After this article I will never ever consider a new build (stucco, 2015)
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My brother-in-law told us years ago he only wanted to buy a 5-10 year old property because all the issues would be fixed. Then he built his trophy home, gorgeous and I never heard about any building probs. 10 years later he's moving to a 5 year old home because the trophy home HOA dues went bonkers. I wonder hmmm.
We are 3rd owners of a 25 year old home in FL and avoided Chinese drywall issues, pipes that leak in walls and other reported lawsuits. It was not built by a "nationwide" builder, built by a reputable local builder whose reputation meant something to them. A 25 year old home needs more maintenance than a newer home but it's better than new shoddy building with leaks and mold.
I agree with you on OSB. When our own roof was replaced, the only part of the sheeting that needed to be redone was a part over the covered deck that had been done in OSB. The rest of the plywood sheeting was still good.
However... if the OSB is getting wet, something else has already gone wrong. Roofing or siding or flashing systems have let the water in. Something else has failed. OSB is fine when it's dry. It doesn't hold up worth a damn if it gets wet.
OSB is not the issue. OSB is not the culprit.
Workmanship that allows water intrusion and schlock design that creates production difficulty and makes water intrusion too easy are culprits. Dry OSB has a very good service lifespan.
I have torn enough rotten plywood and dimensional lumber out of houses to know these points to be true.
The builders who contract with consumers to provide a new home and deflect all quality issues onto subcontractors WHOM THEY HIRE are the root of the problem.
No home buyer signs contracts with subs. The builders do that. They vet, select, hire, schedule, and direct the work and then attempt to avoid all responsibility for the outcome.
OSB is not the issue. OSB is not the culprit.
Workmanship that allows water intrusion and schlock design that creates production difficulty and makes water intrusion too easy are culprits. Dry OSB has a very good service lifespan.
I have torn enough rotten plywood and dimensional lumber out of houses to know these points to be true.
The builders who contract with consumers to provide a new home and deflect all quality issues onto subcontractors WHOM THEY HIRE are the root of the problem.
No home buyer signs contracts with subs. The builders do that. They vet, select, hire, schedule, and direct the work and then attempt to avoid all responsibility for the outcome.
All very true, except for the bold - I don't think there's any vetting process.
I've seen and heard too many horror stories about new construction- months-long delays, additional charges for anything not "builder grade" (which seems to mean anything beyond bare light bulb fixtures, cheap wall-to-wall carpeting, etc.), code violations, shortcuts, Chinese drywall... every home I've owned has withstood the test of time. Someone else has gone through the headaches and the unhappy surprises of getting it built and a good inspector can tell me what needs fixing. My current house was built in 1985, we bought it in 2015, very happy with it.
Over the years, I've bought a couple new houses ... and many more 5+ year old homes where the 'bugs' have been worked-out, landscaping is mature, the neighborhood and amenities are established, traffic patterns are in place - and new builder/sub problems have been uncovered. I'll stick with the latter. (The only thing one gets with new construction is a temporary image of "new").
OSB isn't the original problem but as it's highly vulnerable to water damage, a problem that would have been less severe with a traditionally built house with, let's say 1" boards for sheathing, or even plywood, becomes a major one. I also am not impressed with modern house wrap. I've seen tyvek 20 years old or so breaking down and useless. Traditional builders felt works perfectly and lasts. Trapping moisture inside with moisture barriers for insulating purposes is also a big problem in new construction. Insulation that doesn't need a moisture barrier, such as mineral wool, is the best option there.
All very true, except for the bold - I don't think there's any vetting process.
Well.... You should see the rejects...
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