Massive Fire in Charlotte, NC.

[Fla]

My current home in Jupiter, FL is concrete block construction, made to Dade County regulations. It's one heck of a tough structure.

Thinking of a Log home in the mountains of TN. Probably without a basement and on a concrete slab. I don't like noisy wooden floors and want tile.

My brother in law just moved to Nolichucky, Tn and built a house there and he absolutely loves the place and the people. Prices are still reasonable (sort of) for most things (a lot more reasonable than Fla prices at this point). A log cabin would fit in well there and insects and such shouldn't be a problem there.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

With today's hurricane windspeed requirements in Florida I'm not sure that any log home could meet the building codes.

I agree about all the insects/etc battling the logs. I didn't have a termite problem, mostly because I had the soil treated prior to foundation work, but I battled the carpenter bees. Lots of log home owners do. It's a war.



With regard to the strength of a modern assembled log home, you are flat wrong about durability to wind. I'll put one up against poured concrete walls any day of the week.

I added on to my log home 6 years later. I had to take out a corner, about 20' in one direction and 8' in the other. My corners were dovetailed. My logs were 6x12 rectangles stacked on each other. The dovetails were spiked with 12" long spikes and the logs were drilled and counterbored every 36" with a 12" long x 3/8" lag screw driven in with a 1/2" air impact gun.

It took me working a solid 40 hours with a chainsaw and 1/2" air impact gun to remove that 28' length of log wall and the corner. I had to cut the corner out with a chainsaw, make two more cuts on each wall where they terminate, then start removing the lag screws.

 

[PimTac]

Just read of a second death from this fire.

The news reports that it started from a spray foam trailer. Would this be a compressor that is fueled by ???

If that had not been reported then my guess would be Extinction Rebellion. Their MO is to torch unfinished construction projects.

 

[97K15004WD]

The two workers unaccounted for were found deceased:

MSN

www.msn.com

The pictures of the aftermath are unreal (scroll down into the story and expand the picture box - 29 pictures):

Deadly fire breaks out at construction site in SouthPark area of Charlotte

The five-alarm blaze happened on Liberty Row Drive near Fairview Road.

www.wsoctv.com

 

[Dave Hess]

Was this arson ?

 

[simple_gifts]

I am surprised that many of these newer "courtyard style" apartment buildings are able to constructed primarily from wood, especially OSB / chipboard 4 x 8 sheets. It seems from the videos the only masonary part of the construction is the elevator shafts made from cement block.

Was just mentioning this to a friend of mine; my parents lived in Harrisonburg VA, a college town, and the town allowed tons of apartment building/condos to be constructed of wood knowing there would be piles of students renting them. Two serious fires and a floor collapse due to too many students "partying" Crazy; i don't want to be living in a building like that knowing 50 other units where "their business might be your business" due to careless mistakes.

Living in a brick building now, with fire alarm and supression system.

 

[Snagglefoot]

This one last week burned across the attic of a 4 story wooden appt building in Winnipeg. Renters don’t care if it’s concrete or not and owners want cheap.