Just an FYI:

Out here in Oregon, they are building new 5 story apartment buildings and condos that are all wood stud construction. I was quite surprised, expecting steel or concrete for strength.

For our Villages home search, we are limiting our search to stucco/concrete following recommendations of family members who live there, and experiences with vinyl siding elsewhere.

My 40 year old home in Oregon has cedar siding. There have been few issues, as long as exterior paint is done well. We don't seem to have termite problems here.

As for steel studs, the Class A office tilt up buildings and warehouses here use steel studs for the build-out within the buildings. Almost all home construction here is wood studs inside and out.

I'm interested in any issues with Villages homes constructed 10-15 years ago, and what to look out for when considering a purchase. I'm looking at homes between 466 and 466A.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

You are no better off in a block/concrete house than any other type of built house.

The termites will find their way in through cracks in the foundation and exterior walls as well as those tiny cracks around windows and doors. And don't kid yourself; all houses have them!


And if they don't find a good meal in the walls, then moldings, trim and even your furniture will work just fine for them.

Your comment suggests you are better off in a concrete-type house. Not so! It just doesn't matter.

Wrong. The less wood, the less possible sites for an infestation. This is not a statement about reduced probabilities. It is a statement about reduced opportunities.

Sigh ... Go back and reread your own post. You used the term "quality". The only real quality issues are strength and trueness. Whatever - two years olds and know-it-alls ...

Do you have a termite killer service?

No shortage of misinformation
 

Our previous home was up north and was built in 1948. Not only do they not build them like they used to, you simply cannot build them like they used to. We speak about 2x4 construction lumber.
First of all what you buy that has been processed. planed, is actually smaller than it used to be. Today it is grown on farms.
Due to the faster growth rate the same wood type is actually softer and weaker.
In our older home the roof underpayment was all tongue and grooved fir. Fir is more termite resistant unlike the glued together scraps they they now use there is no glue to fail.
As to brass valves. I had a summer job making faucets. Translation, I knew nothing about being a machinist, I was cheap labor. That summer I made about a million valve stems out of monel-expensive, tough on tools, stainless steel. I asked why people would spend so much on water valves. The reply was the water down south is so bad it destroys brass valves.
Our waste lines were cast iron. Our modern steel making does not make any real cast iron. When you read about cast iron pipe failing, it is not usually cast iron, which is virtually rust proof, it is mild steel which does rust.
To the point-our old home was, most of it 71 years old. Will your modern home last that long? Your plastic plumbing etc-NOPE.

Like most things today, the construction industry is driven by the market and competition. Most people are very naive about what materials are good or bad to have in their house. They are mostly looking at cosmetic features and the cost per square footage. To me, the steel studs are fine, but the most obvious deficiencies in new house construction is cheap windows and doors, and those plastic push-pull shut off valves at the plumbing fixtures. The builder should upgrade the valves.