When building an earth sheltered home, why is a concrete structure recommended as opposed to a wood structure as offered by some competition?
1. Untreated lumber will last less than 5 years. 2. Treated lumber has not been used long enough to actually tell how long it lasts. 3. Treated wood is treated with arsenic. In case of a fire one would die from the fumes rather than smoke inhalation or fire. 4. So many companies are starting to treat lumber that the quality is suffering. 5. Concrete does not reach its optimum strength until it ages for about 100 years. 6. There are many claims about treated lumber that are unfounded. Only time will tell.
