So many thoughts on this topic;Lots of room for value judgements and outright snobbery.
One can still build a “legacy” house.If you can afford it and want it, the beautiful finishes and craftsmen up to the task of an artful and durable installation are out there. Most of us won’t go for that for lack of interest, will, or resources. It is true that recently people have paid a lot for not much value in a house. Its also true that some people pay a little for little “quality” and are happier than most. It seems to be the recent trend is to have a big cheaply built house with fancy finishes applied half arsed… and expensive appliances.
Average construction has gone through a lot of changes but modest substitution can still bring about a pretty solid house. Native old growth wood is mostly out for the masses, sap wood and engineered products are in. A house built to minimum standards can be a flimsy POS. 3×4’s or 2×6’s can easily be used in place of 2×4’s or the 2×4’s can be sistered up, giving thought to locations that could use some stiffening up.I have seen a brand new,nicely designed house(floor plan and layout),where the exterior foyer wall shook when the light weight fiberglass door was shut…. CDX struct 1 plywood can be used for about $7-$9 more per sheet than OSB. This whole line of thinking can be carried throughout construction.You can buy the 22 cent plastic electrical boxes or the $3 steel reinforced, adjustable depth, heavy duty ones …or even metal. The residential fire sprinkler people are allowed to use PVC pipes in the attic and floor joists between house levels.Many “higher end” houses have this junk in them. I have always paid a few grand more, depending on the size of the house for copper.
I don’t see so much difference in the walls and regarding drywall finishes. Smooth texture was always more tedious to apply than any textured finished and troweled textures have been around for millennia. Of course, any work can be done badly. A better way to go altogether would be interior plaster. I don’t bother but if I wanted to claim have built a superior house from foundation to peak it would not have drywall at all. That said, drywall has many benefits.Mostly, it is easy to modify or repair.
There is another line of thinking on this topic which involves indictments of many people. The oversight of construction and associated economic burnens have gone through the roof, but some think the actual construction has gone way down hill. Shame and scandal on who?
