Ruminations on construction quality

[an]

[quote=sdrealtor]A few years back AN and I were going round and round so I picked a few streets in established neighborhoods and found far greater longevity.[/quote]
Are you sure that was me? I could have sworn I had similar conversation w/ sdcellar but I was the one who say the majority stayed in their homes much longer than 5-7 years. I know I always have this stance on this topic because my parents bought their house over 20 years ago and they’re still living in it right now. A lot of their neighbors are still there as well.

[AK]

UCGal: Wow, you went for a major seismic retrofit … usually when I want to talk about that I have to seek out my friend the structural engineering postdoc. The house I hope to own 45 days from now was built to UBC 94 so I’m not worried. But I’ve seen even some post-Northridge houses that lacked, shall we say, a visible means of support.

DWCAP: Nope, that Depression-era dining room set was stripped and refinished once when my parents bought it. Just a bit of dusting now and then. I do think that my grandmother’s old North Korean dowry chest could use another coat of perilla oil and lampblack, but I should probably leave that to a professional antique restorer.

sdduuuuude: The old ’60s dining-room set now graces my aunt’s home … looks like something out of an Austin Powers flashback sequence but it’s still in great shape.

cantab: I agree that in many ways standards have improved. Certainly I’m not nostalgic for knob-and-tube wiring.

Russell: There’s a huge middle ground between “legacy style” and the sort of crap construction I see when I’m out house-hunting. I don’t demand kitchen cabinets that last a century. That said it’s obvious that an unpainted particle-board sink cabinet won’t last a decade, yet builders use them and some consumers accept it.

I’m not sure that oversight and regulation of construction has increased all that much. Certainly the development process has been regulated to death, but I’m not sure how many times the average tract home has been graced by a city inspector’s shoes.

[AK]

UCGal: Wow, you went for a major seismic retrofit … usually when I want to talk about that I have to seek out my friend the structural engineering postdoc. The house I hope to own 45 days from now was built to UBC 94 so I’m not worried. But I’ve seen even some post-Northridge houses that lacked, shall we say, a visible means of support.

DWCAP: Nope, that Depression-era dining room set was stripped and refinished once when my parents bought it. Just a bit of dusting now and then. I do think that my grandmother’s old North Korean dowry chest could use another coat of perilla oil and lampblack, but I should probably leave that to a professional antique restorer.

sdduuuuude: The old ’60s dining-room set now graces my aunt’s home … looks like something out of an Austin Powers flashback sequence but it’s still in great shape.

cantab: I agree that in many ways standards have improved. Certainly I’m not nostalgic for knob-and-tube wiring.

Russell: There’s a huge middle ground between “legacy style” and the sort of crap construction I see when I’m out house-hunting. I don’t demand kitchen cabinets that last a century. That said it’s obvious that an unpainted particle-board sink cabinet won’t last a decade, yet builders use them and some consumers accept it.

I’m not sure that oversight and regulation of construction has increased all that much. Certainly the development process has been regulated to death, but I’m not sure how many times the average tract home has been graced by a city inspector’s shoes.

[AK]

UCGal: Wow, you went for a major seismic retrofit … usually when I want to talk about that I have to seek out my friend the structural engineering postdoc. The house I hope to own 45 days from now was built to UBC 94 so I’m not worried. But I’ve seen even some post-Northridge houses that lacked, shall we say, a visible means of support.

DWCAP: Nope, that Depression-era dining room set was stripped and refinished once when my parents bought it. Just a bit of dusting now and then. I do think that my grandmother’s old North Korean dowry chest could use another coat of perilla oil and lampblack, but I should probably leave that to a professional antique restorer.

sdduuuuude: The old ’60s dining-room set now graces my aunt’s home … looks like something out of an Austin Powers flashback sequence but it’s still in great shape.

cantab: I agree that in many ways standards have improved. Certainly I’m not nostalgic for knob-and-tube wiring.

Russell: There’s a huge middle ground between “legacy style” and the sort of crap construction I see when I’m out house-hunting. I don’t demand kitchen cabinets that last a century. That said it’s obvious that an unpainted particle-board sink cabinet won’t last a decade, yet builders use them and some consumers accept it.

I’m not sure that oversight and regulation of construction has increased all that much. Certainly the development process has been regulated to death, but I’m not sure how many times the average tract home has been graced by a city inspector’s shoes.

[AK]

UCGal: Wow, you went for a major seismic retrofit … usually when I want to talk about that I have to seek out my friend the structural engineering postdoc. The house I hope to own 45 days from now was built to UBC 94 so I’m not worried. But I’ve seen even some post-Northridge houses that lacked, shall we say, a visible means of support.

DWCAP: Nope, that Depression-era dining room set was stripped and refinished once when my parents bought it. Just a bit of dusting now and then. I do think that my grandmother’s old North Korean dowry chest could use another coat of perilla oil and lampblack, but I should probably leave that to a professional antique restorer.

sdduuuuude: The old ’60s dining-room set now graces my aunt’s home … looks like something out of an Austin Powers flashback sequence but it’s still in great shape.

cantab: I agree that in many ways standards have improved. Certainly I’m not nostalgic for knob-and-tube wiring.

Russell: There’s a huge middle ground between “legacy style” and the sort of crap construction I see when I’m out house-hunting. I don’t demand kitchen cabinets that last a century. That said it’s obvious that an unpainted particle-board sink cabinet won’t last a decade, yet builders use them and some consumers accept it.

I’m not sure that oversight and regulation of construction has increased all that much. Certainly the development process has been regulated to death, but I’m not sure how many times the average tract home has been graced by a city inspector’s shoes.

[AK]

UCGal: Wow, you went for a major seismic retrofit … usually when I want to talk about that I have to seek out my friend the structural engineering postdoc. The house I hope to own 45 days from now was built to UBC 94 so I’m not worried. But I’ve seen even some post-Northridge houses that lacked, shall we say, a visible means of support.

DWCAP: Nope, that Depression-era dining room set was stripped and refinished once when my parents bought it. Just a bit of dusting now and then. I do think that my grandmother’s old North Korean dowry chest could use another coat of perilla oil and lampblack, but I should probably leave that to a professional antique restorer.

sdduuuuude: The old ’60s dining-room set now graces my aunt’s home … looks like something out of an Austin Powers flashback sequence but it’s still in great shape.

cantab: I agree that in many ways standards have improved. Certainly I’m not nostalgic for knob-and-tube wiring.

Russell: There’s a huge middle ground between “legacy style” and the sort of crap construction I see when I’m out house-hunting. I don’t demand kitchen cabinets that last a century. That said it’s obvious that an unpainted particle-board sink cabinet won’t last a decade, yet builders use them and some consumers accept it.

I’m not sure that oversight and regulation of construction has increased all that much. Certainly the development process has been regulated to death, but I’m not sure how many times the average tract home has been graced by a city inspector’s shoes.

[rnen]

I had a new home construction and renovation company in Canada before moving here 7 yrs ago to get into the granite business, so I know a little about construction standards. With few exceptions the quality of construction I see on a daily basis, mostly in homes no more than 15-20 yrs old, is pathetic. Tract homes typically use the cheapest materials possible and I RARELY run into a square wall corner and most of the kitchen cabinets are cheap crap made in china. A lot of the time the actual installation is so bad that a tile counter top was likely the only option left.

Some of the tract homes in Encinitas Ranch are some of the worst I have run across in terms of quality of kitchen cabinets and installation. Million dollar plus homes with cheap press board cabinets with the plastic coating that peels if you stare at it too long. Unbelievable!

What I would consider sub-standard work is considered acceptable, people’s expectations seem to be so low. I am appalled by some of the things contractors get away with. Folks need to make sure their contractor is licensed and not settle for anything less than a quality job, even if that means getting the State Licensing Board involved. That is what they are there for.

[rnen]

I had a new home construction and renovation company in Canada before moving here 7 yrs ago to get into the granite business, so I know a little about construction standards. With few exceptions the quality of construction I see on a daily basis, mostly in homes no more than 15-20 yrs old, is pathetic. Tract homes typically use the cheapest materials possible and I RARELY run into a square wall corner and most of the kitchen cabinets are cheap crap made in china. A lot of the time the actual installation is so bad that a tile counter top was likely the only option left.

Some of the tract homes in Encinitas Ranch are some of the worst I have run across in terms of quality of kitchen cabinets and installation. Million dollar plus homes with cheap press board cabinets with the plastic coating that peels if you stare at it too long. Unbelievable!

What I would consider sub-standard work is considered acceptable, people’s expectations seem to be so low. I am appalled by some of the things contractors get away with. Folks need to make sure their contractor is licensed and not settle for anything less than a quality job, even if that means getting the State Licensing Board involved. That is what they are there for.

[rnen]

I had a new home construction and renovation company in Canada before moving here 7 yrs ago to get into the granite business, so I know a little about construction standards. With few exceptions the quality of construction I see on a daily basis, mostly in homes no more than 15-20 yrs old, is pathetic. Tract homes typically use the cheapest materials possible and I RARELY run into a square wall corner and most of the kitchen cabinets are cheap crap made in china. A lot of the time the actual installation is so bad that a tile counter top was likely the only option left.

Some of the tract homes in Encinitas Ranch are some of the worst I have run across in terms of quality of kitchen cabinets and installation. Million dollar plus homes with cheap press board cabinets with the plastic coating that peels if you stare at it too long. Unbelievable!

What I would consider sub-standard work is considered acceptable, people’s expectations seem to be so low. I am appalled by some of the things contractors get away with. Folks need to make sure their contractor is licensed and not settle for anything less than a quality job, even if that means getting the State Licensing Board involved. That is what they are there for.

[rnen]

I had a new home construction and renovation company in Canada before moving here 7 yrs ago to get into the granite business, so I know a little about construction standards. With few exceptions the quality of construction I see on a daily basis, mostly in homes no more than 15-20 yrs old, is pathetic. Tract homes typically use the cheapest materials possible and I RARELY run into a square wall corner and most of the kitchen cabinets are cheap crap made in china. A lot of the time the actual installation is so bad that a tile counter top was likely the only option left.

Some of the tract homes in Encinitas Ranch are some of the worst I have run across in terms of quality of kitchen cabinets and installation. Million dollar plus homes with cheap press board cabinets with the plastic coating that peels if you stare at it too long. Unbelievable!

What I would consider sub-standard work is considered acceptable, people’s expectations seem to be so low. I am appalled by some of the things contractors get away with. Folks need to make sure their contractor is licensed and not settle for anything less than a quality job, even if that means getting the State Licensing Board involved. That is what they are there for.

[rnen]

I had a new home construction and renovation company in Canada before moving here 7 yrs ago to get into the granite business, so I know a little about construction standards. With few exceptions the quality of construction I see on a daily basis, mostly in homes no more than 15-20 yrs old, is pathetic. Tract homes typically use the cheapest materials possible and I RARELY run into a square wall corner and most of the kitchen cabinets are cheap crap made in china. A lot of the time the actual installation is so bad that a tile counter top was likely the only option left.

Some of the tract homes in Encinitas Ranch are some of the worst I have run across in terms of quality of kitchen cabinets and installation. Million dollar plus homes with cheap press board cabinets with the plastic coating that peels if you stare at it too long. Unbelievable!

What I would consider sub-standard work is considered acceptable, people’s expectations seem to be so low. I am appalled by some of the things contractors get away with. Folks need to make sure their contractor is licensed and not settle for anything less than a quality job, even if that means getting the State Licensing Board involved. That is what they are there for.

[AK]

A year ago I offered on a short sale with kitchen cabinets so flimsy, I expressed astonishment that they could hold up the tile countertop.

The house was bought by flippers and put on the market after a few cosmetic improvements. When I saw the new listing photos I was horrified to see that they had slapped granite on top of the same old flimsy cabinets, with the same old dings and scratches still visible.

Incidentally the listing agent for the flip was a former associate of Super-Jenae.

[AK]

A year ago I offered on a short sale with kitchen cabinets so flimsy, I expressed astonishment that they could hold up the tile countertop.

The house was bought by flippers and put on the market after a few cosmetic improvements. When I saw the new listing photos I was horrified to see that they had slapped granite on top of the same old flimsy cabinets, with the same old dings and scratches still visible.

Incidentally the listing agent for the flip was a former associate of Super-Jenae.

[AK]

A year ago I offered on a short sale with kitchen cabinets so flimsy, I expressed astonishment that they could hold up the tile countertop.

The house was bought by flippers and put on the market after a few cosmetic improvements. When I saw the new listing photos I was horrified to see that they had slapped granite on top of the same old flimsy cabinets, with the same old dings and scratches still visible.

Incidentally the listing agent for the flip was a former associate of Super-Jenae.

[AK]

A year ago I offered on a short sale with kitchen cabinets so flimsy, I expressed astonishment that they could hold up the tile countertop.

The house was bought by flippers and put on the market after a few cosmetic improvements. When I saw the new listing photos I was horrified to see that they had slapped granite on top of the same old flimsy cabinets, with the same old dings and scratches still visible.

Incidentally the listing agent for the flip was a former associate of Super-Jenae.

[Author]

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