Dark side of the housing boom: Shoddy work

Cnn ^ | 2-14-07 | Sarah Max

[Hydroshock]

Alot of tehse houses that were thrown up in hte past 5 years will not be there in 20.

[Hydroshock]

The key to doing your own home is getting the right subs. The problem is the illegals are so cheap they have driven many of he craftsman out of the field. The illegals do nto care they disappear if you come after them for cheap work.

[jaydubya2]

It was my first large construction job, very time consuming, but also very rewarding. Saved a lot of money, and got a great house out of it. I used this book to help me: "The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home" by Dave McGuerty and Kent Lester.
Some of it is basic stuff, but it has a lot of tips on all types of construction, dealing with subs, checklists, managing time and money...

[RSmithOpt]

That was a mouthful in a beautiful simple statement!!

[Kieri]

Your experience was similar to ours -- our H&C inspector didn't even look at our furnace when we went for our C of O!

We GC'd our house two years ago. The frame is steel, 8" exterior walls with 16 and 22 gauge, and the interior is 5/8" drywall.

I keep telling my husband the only way I'm leaving our place is feet first. I'm more than familiar with new house construction practices -- and the slap and dash work of illegals -- which makes me less inclined to leave all the more...

[jaydubya2]

I'm glad it worked out well for you. It sounds like you built a solid house. Enjoy!

[ikka]

Got any tips on convincing a wife that older is better? We are currently in "discussion" as I want something older and proven (and built heavy) while she has a huge preference for a new McTownhouse.

[goldstategop]

A home costs a lot of money. It should be of high quality so it appreciates well if you ever need to sell it. There's no excuse for shoddy or sub-par construction in the home-building business.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[EVO X]

A home costs a lot of money. It should be of high quality so it appreciates well if you ever need to sell it. There's no excuse for shoddy or sub-par construction in the home-building business.

That isn't what people can afford in many cases. I've seen better looking barns than some of the McMansions going up.

They may attempt to have the front of the house look nice, but the rest of it looks like part of the David Koresh Waco compound.

[common denominator]

Illegals - doing the shoddy work that Americans refuse to do.

[savedbygrace]

My in-laws bought a house at the same time that I did, but paid three times as much. I couldn't believe the problems they had-- roofs leaks that came through the ceiling lights, loose stuff all over counters installed incorrectly. I used to think you get what you pay for, but that house proved me wrong.

An obvious case of Bait and Switch . . . without the switch.

;-)

[TChris]

Contractors create temporary corporations to build a particular development, then dissolve the corporation as soon as it's done. Nobody to sue when all the defects start rearing their ugly heads.

[OregonRancher]

I've "Generaled" the homes we've built and after we were half way through the first, the inspections got shorter and shorter. I asked the inspector way he was cutting his time so short with his quick walk arounds and he told me: "Everything you do is code or better and you're painstaking in your work".

It's called confidence levels. When your clients know your level of expertise and the quality of your work cannot be topped, and your rep depends on repeat business, you make sure that they're never disappointed.

Of course, 30 years in the trade helped a bit too.

[Issaquahking]

Warranty and a lawyer time!

[Jet Jaguar]

AMREP


One company (builder/developer) to avoid like the plague.

[Issaquahking]

Your probably not in the construction industry, otherwise you'd be aware of the mexican invasion into home building.

[Ramcat]

Use to be that the kids would knock a baseball through a window.
Now they hit them through the wall.

[Jet Jaguar]

The house I live in was built in 1957.

It has seen tornadoes, hurricanes, and ice storms. It survived.

A few, not many, new buildings, did not make it through Hurricane Hugo in my city.

Mind we are several 100 miles inland.

[ikka]

re: white stucco: I have heard of a local guy who left the area due to relocation.

The company relocating him refuses to buy any stone-veneer or stucco houses, so before he moved he had to redo the siding.

Turned out that it was not sealed properly at the top part, near the roof, and water had been coming in behind the stucco, hitting the masonite that sheathes the house, gathering there and rotting away the wood behind the drywall.

[Mamzelle]

re:They tried to go after the builder but he just told them to f*** themselves and moved back to Russia.---)))

LOLski