Comment by carterschonwald
7 hours ago
the current white house really fucked over all the smaller domestic manufacturers. and scientists. and um america basically
7 hours ago
the current white house really fucked over all the smaller domestic manufacturers. and scientists. and um america basically
Everything.
If you are a builder, there is no sane way to bid on contracts with such hugely variable COGS.
And how the HELL do you even attempt to fix the US housing supply if you are tariffing Canadian lumber? You can't.
- US imports 20% of its lumber from Canada vs. 70% local lumber.
- Raw lumber costs are about 1% of the price of a house in California.
- Lumber prices were much much higher during the pandemic and are actually not that high right now: https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/lumber (it's at 9 months low and cheaper than in 2018).
It's not just lumber.
There is a 24-45% tariff on building supplies, steel, aluminum, and cement.
> Raw lumber costs are about 1% of the price of a house in California.
California is fucking weird then, because it's 16% or more other places.
https://www.txrac.com/blog/cost-to-build-a-house-from-scratc...
Guess this is what happens when you elect a group that prioritizes enriching themselves over ensuring you don't starve in the street like a filthy animal.
Likewise, how do you attempt to fix US manufacturing if you are tariffing Canadian aluminum?
As for the housing... stop using lumber maybe? Us Europeans build houses out of bricks and mortar or outright concrete.
Lumber framing only makes sense if you want something dirt cheap (and yet, US matchsticks and cardboard houses go for millions of dollars?!) or something that needs to be earthquake resilient and affordable.
What is the deal with europeans who have zero knowledge of construction having a weird grudge against wood framing?
I have a video for this.
It's because of our earthquakes and the severity of our storms. The lumber frame and design of construction flexes and sways when stone and brick would break (tornados are different story). Likewise when they do break, and they absolutely will given some of these forces, it doesn't bankrupt people and companies when trying to recover from those events. Bigger buildings of concrete, stone and brick here are now built very different, sometimes on giant metal plates with actual springs.
Here you go:
https://youtube.com/shorts/jFph1d2WR3s
Btw:
> or something that needs to be earthquake resilient and affordable
https://earthquake.alaska.edu/earthquakes