Goofy/Shoddy Home repairs

[Souschef]

Airplane horror

My cousin bought a 1947 Stinson that he was restoring that had 13 previous owners. He asked me to do the electrical work. There was one place in the overhead where 4 wires were lugged and screwed together.
The other weird thing was some owner installed appliance rocker switches and soldered the wires to the terminals.
I ended up ripping out every wire in the plane and installing military grade aircraft wire, switches and crimp lugs. All held together with proper cable ties.

 

[pb4uski]

Your supposed to remove the covers?. .....

A friend was looking to buy a house and asked me to accompany hime to view a new home that was being finished. We walk in and there is a small crew painting the kitchen and there is a guy cutting around the light switch cover with a brush Why would anyone do that when it is much easier to just take the switchplate off? I recall some other more serious issues and suggested to my friend that the builders were knuckleheads and I would move on to greener pastures.

On a different subject, I helped DD remodel the bathroom in her condo. I take off the light bar above her bathroom mirror and discover NO electrical box! The just punched a hole in the drywall with a hammer and poked romex through the hole and attached the romex to the bathroom light. We put in a proper electrical box and fixed the drywall.

 

[pb4uski]

Once upon a time we did some repairs to a relative's home. The previous owner had added a big detached family room, then an enclosed hallway from the main house to the room.

Couldn't figure out from where the occasional but damaging water was coming in to that little hallway.

Turns out the original open rain gutter still ran along the length of the house and through the hallway (between the ceiling and the pitched roof.)

It took us awhile to pick our jaws up off the floor.

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Wow! Good one.

Our summer get-away had the original camp and then along one side an addition that was the living room, both on cedar posts. When we moved the building and excavated for a foundation we found a septic tank under the part of the building where the living room was... full of you-know-what. There was another septic tank outside the building footprint.

I've always wondered if they built the living room and then later discovered that they no longer could access the septic tank to pump it out or if they had already abandoned the septic tank and just built the living room over it.

Either way... very odd.

 

[meierlde]

A friend was looking to buy a house and asked me to accompany hime to view a new home that was being finished. We walk in and there is a small crew painting the kitchen and there is a guy cutting around the light switch cover with a brush Why would anyone do that when it is much easier to just take the switchplate off? I recall some other more serious issues and suggested to my friend that the builders were knuckleheads and I would move on to greener pastures.

On a different subject, I helped DD remodel the bathroom in her condo. I take off the light bar above her bathroom mirror and discover NO electrical box! The just punched a hole in the drywall with a hammer and poked romex through the hole and attached the romex to the bathroom light. We put in a proper electrical box and fixed the drywall.

My house in Houston when new had the stove directly wired to a wire coming out of the wall with no box or plug. It looked like someone ripped the wire out so that there was a large hole. Got a new stove and had a proper pigtail put in, then the hole in the drywall was fixed as I was fixing up the place to sell it.

 

[pb4uski]

Original builder/owner of our house, as part of the original construction, built an elevated attached deck. This was supported not by footings, but by 4x4 posts resting on 16" square patio blocks laying on the ground surface. No footings at all which are required and need to 42" deep. I hand dug and poured footings. I had to raise the sunken end about 10 inches to get to level.

Actually, our deck is supported by 4x4 posts that is on deck blocks... but the deck blocks are on about 3' of 1" stone so it doesn't move at all, even with our harsh winters and deep frost.... I wouldn't recommend it as a best practice but it works so I'm not going to change it either.

The deck at our other house was on 4x4 posts in 45" high 6" Schedule 40 sleeve that was buried in the ground with the bottom of the post on a paver in the hole. If frost got to the support it would grab and move the sleeve but the support post would stay put since the paver was below the frost line.

 

[Sunset]

......
. I helped DD remodel the bathroom in her condo. I take off the light bar above her bathroom mirror and discover NO electrical box! The just punched a hole in the drywall with a hammer and poked romex through the hole and attached the romex to the bathroom light. We put in a proper electrical box and fixed the drywall.

I have seen that pretty often, so much that I thought that was code ??

Now I'm going to have to look it up.

 

[Sunset]

Here is my own goof.

I have a shed about 8x12 and it was built on old logs, sitting on rocks.
The rocks sank into the ground so the logs were on the ground, which was bad.

My brilliant idea that I did was lift up the shed, put 4" tubes of concrete down into the ground about 2-3 feet.
The big mistake was not treating the concrete pillars like real pillars with lots of rebar from bottom to top and some footing.

It was good for a few years, then the non-rebar section of a couple of pillars snapped off, and the thing fell off the pillars

 

[brucethebroker]

I bought a nice, solid little postwar Cape Cod in NJ from a couple who were relocating; he had a Ph.D. in pharmacology but also did work around the house. I hope he was a better pharmacologist.

When they painted a room they just painted over the electrical outlets.

The natural gas line leading from the house to the grill had an ending on it meant for a propane line, which he somehow rigged so it would work with natural gas. (I'm not clear on the details but DH was surprised it worked.)

The whole time I lived there I never bothered with the shower in the master bedroom because it leaked into the basement ceiling below. Before I moved I had the 1960s pink tile torn out and a more pleasing neutral tile put in. Turned out there was no drain pan under the shower floor. The drain pan cost about $10. Ripping out and replacing the tiling cost me a few thousand.

We have owned 2 different homes where prior owners painted over wallpaper. What a pain that is to remove!

 

[brucethebroker]

We considered buying a foreclosed home about 8 years ago, and made a low offer. Offer was accepted, and we did the inspection. Inspector showed me photos of a family room, obviously added by the prior owners. The photos showed a crawlspace with 6-8 in. of fluffy mold/mildew growing throughout. Apparently, no vents were installed in the new crawlspace. The inspector also said the attic was sealed off when the FR was built. He could not access it to check for mold (since it has a tendency to grow upwards). We cancelled the contract, but the bank called back and offered to drop the price by one third. Since we would have had to tear down the FR and could not inspect the attic, we declined.

 

[Ronstar]

Our area had a tornado a few years ago, and several friends had to rebuild. A year after moving back in, one noticed a dripping water sound coming from the crawl space. The contractor forgot to hook up the shower drain to the waste line and water had been draining into the crawl space - for a year.

Another friend's house - contractor tore off all of the drywall, got rid of mold, then put drywall back in. Without a permit inspection and without installing smoke detectors per code. He had to rip out the whole house drywall, install the smoke detectors and then pass inspection before putting up drywall.

 

[rayinpenn]

Roof day ( I wrote this about 2 years ago, intended to post a Google review then thought better of it)

I am pretty handy but I am by no means a construction person. Roofs I knew had to be done right or it can be disastrous - water is the enemy of homes. Which is probably why I was pretty anxious the day my hail damaged roof was to be replaced. I came home on to find a dumpster and pile of roofing materials at the top of my driveway. They had apparently been 'Unable to contact me' but I called them and "yes tomorrow they will be there". So I decided to work from home - which proved to be a good thing.

The roofers arrived in a banged up stretch van that was well past its prime. As soon as they parked it they opened the hood to give the old girl a drink. The rest of their tools were no better. Their air compressor's hose popped off time and time again and dangerously whipped about once free. Their ladder device to carry the shingles up to the roof failed and then failed again? It was a comedy of errors except this was my home they were working on. They promised a professional crew and quality work its but they promise a lot.

I sat outside and watched the roofers while some of my code was running ( i am a developer be trade) I noticed they brought along 4 sheets of osb (today's cheap plywood). I didn't expect any wood to need to be replaced as the old roof was a mere 8 years old. Before I knew it they had a circular saw out and cut one of my sheets ...

I asked why the replacement and they indicated the while wood wasn't rotten it was a little buckled. So who cleared this? No answer. Communication is difficult because the crew speaks limited English. Fearing a sham I called my contact and verbally blasted him. He came over to my house and we continued to have words. You aren't very friendly he said. I said I am pissed That I have to watch your guys.. He left in a huff.

I came outside not ten minutes later and I noticed they were putting the rubber ice shield on top of the rhino paper (today's tar paper). That would essentially make the ice shield useless. Another call and "we are sending our QC guy". Rahul arrives looks up and says yeah "its wrong" after much yelling they reluctantly tore the old stuff off and redid it. Raul didn't finish high school but he knows roofing. I make them redo the old step flashing that they were inclined to leave (just not good work)

Raul tells me he was told stay and make sure its right. Still Raul slips away and then much returns after awhile? I latter am told Raul was working multiple companies and was shown the door. They don't do what they say...

The next day saw more sloppy work -the wrong color caulking, tar stained on on my white garage door .....
One of them asks me do you get snow here? (I think OMG)

Update 8 months later- we came home from Florida to discover the ceiling in the first floor kitchen has water stains. Heavy rains when we were away.. It looks like a large bit of paint is gone as well. I suspect the joint where the garage meets the main house is leaking ... Did they replace that step flashing? This roof cost 20 something thousand! (Insurance and me). I called and they are coming today - I'll have to hold my temper, getting angry accomplishes nothing.

After several attempts to fix the leak and repaints of my kitchen ceiling the salesman said "yeah I guess quality slipped.'' The q/c guy tells me they'll use whatever crew they can and they figure they can fix anything. There is ample evidence to the contrary.

Every rain storm has us anxiously looking up at the kitchen ceiling...

 

[meierlde]

Since my house rests on solid rock and is in Tx the deck posts just rest on poured concrete platforms, which are set on the rock. It would have taken a jackhammer to dig the any holes needed. Also would work where it freezes since solid rock does not freeze.

 

[FIREmenow]

New central air conditioner installed 12 years before we bought house. Condensate drain PVC pipe and PVC float cutoff switch installed into threaded port at bottom of on air handler unit.

Rust all over bottom of unit, always water underneath house in crawlspace, no condensate at end of pipe outside. Hmmmmm.

Found out that they threaded the PVC pipe in from the outside, but never removed the associated knockout plug on the air handler unit!!! For 12 years!!!! No wonder mold was starting to grow on the rafters!!

STUPID

 

[CRLLS]

Actually, our deck is supported by 4x4 posts that is on deck blocks... but the deck blocks are on about 3' of 1" stone so it doesn't move at all, even with our harsh winters and deep frost.... I wouldn't recommend it as a best practice but it works so I'm not going to change it either.

The deck at our other house was on 4x4 posts in 45" high 6" Schedule 40 sleeve that was buried in the ground with the bottom of the post on a paver in the hole. If frost got to the support it would grab and move the sleeve but the support post would stay put since the paver was below the frost line.

Those support blocks are accepted here too. but only on a self standing/non-heated accessory building (shed or deck) In my case the deck was attached to the house using a ledger board. A deck can be supported by a solid pier footing (it doesn't heave with frost) or free floating (it is free to move about) but not both.

I like the crushed gravel idea for a free floating structure. My previous house sat upon a large deposit of gravel left from the last ice age. That whole section of the county did. All of the house except one corner. That corner dropped over 9 inches in ~30 years. I had architects, engineers, city building inspectors come out and paid for soil survey's. the soil survey said at 12 ft down, that corner was still undisturbed soil. Perfectly capable of supporting the weight. Nobody could tell me why the corner of the house sunk or what the one-and-done solution should be. I chalked it up to being different supporting soil makeups.

 

[athena53]

I asked why the replacement and they indicated the while wood wasn't rotten it was a little buckled. So who cleared this? No answer. Communication is difficult because the crew speaks limited English. Fearing a sham I called my contact and verbally blasted him. He came over to my house and we continued to have words. You aren't very friendly he said. I said I am pissed That I have to watch your guys.. He left in a huff.

In my area, signs offering a "free" new roof ("Must have insurance") pop up like mushrooms after a rainstorm when we have some hail or high winds. Having worked in insurance for almost 40 years, I find it aggravating that these people are doing schlock work and feeding off the insurance companies. I have zero expertise in roofing and I'm grateful my roof was installed 3 years ago and has a 50-year warranty.

A more innocuous story: last year I tiled the back porch we had enclosed- the deal was that they'd use particle board flooring and it was up to us to finish it. I'd tiled small bathrooms before but this was 150 square feet. It took FOREVER. About midway through I realized the tiles weren't lining up well (I'd used spacers and thought I'd been careful but the gaps were getting too wide in places). So, I ran a few rows of co-ordinating decorative mosaic tile through the middle of the room. It looked really nice and gave me a fresh start! I can still see all the flaws in my work but I love that porch.

 

[euro]

On a different subject, I helped DD remodel the bathroom in her condo. I take off the light bar above her bathroom mirror and discover NO electrical box! The just punched a hole in the drywall with a hammer and poked romex through the hole and attached the romex to the bathroom light. We put in a proper electrical box and fixed the drywall.

Funny (well, not that funny, actually!), I just ran into exactly the same problem and my house was built in 1990, so not THAT old. DW wanted a nicer light in the powder room and when I took off the original one: no box! I quickly discovered why they decided to skip it - the studs were in an inconvenient place and the job required putting in an extra piece of 2x4. I'm guessing they discovered that AFTER they already drywalled and decided it wasn't worth tearing up the Sheetrock to get the 2x4 in.
Sure enough, instead of a 10minute job to replace the light, the whole thing became a full afternoon project. (including two trips to the store to get electric box and drywall supplies - I always make two trips for ANY job. ).

 

[euro]

Funny (well, not that funny, actually!), I just ran into exactly the same problem and my house was built in 1990, so not THAT old. DW wanted a nicer light in the powder room and when I took off the original one: no box! I quickly discovered why they decided to skip it - the studs were in an inconvenient place and the job required putting in an extra piece of 2x4. I'm guessing they discovered that AFTER they already drywalled and decided it wasn't worth tearing up the Sheetrock to get the 2x4 in.
Sure enough, instead of a 10minute job to replace the light, the whole thing became a full afternoon project. (including two trips to the store to get electric box and drywall supplies - I always make two trips for ANY job. ).

Incidentally, I later discovered the product below which would have made it much easier to mount the box with much less Sheetrock repair....


https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/050169/050169009260lg.jpg

 

[Bestwifeever]

In my area, signs offering a "free" new roof ("Must have insurance") pop up like mushrooms after a rainstorm when we have some hail or high winds. Having worked in insurance for almost 40 years, I find it aggravating that these people are doing schlock work and feeding off the insurance companies. I have zero expertise in roofing and I'm grateful my roof was installed 3 years ago and has a 50-year warranty.
....

Yes, the main and most important thing we do for home repairs and remodeling for our house is choose the professionals. The above story about a bad roofing experience is missing the step of how that company was chosen to replace his roof.

 

[Koolau]

Yes, the main and most important thing we do for home repairs and remodeling for our house is choose the professionals. The above story about a bad roofing experience is missing the step of how that company was chosen to replace his roof.

One thing we have learned is that just because you know someone doesn't mean they are any good at what they do. We always tired to spread our business among those who did business at DW's small business. We found this to be an expensive hobby. YMMV

 

[haha]

Almost everyone who buys a house, new or "previously owned", finds issues that s/he did not know about before hand. And I am not talking about decorating whims, but substantial sometimes safety-impacting issues like some of them reported in this thread. I hope I never have to repeat the process beyond my current home.

My brother lived in TX when mostly there was a buyer's market. He always bought new houses in new developments with good warranties, and he did very well with this. I think that if you can always have the commercial/social/legal leverage on your side, it it hard not to prevail. And unfortunately, vice versa also applies.

Ha

 

[GalaxyBoy]

. We walk in and there is a small crew painting the kitchen and there is a guy cutting around the light switch cover with a brush .

Maybe because they would have to have an electrician to remove the switch plates? Sure, it's stupid, but it could happen depending on the jurisdiction and whether it's Union.

 

[pb4uski]

Not in this case, non-union... in this case they were just plain stoopid.

 

[Bamaman]

Sounds like you're referring to PB pipe, not PEX?

Of course, there are different grades of PEX...

I think you're right about their meaning polybutyl pipe was being used. That's what ran from the street to my 1992 built Atlanta area house and what cost an average $3000 to replace.

Virtually every house in our 400 home neighborhood had to have the service lines replaced. I just wonder if the home inspectors ever discovered I never replaced the polybutyl pipes?

Pex is what just about all the new houses are using. It's easy to work with, much more labor saving (over PVC or copper) and it swells without breaking if the water in Pex freezes.

My lake house has copper pipes, and pinholes appear from time to time--requiring repairs. Wrap the leak in an old bicycle innertube and put a screw clamp on it--and you're good to go.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Farmer Brown, who once owned our old farmhouse, decided it was high time they had running water in the house in the late 1950s or so. He built a frame kitchen/bathroom add-on to the old cream-brick edifice, a well was drilled and piping was run into the house. To keep costs down, they skipped the septic drain field and just ran a pipe from the tank to a nearby alfalfa field to drain off the effluent. The home inspector spotted the shortcoming when we were looking at the place about 30 years later. The county condemned the system shortly thereafter.

 

[pb4uski]

Incidentally, I later discovered the product below which would have made it much easier to mount the box with much less Sheetrock repair....


https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/050169/050169009260lg.jpg

I've used these boxes before as well and they work pretty good... they basically attach to the sheetrock so ok for switches, receptacles and other applications where there is minimal weight... they do not need to be adjacent to a stud.

https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/034481/034481100157_07671066.jpg

These drywall patches are also handy and come in different sizes... they adhere to the wall and cover the hole and you simply mud over them... slick as heck.

https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/038662/038662108031.jpg