house? Sure,
under ideal conditions they do, and that is mostly just because the
wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that any stacked objects will
stay in a stack as long as the stack is not pushed or shoved. The
nails do not hold anything, they only retain the stack in position.
But when force is applied, the stack collapses because the nails are
weak. Consider the facts. How can a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece
of steel hold together a megaton house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT.
That thin piece of steel can easily be broken with a simple plyers and
a few pounds of muscle power. Nails and screws are obsolete and
outdated. They should have become history many years ago, when the
settlers to this country moved out of tents and discovered how to
build a log cabin. Yet, in this modern age we still use them, and
people die constantly when storms apply some force to the houses and
other structures that we build with nails. When are we going to learn
to build properly, where all wood is welded together using glues and
adhesives, along with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in
the earlier barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked
AND glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......

Larry

How about one built of concrete and covered as a mound? Sounds
interesting to me and probably pretty cost effective.
Jack

On Jun 22, 8:57 am, Jack wrote:
On Jun 22, 6:43 am, wrote:





Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this once.
We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which weighs many
tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny nails and screws
that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce. How in the heck
are those small things supposed to hold together a large house? Sure,
under ideal conditions they do, and that is mostly just because the
wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that any stacked objects will
stay in a stack as long as the stack is not pushed or shoved. The
nails do not hold anything, they only retain the stack in position.
But when force is applied, the stack collapses because the nails are
weak. Consider the facts. How can a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece
of steel hold together a megaton house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT.
That thin piece of steel can easily be broken with a simple plyers and
a few pounds of muscle power. Nails and screws are obsolete and
outdated. They should have become history many years ago, when the
settlers to this country moved out of tents and discovered how to
build a log cabin. Yet, in this modern age we still use them, and
people die constantly when storms apply some force to the houses and
other structures that we build with nails. When are we going to learn
to build properly, where all wood is welded together using glues and
adhesives, along with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in
the earlier barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked
AND glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......

Larry

How about one built of concrete and covered as a mound? Sounds
interesting to me and probably pretty cost effective.
Jack- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Earth bermed houses can get expensive since super reinforced
waterprooof concrete has to be used as well as an extensive drainage
system. A stuctural/materials engineer has to be hired.

They are among the most energy efficient homes there are so you would
save money that way. They way they look is the best feature. They
blend in with the landscape like no other home can.

That troll is a least enregetic with such a lengthy post. Usually
their questions are just short and stupid usually without complete
sentences or punctuation.

" wrote in
oups.com:

On Jun 22, 8:04?am, Tom Kendrick wrote:
Continuing the logic, why use ordinary WOOD as the material? The
geodesic dome homes that are concrete over a foam core produce a
superior strength and insulation value. When the joints in wood are
superior to the material itself, then the wood itself shatters.



On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 06:43:05 -0500, wrote:
Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this once.
We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which weighs many
tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny nails and screws
that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce. How in the heck
are those small things supposed to hold together a large house? Sure,
under ideal conditions they do, and that is mostly just because the
wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that any stacked objects will
stay in a stack as long as the stack is not pushed or shoved. The
nails do not hold anything, they only retain the stack in position.
But when force is applied, the stack collapses because the nails are
weak. Consider the facts. How can a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece
of steel hold together a megaton house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT.
That thin piece of steel can easily be broken with a simple plyers and
a few pounds of muscle power. Nails and screws are obsolete and
outdated. They should have become history many years ago, when the
settlers to this country moved out of tents and discovered how to
build a log cabin. Yet, in this modern age we still use them, and
people die constantly when storms apply some force to the houses and
other structures that we build with nails. When are we going to learn
to build properly, where all wood is welded together using glues and
adhesives, along with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in
the earlier barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked
AND glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......

Larry- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

there are concrete homes being built today in florida, hurricane
reststant to 300 MPH winds. yet have regular sloped roofs

way stronger and better



I saw that(concrete roof) on a TV news program,it looked very interesting.
If I were building a new house,that's the way I'd go.
Makes your whole house a "safety room"!

Then all you need is that new screening for the windows to keep blown
debris from shattering them.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Just have a general contractor estimate building a house for you with your
suggested methods.
You will then know why houses are not built that way.



wrote in message
...
Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are so
easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this once.
We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which weighs many
tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny nails and screws
that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce. How in the heck
are those small things supposed to hold together a large house? Sure,
under ideal conditions they do, and that is mostly just because the
wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that any stacked objects will
stay in a stack as long as the stack is not pushed or shoved. The
nails do not hold anything, they only retain the stack in position.
But when force is applied, the stack collapses because the nails are
weak. Consider the facts. How can a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece
of steel hold together a megaton house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT.
That thin piece of steel can easily be broken with a simple plyers and
a few pounds of muscle power. Nails and screws are obsolete and
outdated. They should have become history many years ago, when the
settlers to this country moved out of tents and discovered how to
build a log cabin. Yet, in this modern age we still use them, and
people die constantly when storms apply some force to the houses and
other structures that we build with nails. When are we going to learn
to build properly, where all wood is welded together using glues and
adhesives, along with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in
the earlier barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked
AND glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......

Larry

bill allemann wrote:
Just have a general contractor estimate building a house for you with
your suggested methods.
You will then know why houses are not built that way.



wrote in message
...
Have you ever noticed how houses are built? They use small nails and
screws to hold the wood pieces together. It's no wonder houses are
so easily destroyed in tornados and hurricanes. Think about this
once. We have a large house, filled with heavy furniture which
weighs many tons, and it;s being held together with a these tiny
nails and screws that fit in our hands and weigh less than an ounce.
How in the heck are those small things supposed to hold together a
large house? Sure, under ideal conditions they do, and that is
mostly just because the wooden pieces are stacked in a way that that
any stacked objects will stay in a stack as long as the stack is not
pushed or shoved. The nails do not hold anything, they only retain
the stack in position. But when force is applied, the stack
collapses because the nails are weak. Consider the facts. How can
a 1/8 inch (or less) thick piece of steel hold together a megaton
house? The answer is, IT CAN NOT. That thin piece of steel can
easily be broken with a simple plyers and a few pounds of muscle
power. Nails and screws are obsolete and outdated. They should
have become history many years ago, when the settlers to this
country moved out of tents and discovered how to build a log cabin. Yet,
in this modern age we still use them, and people die constantly
when storms apply some force to the houses and other structures that
we build with nails. When are we going to learn to build properly,
where all wood is welded together using glues and adhesives, along
with interlocking pieces of wood which we had used in the earlier
barn construction. If wooden pieces were both interlocked AND
glued, our homes would withstand most storms. Instead we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together...... Larry

Well ... not only that, but the "nails and screws" aren't really all that
holds a house together with the exception of sheathing. Gravity and proper
designs do more than the nails & screws.

we continue
to use nails and screws, while people die and homes are destroyed
whenever the wind blows strongly. Wake Up America !!! Lets start
building houses that STAY together......


You FIRST.. Send pictures, costs when finished

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:19:37 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:42:05 GMT, "Pop`"
wrote:

Well ... not only that, but the "nails and screws" aren't really all that
holds a house together with the exception of sheathing. Gravity and proper
designs do more than the nails & screws.


The northern view??
If you could cut the steel connections between a Florida house and
the foundation you could lift the whole house by the roof.
We design uplift loads virtually as strong as the down load.
The uplift protectrion is continued into the foundation so they are
not going anywhere.
When you see a Florida house, or more likely a trailer, blown to ****
in a hurricane, you are looking at a "pre-Andrew" code house. Actually
there are plenty of 30-40 year old CBS houses that have poured,
dowelled cells, 16" tie beams and straps over the trusses.

OK, now we're getting somewhere. I live in the midwest and we just
dont have buildings made like this. Yet every year tornados rip homes
apart and people die. I will agree that concrete buildings are
stronger and superior, there is the cost factor which is prohibitive.
Also in certain areas that are earthquake prone, they might not be the
answer. We all need to build to suit our weather and land conditions,
but I do find that the houses here in the midwest are inferior
considering the tornados we get. They are simply built using the
stacking / gravity method, where studs are nailed together and the
sheathing is supposed to hold things together, using more nails. It
was bad enough when the sheathing was solid boards, but these days the
sheathing is styrofoam, siding plastic, roofing made of particle
board. In this case, it's not just the nails that are weak, but the
entire structure. Styrofoam is not going to take any stresses
whatsoever, and the same for the plastic siding. Particle board is
also relatively weak. These homes are the first to destruct in a
storm, whereas the older solid homes stand a better chance, but often
the entire house (in those older ones) was never attached to the
foundation and the entire house comes off the basement.

I have built, repaired, and worked with houses, barns, and other
structures for many years and I have also seen tornado damages close
up. I know about construction, but only the way things are done in
this area. I have never been satisfied with the way things are built
these days. I have worked on several old barns that were all pegged
together, using tongue and groove and other interlocking methods and
they are far superior. Homes keep costing more and more, yet they are
build worse every year. They may have all the latest technology,
highly insulated, and contain all sorts of bells and whistles, but
their basic structures are weak and dont hold up in weather extremes.

My reason to post this mesaage was to get a discussion going and see
what others say. So far, most responses have been interesting and
even educational. As for the guy who called "troll". I kindly added
you to my killfile. I know your type, and It's YOU who is the real
troll. You'd likely hollar troll if someone said the sky is blue,
because you cant communicate beyond that word. Oh well, this is
usenet and there are lots of losers. My delete key is easy to use.

Getting back to the topic, I'd like to learn more about this steel
strapping used in Florida. What is the gauge and width of the
strapping, how is it fastened, how many per foot, or per house, how
are they run , etc. In other words, can anyone provide photos or a
website, or suggest books or videos? I'm only taking a guess, but it
would seem that adding steel strapping would not be cost prohibitive,
and the basic construction methods would be nearly identical to common
stick built homes in my part of the country.

I'm considering building a new house and am looking into alternatives
to the methods used today. I know for fact that it won't have
styrofoam sheathing and plastic siding. The roof will be steel, not
shingles, and I have other preferences. But my concerns and money
will be put into the structure, not into hi-tech gadgets and frills.
Concrete seems far too expensive and I'd rather deal with the common
wooden framed buildings that I am used to. But I want strength. This
steel strapping seems like the answer.

A final note. I briefly worked for a pre-fab home company as an
electrician, and I do recall these houses had steel strapping in the
walls. I quickly learned that when trying to feed cable. I had
assumed that was just for hauling purposes, but now I am looking at it
differently. This makes me wonder if these pre-fabs are actually
stronger than stick build houses, but then I recall some of their weak
points, such as the hinged roofs that were quite inferior, and their
halves that never seemed to make a perfect match for size, and
required far too many steel columns in the basement.

Larry

wrote:
On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 02:00:39 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 00:23:56 -0500, wrote:

In other words, can anyone provide photos or a
website, or suggest books or videos?

Look at Simpson Strong tie products.


This is the rebar we use in CBS construction. It continues up through
the block to the top course, thse cores are poured solid and then the
top 2 courses get notched block, rebar across the top and poured
solid.

(the picture was really to illustrate the ground electrode, the green
one, but you can see there is also a #5 every 4 feet along each wall
and in evey door and window opening)

http://members.aol.com/gfretwell/ufer.jpg
Thanks, this explains why one of my renters used 16 penny nails to
hang some small pictures. Oh yes, they were in plaster walls.

OK, now we're getting somewhere. I live in the midwest and we just
dont have buildings made like this. Yet every year tornados rip homes
apart and people die. I will agree that concrete buildings are
stronger and superior, there is the cost factor which is prohibitive.
Also in certain areas that are earthquake prone, they might not be the
answer. We all need to build to suit our weather and land conditions,
but I do find that the houses here in the midwest are inferior
considering the tornados we get. They are simply built using the
stacking / gravity method, where studs are nailed together and the
sheathing is supposed to hold things together, using more nails.

The plywood/OSB shear wall is a tried and true technology.

was bad enough when the sheathing was solid boards, but these days the
sheathing is styrofoam, siding plastic, roofing made of particle
board.

You are suggesting that board sheathing is superior to plywood/OSB?
You are wrong.

Particle board is also relatively weak.

Do you mean OSB? OSB and particle board are completely different
products. OSB is an engineered substitute for plywood, and is often
better than the crap we are getting for plywood these days IMHO



I have worked on several old barns that were all pegged
together, using tongue and groove and other interlocking methods and
they are far superior.

Interestingly, in the Kobe earthquake, the structures framed with
plywood shear walls actually fared better than the old timber
frames.


Getting back to the topic, I'd like to learn more about this steel
strapping used in Florida. What is the gauge and width of the
strapping, how is it fastened, how many per foot, or per house, how
are they run , etc. In other words, can anyone provide photos or a
website, or suggest books or videos? I'm only taking a guess, but it
would seem that adding steel strapping would not be cost prohibitive,
and the basic construction methods would be nearly identical to common
stick built homes in my part of the country.

In a nutshell, houses are stick built and straps/tie downs are added
to resist uplift. How many of what where is determined by an
engineer. Simpson Strong Tie's catalog is a place to start. The
straps in themselves are used in conjunction with plywood shear
diaphrams. These products, by the way, rely on little bitty nails and
screws.