Bad building in Texas (Center: houses, purchaser, contractors)

[KathrynAragon]

We bought a brand new custom home a few years ago, built by a local builder here in East Texas. I am just a layperson, but we've been very pleased with the quality of our home, and would not hesitate to hire the builder again. That being said, it does help if you do a lot of checking up on your builder over the course of the building. I mean - be involved. If I was smart enough to truly second guess the builder on everything he did, I wouldn't have needed the guy - I could have subcontracted or built the home myself.

Check references. Ask realtors and other real estate professionals. Read reviews on their work. Do your own research on specs and ask intelligent questions about each stage. Hold your builder accountable without becoming adversarial.

It's not much different from hiring someone else to cut your hair, or perform surgery on your spouse. At some point you just have to trust any professional to do the job you hire them to do. That doesn't mean be naive or don't educate yourself.

[latetotheparty]

if the op is looking for the perfect house.... sorry, they don't exist.... ANYWHERE, built by anyone..... houses are built by humans and humans are imperfect......

perhaps if the op did the construction him or herself, he or she would be satisfied??

[ru4real]

my mind is made up by the facts presented by the property
i'm unbiased and never killed a deal
many of the properties i've observed committed suicide before i arrived

my services are requested to interpret and convey the property's factual condition for potential buyers, property owners that need diagnostic assistance with defects and direction for remedy and real estate professionals that want the best for their clientele

does anyone really believe today's construction is better?

[TheOverdog]

does anyone really believe today's construction is better?

What parts of it are better than what or when? Let's take plumbing for example: older systems didn't vent, generally had their traps built into the foundation when they didn't need to be (washing machines for example), and had clay pipe out to the street.
That was all awful from a design perspective and is horribly expensive to replace. I'm sure the guys building it did their best with the best they had - but it wasn't good planning and it's trash compared to now. BTW, if you're a home inspector, you should point out to clients cases like that because they aren't up to modern code and they are expensive to repair. And they will break.

Let's take slab foundations: they didn't put the piles 3-4 feet into the ground to hit bedrock. They built the slabs the best they could but they didn't know they needed to be better. Now everyone older house dances like a drunk prom queen in Dallas clay soil.

Some aspects were better in the old days - they didn't use fake plastic columns and moulding like they do now. Real craftsmen added details if your house was one built by a real craftsman. Home design was also better - they were more likely to build homes appropriate to TX climate. But not everything was better.

BTW: what does I'm

i'm unbiased and never killed a deal

mean? You've never recommended anyone not buy a house after your inspections? How does that square with your thesis that all the construction trades and build quality aren't up to par? You'd think you'd have found one if you've been doing it very long. Heck, there was a possible deal on city-data we killed a week or two ago!

[Subzro]

Originally Posted by slo1318

^^not my experience, at all
Why dont you share a corner cutting example.

Perhaps, then, more experience would help.

I'm not interested in outing anyone, in fact I hid my profile information when I posted that so nobody could see who or where I was. I have 12 years at my current job and have personally overseen 50,000+ houses worth of production and warranty calls dealing directly with builders' field superintendents. Corner cutting and hiding things from homeowners is the name of the game. It's not rare or uncommon, it's the norm, and anyone who works for a large trade knows that.

I'm not sure what your "experience" stems from, if you think that most builders even come close to making your home like the walk-in model home, good luck with that. It's hilarious to see them fall all over themselves trying to make the model look flawless and then turn around and pull what they do on tract homes.
It's the construction equivalent of Gustavo Frings' face...

[TheOverdog]

Why dont you share a corner cutting example.

We put in some crown molding upside down once and didn't fix it. Beyond that, everyone did their best.

It's alot like the bass player in a rock band telling everyone after the concert "man I missed all those notes' when nobody really cares. Pros notice the small things, but they really don't have major impacts to the true 'build quality' of the house. Things like too many cuts in moulding (instead of using large pieces) and poor drywall finishing. If new housing was built that poorly in DFW, it would have killed people by now.

builders even come close to making your home like the walk-in model home

What does this even mean? You must be talking fit and finish alone, because why would a house not looking like the model convey poor building practices and shortcuts? People don't even live in the model until the whole division is sold; it could be fake for all your average person knows. It's like saying that your apartment looks nothing like the vigneitte in the Ikea store when you buy a couch from there.

[Subzro]

Clearly, I meant to say that they DON'T make regular homes with the same quality as the model home. They go out of their way to portray the model home as a palace, and then cut corners on the regular homes. Do you really think the illegal day laborers who are building your home give half a flip as to the quality of the finished product? I'm surprised you think that builders have your best interest in mind, that couldn't be further from the truth.

[slo1318]

Originally Posted by Subzro

Perhaps, then, more experience would help.

I'm not interested in outing anyone, in fact I hid my profile information when I posted that so nobody could see who or where I was. I have 12 years at my current job and have personally overseen 50,000+ houses worth of production and warranty calls dealing directly with builders' field superintendents. Corner cutting and hiding things from homeowners is the name of the game. It's not rare or uncommon, it's the norm, and anyone who works for a large trade knows that.

I'm not sure what your "experience" stems from, if you think that most builders even come close to making your home like the walk-in model home, good luck with that. It's hilarious to see them fall all over themselves trying to make the model look flawless and then turn around and pull what they do on tract homes.
It's the construction equivalent of Gustavo Frings' face...

Plenty of experience of ALL trades not just yours.

You keep mentioning model homes, that has nothing to do with this issue you bring up. What they put into a model home, the upgrades and extra care and interior design means nothing. You always have to ask whats included in your price range. If you are trying to indict a company like David Weekley or Centex or DR Horton and say that they willfully cut corners and attempt to dupe homeowners then youre wrong. If you are saying that there is sloppy workmanship on many of the homes built, then I can buy that. Those companies develop their building formulas and attempt to build to those standards. The execution can be flawed, but in general it is not willful by the builders. Lazy superintendents/warranty service people/subs, sure. Would they be fired or patted on the back for crappy work, I would say fired.

[ru4real]

i'll start with something simple seen at many properties that most home owners/purchasers take for granted or assume the proper equipment is installed because their property passed all of the code inspections

do the most commonly installed pull down wooden attic stairs meet the minimum requirements for living space installation or garage separation?

[slo1318]

Originally Posted by ru4real

i'll start with something simple seen at many properties that most home owners/purchasers take for granted or assume the proper equipment is installed because their property passed all of the code inspections

do the most commonly installed pull down wooden attic stairs meet the minimum requirements for living space installation or garage separation?

Attic pull down stairs come in a variety of sizes and can be wood or metal. Most are roughly 24x48 and the length of the stair is based on the ceiling height. Where there is mechanical equipment in an attic, the clear opening (i.e., the trimmed opening as opposed to the rough opening) must be at least 20 inches by 30 inches. Whats the point or question?