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Comment by NotAnOtter | Hacker News Reader

I'm guessing you would expect a longer life out of the offerings from 1920 than today as well. We've gotten really good at making things last just long enough to clear warranty before falling apart to save money, back in 1920 they were mostly using real lumber.

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We still use real lumber today. And modern building materials technology is far ahead of whatever was available in the 1920s. Give me the lowest price house built to code in 2024 over the lowest price 1920s house anyday. Especially in neighborhoods with underground utilities (far less chance of power outages in storms).

Plumbing, electrical, insulation, foundation, HVAC, communications, will all perform far better.

In some things, yet, but you wouldn’t want the plumbing, wiring, roof, and foundation from 1920.

In 1920, you could get toilets that flush like a waterfall and showerheads with actually decent flow rates.

Eh a lot of toilets from the period also don’t flush very well, and you have to take care not to clog them.

In 2024 you can buy showerheads with actually decent flow rates. Just need to adjust them properly or buy decent ones.

And I'll take a good modern toilet over any one I've used from that period. Constantly getting clogged. Sure, it used a lot of water, but they didn't flow well.

Yes and no.

These catalog homes are not really adaptable for local climates; for example, many of the Sears Craftsman homes in Seattle have issues with mold due to the constant rain.

This. When we went house shopping in Seattle, we saw alot of craftsman houses with basements and most of them were depressing and expensive, especially the basement, like 1500 sqf on paper but half of that is almost unusable. The newer townhomes were about the same price with no basements but three stories above ground instead, so we wound up in one in Ballard.

I don’t mourn the old houses being torn down to make way for three town homes on the same plot.

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