Poor construction common? (Houston, Cove: apartments, house, inspector)

[dcb942]

I am building a house in league city and it is nearing the end. I have noticed some extremely poor workmanship/finishing. Some is even dangerous in that load bearing columns were replaced with a few sandwiched 2x4s because they couldn't brick around the original design. How common is this? It is a highland home who had outstanding reviews but it seems to me that the superintendent is not even checking over this work. I go over every day and find problems. They are willing to fix all of the issues but I am still nervous that there are problems that could be unseen. I will copy and paste my complete list that I sent to the builder so don't be confused if I have comments or its vague. You will get the idea. I have found several cases where something was constructed that was not per the blueprint, as if no one is even looking at it.

Here is the list.

1. Front door frame not square.
2. Front walkway not level in either direction. Slopes towards front door.
3. Front Porch Columns need to be redone. I don't believe that the interior of the columns are per the blueprint. There are supposed to be 3 2x6s and 4 2x4s per the blueprint. I saw them redoing the columns with 3 sandwhiched 2x4's back to back a few weeks ago and looking through the gaps in the columns it appears that they left them that way. There are other column issues dealing with the cedar finishing, each of those planks should have been cut at 45 degree angles and fit together. Columns are not square and do not align very well.
4. Front porch roof unlevel due to columns bowing.
5. No weep holes on the columns, weep holes on the house are pretty small.
6. Pantry wall is not level, it is very visible where it meets the cabinets near the fridge. Using a 6ft level it is off 1 inch at 6ft.
7. 4th bedroom hallway ceiling unlevel.
8. 4th bedroom bathroom floor unlevel.
9. Window seat not level.
10. Recessed lights upstairs not aligned.
11. Backyard is very uneven. I understand it will settle some but I am concerned with drainage.
12. Front door is not centered, causes brick to be unsymmetrical. It is over 1 inch off center.
13. Did not see the second grounding rod that we had talked about a few weeks ago, do you know if that was done?
14. Do you know if all of the AC ducts were fixed?
15. There are some trim issues throughout the house. That will just have to be something we look at later and they might actually be fixed.
16. The Island is very unlevel on one side. I think it needs to be redone not patched with drywall.

[aba030]

With builders selling homes/lots at lightning speed, it's inevitable for workmanship to decline. We built with Coventry 3 years ago in Riverstone, and the attention to detail was terrible.

[sugarlandresident11]

Thank you for this. We are building a Highland Home also and they are going fast! I was concerned, but since they have a good reputation I didn't want to be too overly concerned.

[azinwood]

everything will not be perfect. that's just how it goes.

[shortel]

Originally Posted by azinwood

everything will not be perfect. that's just how it goes.

yea but some stuff is flat out laziness and could be dangerous. specially messing with load bearing walls and columns.i would make them fix it and call the inspector to ding them.

[Sunderpig2]

The poorer quality is largely due to the region, and makeup of the personnel involved in the actual construction. I don't mean to sound racist, but in the town I now live in, homes tend to be built by 100% caucasions. It might take them longer to complete the homes/apartments/buildings, but the quality is top-notch. I know that's not always an option - and not a realistic option in the Houston area - but that's a big factor.

[dcb942]

Originally Posted by azinwood

everything will not be perfect. that's just how it goes.

Seriously? Replacing load bearing columns with sandwiched 2x4s is just a case of something not being perfect? Alot on that list I was not going to mention to the builder because I understand that nothing will be perfect but I just couldn't take it anymore. Things arent just a little unlevel, things are so unlevel that you can see them with your naked eye.

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig2

The poorer quality is largely due to the region, and makeup of the personnel involved in the actual construction. I don't mean to sound racist, but in the town I now live in, homes tend to be built by 100% caucasions. It might take them longer to complete the homes/apartments/buildings, but the quality is top-notch. I know that's not always an option - and not a realistic option in the Houston area - but that's a big factor.

Um, ok.

[dcb942]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig2

The poorer quality is largely due to the region, and makeup of the personnel involved in the actual construction. I don't mean to sound racist, but in the town I now live in, homes tend to be built by 100% caucasions. It might take them longer to complete the homes/apartments/buildings, but the quality is top-notch. I know that's not always an option - and not a realistic option in the Houston area - but that's a big factor.

I agree. It's the unfortunate truth.

[dcb942]

Originally Posted by ronaldmco

Thank you for this. We are building a Highland Home also and they are going fast! I was concerned, but since they have a good reputation I didn't want to be too overly concerned.

Just make sure you check everything. I think it totally depends on the crew building the house. Where are you building?