forbidden Jenga
this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2026
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Oh look a new fear I didn't know I had!
One.
Single.
Matchstick
:)
You can't light thick wood on fire with a match.
Wanna try it ?
There needs to be just enough wood fibres on the floor underneath the planks to start a small ember.
And after that...Well I hooe you have a good insurance about negligence.
Seeing as how I've worked with thick pieces of wood every time I've built a fire, I've "tried it" thousands of times.
This begs so many Q's-- how did they stack it that high? Could you actually pull material from the bottom, and due to the way the wood is stacked, the whole thing was as stable as ever? Did major accidents happen with this approach?
I found this small blurb about this. It doesn't go into safety stuff, but apparently these were stacked by hand using a vertical conveyor to lift the boards.
Interesting, thanks!
Lumber quality compared:
Top one is pine, bottom one looks like oak?
Not even the same timber if so. Pine is softwood Oak is hardwood.
Yeah and the stuff’s all rated and graded anyways. New growth is perfectly fine to hold up a house, it’s what codes are based on. If a 2x4 isn’t enough, instead of speccing a higher grade that’s more expensive, just use 2x6.
It’s a total non issue, tradesmen know better than to spread this.
Then why do new houses feel like they're made of sticks and plastic?
Contractors cheaping out on materials is certainly a thing. There were a bunch of recent-ish cases (in Florida I think?) in which unbeknownst to the home owners / builders, their contractors used substandard Chinese stock for certain wall materials. Unfortunately, those materials wound up leaking toxic gases, making the houses functionally useless. IIRC, contractors got away with it due to some technicality.
The things you interact with in a new house are much cheaper and lightweight than older counterparts e.g. trims are mdf instead of wood, doors are fiberboard instead of laminated wood, walls are drywall instead of buttonboard, wood I-joists instead of solid wood joists, fixtures are thinner and often plastic instead of metal.
Building codes are based on safety and functionality. They're for human safety, not aesthetics. Compare a solid core door to a hollow core door. Both meet the code definition for a door. Both meet fire break and insulation standards. But the solid core door made from solid bits of real hardwood is going to inevitably feel a lot more solid and of higher quality than the hollow core door.
You can still have a house with all that old world charm if you want. You're just going to have to do a custom build and pay extra for it.
You can still have a house with all that old world charm if you want. You're just going to have to do a custom build and pay extra for it.
I completely agree, and at the same time you'll have to convince every contractor and person you workw with that you actually do want the higher quality items, trims, etc. Almost at every turn folks will steer you toeard cheaper alternatives, because most folks don't notice or care.
I'm not disagreeing, but it will be more effort than just paying more. It will mean sourcing vendors/contractors that are prepared to do the work too. Personally, I feel it's worth the extra effort and cost, but I understand why not everyone does.
Because they are. Those sticks and plastic still meet the minimum requirements, though.
Materials are regional. Woods easily accessible in Canada and USA, so it’s the predominate material.
Wood and plaster isn’t the most ideal material, but it serves it purpose for the expected longevity in f its purpose. It’s not gonna last as long as stone, but at the same time, does everything need to? People do like change as well.
Yeah, there's a good argument to be made that right now, we shouldn't be optimizing our homes to last for centuries. Think about how much life has changed in the last century or two. Think of just how differently people live now compared to then. The only way anyone today is living in a 200 year old house is if that home has been extensively renovated, likely gutted down to the bare stone walls, just to make it livable. Ultra durable architecture makes a lot of sense if population and tech levels are stable over many centuries. If a community is going to look reasonably similar 200 years from now as it does today, then designing buildings to last centuries is rational. But in times of rapid change, there's no point in making a building last forever, if it's going to be hopelessly obsolete in just a century or two.
Very well said. The other consideration is that many regions of USA are more prone to earthquakes, and wood structures can flex in a way that concrete and brick cannot. Wood is fine for most people.
Code is the floor and developers work in the basement.
Building standards are LOW and most of the developers are even lower
Yup. Every single comparison you see of "Old growth vs new growth" it's always a different wood species.
Bottom one is old growth fir.
Thanks for the ID
Important to note: you really, seriously, don't need the extra strength the bottom piece gives. It is simply a complete and utter waste of oldgrowth forrests to strive for that quality. Loadbearing posts and beams are made in quality assured, tested wood.
Often times, like 99% of the time, the dimensions of the wood isn't determined by the strength required, but rather the insulation thickness required, size of internal installations like HVAC, or soundproofing requirements.
2x4s are fine for up to 2 story houses where I live, so you either use 2x6 to get the r20, or a slightly better option. Still use 2x4, but clad it in rigid insulation to go from r12 to r20. This removes issues like thermal bridging and moisture penetration. But costs more and takes longer to do as well.
Tell me you don't know how important old growth forests are. Oh wait, no need, I can see that already.
Are the workers just expected to die if there is a tornado?
In Seattle?
I mean, yeah, kinda. If there's a tornado in Seattle, more than just the worker will die.
Earthquake, then. :p
But also still yeah kinda, I assume.
A tornado? They're expected to die at the slightest mishap. Easily replaceable and cheaper than buying more land.
nothing has made me feel this anxious since playing subnautica holy s
🤖Are you sure whatever you are doing is worth it
....wat?
Have you ever tried going beyond the edge of the crater in Subnautica, this is the message you get from the computer when you do, and then something fun happens
ohh yeah i do vaguely remember that! I think it only happened the first time though 👻
Who wants to play Jenga?
All those ancient trees selfishly destroyed by people who hated future generations :(
I have so many questions...
What happens when they get waterlogged from rain, mouldy and warped?
Did they ever have issues with termites?
What is the black abyss below him, is he on a stack of wood that is casting a shadow or has the ground texture.png not loaded in correctly?
Being the early 1900's, did workers smoking while stacking wood regularly cause fires?
What happens when they get waterlogged from rain, mouldy and warped?
Much of the timber is transported and sat in water to begin with. The weathering could cause warping and mold, etc, but a great deal of the timber industry at this time in this area was harvesting and processing old growth trees that were so compact that warping was minimal and any mold could just be wiped off. These planks were also not sitting in these stacks for long.
Did they ever have issues with termites?
Yes and no. Termites were there but not a consistent issue for making and shipping planks. Their habitats are destroyed in the sawmill process and these stacks were moving out and shipped out rapidly for termites to meaningfully colonize. It was easier to ignore and discard termite damaged wood as it was processed than anything.
What is the black abyss below him, is he on a stack of wood that is casting a shadow or has the ground texture.png not loaded in correctly?
I am willing to bet: dock and/or barge. So water, but its 1937 so lighting is not everywhere.
Being the early 1900's, did workers smoking while stacking wood regularly cause fires?
Not really. It's all so wet for a cigarette to cause a fire.
Now the sawmill had fuels that were flammable, but this isn't like mattress foam warehousing. This is solid, fresh wood that isn't going to ignite from a cigarette.
Fantastic, thank you!
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This goes unbelievably hard holy crap!!!!
That's some Terry Gilliam stuff.
Lumber has a million uses.
"Lol look at this guy growing trees to cut them and then built stuff with it, didn't you guy know that you can grow concrete!"
Train Dreams
I think there is a diving board up there too. Cool shot.
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