Okay, I know there's been a lot of OT lately (which I think keeps things
fun), but I want to draw upon the knowledge our discriminating collective:
As new-build houses go, how can one tell if a house is built with quality as
opposed to corner-cutting cheapness? I know that new techniques are being
used, such as a few pieces of plywood bonded together to make a "2 x 4". Is
stuff like that okay, and what else is there to look out for?
Brian>
Brian- My take? There have been too many "latest and greatest" wood
laminates that have come and gone, mostly after owners find that they
fall apart and/or spontaneously combust. Build quality is typically
so bad today that new houses with critical failures such as roof leaks
are more the norm than the exception.
Across the road from where I am theres a new collection of McMansions.
Cost ranges from the "cheapie" at $800k for the poor folk to the
model at 1.2million. On the inside you can see how out of plumb the
walls are thanks in part to the wallpaper selected. Occasional creaks
in the floor, bad trim work, sloppy paint most everywhere. On the
outside, wavy siding with gaps in the corners and in the j-channel
near windows. Hope you like the $2.00 Home Depot special lights out
back! Oh, and in that model you get a kitchen with cheap looking
formica counters. All the doors are plastic- the kind that start
warping in 5-10 years or so. CanNOT get wood as an "upgrade." This
model has an unfinished basement where a non-trained eye can see short
cuts all over the place
And the crowning achievement? The vista out the cathedral-ceilinged
living room is the cooling towers of a nuclear plant 8 miles away.
Sorry for the tangent- BUT the point (and there is a point) is that
with engineered lumbar trusses this and most other houses now use,
water leaks (or poor ventilation) can create spaces with sufficient
moisture that these beams will loose integrity- depending on how much
moisture and how much time. The products may be based on good theory,
but there are so many things that MUST be done correctly as part of
installation that are not likely to that the odds of long term success
are not good. Finally, in talking to people who do permits in our
township there are already problems. The oldest of these houses are
18 months old.
I'm confident that our old and creaky 200 year old house will be here
in another 40-50 years when these houses across the way are being torn
down.
Tony Wirtel
1805 farmhouse (decrepit by "modern" standards), 85 300sd (just plain
decrepit), 92 300e (decent)
