When did we switch over to using wood framing to build buildings as opposed to brick? Is one better than the other?
In: Engineering
Better is a subjective term. In general, wood is cheaper and easier to obtain (as well as easier to master the skill regarding lumber construction vs masonry). That cheaper cost in turn results in cheaper, I.e. more affordable housing for those they previously or otherwise couldn’t afford it. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a BRICK house is better than wood or even that a brick foundation is better than poured concrete. Brick also tends to result in more walls and smaller rooms being architected in as well.
Wood is much faster/cheaper to harvest, shape, and work with than brick construction. And it’s been that way probably ever since iron axes were common. However brick weathers much better over time, and keeps heat in better. So if you had money, then or now, you’d probably prefer brick construction.
Unless you live in a place that has earthquakes. Earthquakes destroy brick walls, where wood flexes. And with modern insulation, the heat retention properties of brick is no longer a factor. So in geologically dull places, you’ll see a mix of cheaper wood places and expensive stone/brick places; it has probably always been that way. But in geologically active places, brick buildings aren’t a thing then or now. In ancient Japan and Korea, it’s always been wood houses, as brick ones would collapse. In modern California, just like modern South Korea, it’s either steel or wood, possibly with stone/brick facades.
This is more of a price/value thing. Brick houses have always been the almost exclusive domain of the very wealthy for a very long time. Brick can stand centuries so it is ideal for environments such as cities and houses people expect to house several families. Renovation on brick is expensive and often requires specialised equipment even for seemingly mundane fixes while fixing a wood frame house usually involves fairly simple tools and skills. Brick/wood is very much a wealth game.
Wood is much cheaper, lighter, and its flexibility makes it better in earthquake regions. Bricks are very decorative on the outside, but the cost is really too high for most.
People have been building timber houses for a very very long time.
From the context of your question though I am assuming you’re talking about the general change in the US where in a good portion of the country the dominant housing material changed from Brick to Timber during the 1960s to 1970s?
Prior to this era timber required a fair amount of skill to frame and was a lot more labor intensive than it is now. Over the 60s and 70s there were a bunch of advances in timber construction that made it much more economical:
1. Joist hangers. These are light gauge metal angles and other connectors that allow economical and quick and strong connections between timber members that used to be much harder to obtain.
2. Portable power tools.
3. Standardization of timber sizes and pre-fabricated roof frames. This made it very quick to frame out roofs.
4. Long span timber truss type products (there are a bunch of these, but the gist is they fabricate long spanning members from relatively cheap 2×4 pieces.)
5. Better building envelope products – keeps water out better so timber is much more durable.
All this, and more, made timber a very economical way to build a house. Brick, on the other hand, saw very few developments. Even today the tools and methods are almost identical to those used centuries ago. So it was/is much more labor intensive, and therefore much more expensive, so it fairly quickly became a niche construction material. You’ll rarely see an actual brick house built today in the US.
Timber has a lot of positives – good in earthquakes, it can be designed for good wind resistance, an exterior wall with 2×6 studs and insulation has around 10x the insulation rating as a brick wall, and things like plumbing and electrical systems are much easier to install and more flexible to modify.
Brick is better at high winds, normally, and is more resistant to water and other environmental issues, although can be very expensive to repair.
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