Should I Buy A House With Frame Or Concrete Block Construction?

Should I Buy A House With Frame Or Concrete Block Construction?

Their are handful of exterior wall materials available to choose from but concrete block and frame are the most popular choices in Centra Florida. There are others, but due to poor market demand will not be addressed here.

Remember, Orlando is a very competitive home building market. Builders are constantly evaluating construction materials and practices for the one that provides an edge over their competition. If Homebuyers demanded homes made of "plastic" and the material was approved by the Southern Building Code then that's what contractors would be building. Be suspicious of new "space age" materials with spectacular claims. If that new building material was so good, Builders would be stepping over each other to build with the new product.

Frame- became a popular building material in the 70's, because electricity was becoming more expensive and Homebuyers were demanding energy efficient homes. 2x4 or 2x6 exterior walls, 1/2" plywood sheathing with stucco or wood siding exterior finish was typical.

Prior to that, Concrete block homes with stuccoed exterior finish was the norm and they were mostly built without exterior wall insulation.

In the 70's the cost of frame and block were comparable but you could insulate a frame home with more insulation because the the exterior wall cavity was larger than the open cells of concrete block.

The strength of frame and block homes were comparable and the approved termite treatment was Chlordane. Experts would say, even of you did a bad job treating the ground under the house slab, Chlordane lasted almost forever.       

Like everything else, things changed dramatically. Building codes now require homes to withstand up to 130mph winds, termiticides became better for the environment but less effective (10 year life) and new insulating products were developed.

Today, the predominant exterior wall, building material, in Central Florida is Concrete block. New termiticides have replace ineffective ones and manufactures have developed insulation that has increased the performance of concrete block structures. 

Concrete block construction is durable, structurally effective against winds that can reach 130 mph during a hurricane and insulated so that power bills are minimized. 

In balance, concrete block is the way to go in Central Florida. It balances the various environmental factors with cost and energy efficiency.