Introduction
Houses provide shelter, warmth and safety. What the house is made of or how it's made depends on where in the world it's built.
Houses in cold climates may have double glazing and houses in a hot climate may have no glass in the windows to keep the house cool.
In the past houses were made of whatever was found nearby. It was important to have a good house in the old days because you didn't have heating you only had a fire to warm you up. So if you had a house or hut which was not well built the warmth you had would escape through the walls.
It is equally important to have a roof with no holes in it so that when it rains the inside of your house would not get wet. You see homeless people wandering about in the street they have no house to live in. If you have a house you are lucky but most of us take it for granted.
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Houses in Different Climates
Hot Climates
Houses in hot climates have thick walls and no glass in the windows to keep the interior of the house cool.
Cold Climates
Igloos are made of thick blocks of frozen snow.
There is a vent in the top of the igloo to let in fresh air. the
windows in an igloo are made of clear ice.
Earthquakes & Landslides
In countries where there are many earthquakes and landslides the houses are built of layers of stone and logs. This makes the house less liable to be affected by earthquakes and landslides.
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Roofs
Houses in the Alps have gently sloping roofs. The reason for this is because it snows a lot there and the snow insulates the house.
Houses in Amsterdam have steeply sloping roofs because it rains a lot so the rain falls off the roof easily.
Houses in Iran have flat roofs because it rains very little so the roof does not have to be sloped.
Foundations
A house on stilts keeps the water out of the house if it is built along a river or marsh in wet countries.
Houses that are built on permanently frozen ground are built on stilts to keep the heat from the house from melting the ice. If that did happen the house would sink in to the muddy surface underneath the ice.
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