why are most suburban houses in the US built with wood, instead of bricks and mortar?
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A few reasons (from a UK perspective at least)…
Timber is quicker to construct, and takes less skilled workers – a house will be designed and the wall panels built in a factory, then shipped out to site on the back of a truck and assembled in place. This allows the trickiest parts to be measured, laid out and made on a big table in a factory, with all of the equipment and tooling they need in a clean, dry and stable environment, and the job outdoors on site becomes a lot quicker and easier.
Even if it is site built, it requires a lot less manual handling as all of the individual components are lighter weight. A 2m long timber beam can be lifted by a few workers, a 2m long concrete beam needs mechanical help.
Timber also allows for more options with regards to construction. Things like large windows and narrow columns are more problematic to design in masonry (which is rigid and inflexible, so needs additional help from steel elements and similar) but relatively easy in timber (where you can fairly easily design narrow panels to support significant wind loads, and larger openings are pretty simple).
Timber is also easier to insulate, as you can fit insulation between the studs (rather than building a masonry structure, then framing out the inside in timber to fit insulation and services). Great for more efficient homes.
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