Eight thousand years of a civilization continually involved in attempts to build a better shelter, among many other things, is our legacy of influence on present-day residential architecture. Monumental architecture, such as the sphinx, pyramids, great wall of China, and later many European castles and beautiful churches, along with so many other lasting examples, are something different. These beautiful and lasting monuments to the amazing abilities of mankind were investigated in detail long before any work was to begin on the actual building of the project. Drawings to illustrate the planned design using the latest, perhaps only recently discovered, geometrical layout techniques and member design calculations of the day, were usually prepared long in advance. Manpower requirements, of often slave labour, along with availability and transportation of building materials were all considered while the project was still in the planning stage. Engineers of the time were involved along every step of the way as the project unfolded and was managed to completion. The building process in many cases would take far longer than any one person’s lifetime. Most of these monuments were truly amazing accomplishments. Debate continues, especially in the case of the pyramids, such as those built in ancient Egypt, as to how the large stones were lifted into place. Remarkable achievements by any standards, for with our advanced technological present-day abilities, there’s a good chance that we could not duplicate what those ancient people were able to do.
Houses, on the other hand, those buildings for the ordinary folks, were generally something else entirely. Residential buildings evolved and were not the outcome of a planned design process. All kinds of available materials and methods of construction were simply tried, at different times and in different ways to find out what worked well. The best was then adapted, with the poorly performing material or methods of construction to be soon abandoned. Good ideas were kept, to become part of an ever-evolving building technique. What did not work, because it did not work, was quickly discarded. For who in their right mind would continue to build houses, that did not work well enough to become functionally useful and lasting shelters? (We are discussing past times, what happens today is something else entirely.)
Eventually, after thousands of years, houses became so well built that many were simply handed down through many generations within families. Four and five hundred-year-old homes are still functioning well into the present day in many parts of Europe, including Britain. Unfortunately, some homes, including 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister, were upgraded to modern energy conservation requirements. In the case of 10 Downing Street, I believe mushrooms began to grow on the surface of many of the four hundred-year-old wooden beams within months of the upgrade. A less than ideal situation, that had the house deteriorating more in one year than had been the case in the previous four hundred. Wood, if it is to last, requires fairly good surrounding air circulation to keep it reasonably dry, unless it has been pressure treated with poisonous chemicals. Poisonous chemicals, no matter what wood preservatives may otherwise be called, are in fact required to prevent damp wood from being eaten. Wet wood becomes an ideal food source for all kinds of fungus spores and wood attacking insects. Such life forms can break down and destroy the integrity of wooden members very quickly. This is not new information and has in fact been well known for thousands of years. However, I had better qualify this last statement, and rather say known most generally for thousands of years. You see, our energy conservation code writers in Canada and elsewhere seemed to have missed this bit of information entirely. What happens to wet wood is of course an important part of the natural environment within a living forest. The wood that falls to the forest floor from wind damaged tree branches or entire trees that have been blown over, is soon reduced to compost. Broken down in fact by the very process that can be encouraged to take place in poorly ventilated or wet building framing members.