Here in the US they use sheet rock and the houses are so flimsy, but in DR they build them so strong and it's 100% cement. Why is that?
as someone who has built a lot of houses on St Thomas let me add: availability. Wood 2x 4. 2x 8, 2x10 or whatever have to be shipped in. You can..and everyone has.....set up a block plant and a concrete plant on any island with gravel and sand.....and cement is easier to ship than lumber...... and as was said , TERMITES!!!! any lumber we use here has to be pressure treated with anti rot/anti bug chemicals or it wont last six months...
Most Caribbean Island houses are built of cement an building blocks with steel, I don't know why may be it is tradition.
Just an old world way of doing things... more durable. Plus, I don't think US building materials could withstand the continual beating those houses get from the salt, sand, wind, and rain off the Caribbean sea. I look at pictures of houses for sale down there and some of them, even the cement and cinder block ones get really jacked up by the weather conditions. It's beautiful in the Caribbean, but the weather is rough. What Charlie says is true too...about the insects and mold.
I think the main reason why in the united states houses are not made of cement is because of the price. Is a lot more expensivr to make a cement house rather than other materials. Also depending on where they are being made. In the north houses are made of different materials in order to protect them from the cold. In most of the caribean countries air conditioning is a luxury that only the rich are able to pay, i believe cement houses cool down faster...
Houses in tropical and sub-tropical climates are made of cement because of the problem of wood rotting or being destroyed by insects. Cement houses stay much cooler than houses built of wood and sheetrock ,too. BUT, cement houses do nto have heating systems , which are a definite need in houses in the U.S. Cement houses also have a lot of problems with mold.
