AGENT: Norstate insurance, how may I help you? Uh huh. Uh. . .huh. Out to sea. Really?
starts reaching for thick manual Let me just call you back.
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They have two claims assessor teams. One onshore, one marine. Which one will they send? 
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Gives a whole new meaning to “losing the farm”.
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Also something something slippery slope.
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Years ago my wife and I moved our family to Norway after she accepted a teaching job there. The school, along with a few residential apartments, was housed in a small converted warehouse that sat on the edge of a fjord. The building was between 600-700 years old and still rock solid.
As for the solidity of old houses, yes and no. I was in the masonry business for over 40 years and one of the trickiest projects I ever did was restoring an old townhouse behind Capitol Hill in D.C. The owners wanted a new door cut into the rear of the building. The masonry work on the first floor was good and solid but we did a lot of bracing anyway. But once we got started, bricks from the second story started raining down on us. Come to find out, most of the “mortar” used on the second story was mostly sand. Guess the budget was getting tight.
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“Quick clay (and other types of sensitive clay) can be found in Norway in areas with marine deposits, and is therefore classified as a marine clay. This is clay that was originally deposited in salt water, but after the post-glacial uplift can be found near sea level or above. Groundwater discharge has gradually reduced the ion concentration of the sediment’s pore water; that is, the electrically charged particles have been washed out. These particles serve to stabilize the weak clay structure, and without them the clay becomes unstable.
…
Some of the most notable quick clay slides in Norway include the Verdalsrasset, in 1893, when 116 people died and Rissa slide, in 1973, which resulted in one fatality.”
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40 years 'eh? You must be sore. Always. I’ve got great respect for mason. I can do masonry work poorly. It just gives me even more respect for the people who do it so well.
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Is it time to revoke Slartibartfast’s design award?
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That’s probably mostly survivorship bias though, too. The poorly built ones don’t survive 100 years, so we tend to think all things were made better 100 years ago. Some of it is also due to efficiency of manufacturing. If people are going to remodel every 5 years anyway (as people tend to do now), using 1/2” drywall instead of 1/4” is just a waste of resources.
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In the UK there were post-war prefabs that were only expected to last for 10 years that had to last for 40. They were often slapped up on greenfield sites, and they were bungalows which meant they could be built light. But it also meant that they had large gardens, particularly when compared to what came after, and many people remember them fondly. But they didn’t last. A lot more houses from the 1930’s survive: they still look the same as they did when they were built - same tiles on the roof and everything. One of my kids is buying one.
Thank you. Surprisingly, my back is still in good shape. My knees and ankles however, are totally shot. No day without pain. My father started teaching me the trade when I was 12. It is an honorable trade, but a really shitty way to make a living.
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