Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[FairfaxStu]

Hmmm,
I think I get your hint.
Better let his friend Stu lead the wolf pack.
Thanks,
Ron

Ok, make me out to be the bad guy. I don't think any of us are trying to be mean. Instead we are just offering our opinions/comments/criticisms based upon a very broad range of experience and expertise. I believe that is what Peter wanted when he created this thread in the first place.
-Stu

 

[pclausen]

I stopped by the house this morning and talked to Adam, who is was clearly the guy in charge. I pointed out the issues with the trim, and he apologized for the work that the one guy did Saturday that I showed you guys pictures of. He said that the trim should have been shimmed out so that the front surfaces were flush all around. Caulking would then hide the shims. As far as the cuts, he said that with flat trim, they always do it "craftsman" style. He further stated that the MDF they are using does not exhibit issues with soaking up the paint on the cut edges and leaving a rough finish. I guess I'll reserve judgement until after they get done with everything.

Ron, the electricians have not put breakers in yet, so I didn't bother popping the cover just yet. I told them yesterday that I expect the inside to look like a rib cage, so hopefully they will follow my advice. I always try to put the large 220V breakers up high in the panel, keeping high current on the bus as short as possible, and even out my 110v loads. That is especially important when running on generator as it does not like an unbalanced load.

Builder called me shortly after I left, and he was heading out there after some meetings he had this morning and look at the issues I mentioned. They are going to be putting in solid core closet doors. He also told me what Adam did, that flat trim is always done craftsman style.

Good point about the foam cans Ron, I'll try to see if I can catch that before they trim up the front door. I'll probably just go grab a few cans from Lowe's and head back over there at lunch time. Otherwise, it will probably be too late.

 

[pclausen]

I appreciate all comments guys! If anything, the ones most critical of the work being done are the most helpful! In the end, the house will be better than it otherwise would have been, and the only one that truly "suffers" is the builder, as he has to put in the extra effort to fix all those little things that I probably never would have caught, or accepted as "normal", had it not been for the very observant and experienced members on this forum.

 

[FairfaxStu]

Good point about the foam cans Ron, I'll try to see if I can catch that before they trim up the front door. I'll probably just go grab a few cans from Lowe's and head back over there at lunch time. Otherwise, it will probably be too late.

While you are at Lowes, check the plumbing section and see if the downspout adapters are in stock. If they are, pick up how many ever you need and give them to the builder. I did a similar thing when my addition was built. I was not happy with the locksets they purchased so I ran out to Lowes, got what I wanted and just said "hey, use these". The lead carpenter actually appreciated my effort and was glad to swap them out.

 

[pacerron]

Ok, make me out to be the bad guy. I don't think any of us are trying to be mean. Instead we are just offering our opinions/comments/criticisms based upon a very broad range of experience and expertise. I believe that is what Peter wanted when he created this thread in the first place.
-Stu

No Stu, not making you a bad guy, at all.
A true friend is someone who will point out problems, not someone who always say "looking great" when there are obvious flaws.
The rest of us don't know Peters personality, as you do, so we don't know how hard to push before making him mad, which none of us
want to do, as you say.
The problem with some folks on here is that they think that just because this is a tractor forum and most of us live on acreage in some part of the world,
that we have never had previous or present occupations/skills/experience in a subject involving correct structure building. They think where we presently live
is the only qualification we might have for knowing about building structures in only our present climate, and use that as their personal criteria for judging what we say, rather than the outcome.
I'm not one to judge a book by its cover. It's the inside content that counts. Many of us have degrees, titles, and years of related experiences, but that doesn't
really mean crap. There are good and bad doctors, lawyers, engineers, military officers, contractors, et al. in every occupation.
That's my rant for the day
As I've said before, Peter is lucky to have a friend such as you, Stu..
As you said, Peter must have wanted comments or he would not have made the thread. His job is sorting out the bad from the good as they might apply to his project.
Ron

 

[Mike_Kanzer]

I've been following along on this thread as you have had the house built and was very impressed with the level of quality the builder showed initially as they framed and built the "bones" of the house. It seems to be a disappointment with the slip in quality in the finish work going on in the house. The only thing that you can do is your due diligence in being a supervisor of the remaining construction. You really shouldn't have to do that, but that seems to be the only way to get it done properly. I had an addition and renovation done on my ranch house 7 years ago and found my builder had skilled craftsman do the work throughout the project. You need to make sure that a final percentage of the payment is withheld for a final punch list. The house overall is really nice and the setting is beautiful. I wish you and your mom good luck going forward. Thanks for posting all of this, it has been a great "story" to follow. Mike

 

[pacerron]

While you are at Lowes, check the plumbing section and see if the downspout adapters are in stock. If they are, pick up how many ever you need and give them to the builder. I did a similar thing when my addition was built. I was not happy with the locksets they purchased so I ran out to Lowes, got what I wanted and just said "hey, use these". The lead carpenter actually appreciated my effort and was glad to swap them out.

Stu,
Part of the problem, causing them to have to use round transitions instead of rectangular, is this contractors obvious trait of " getting the cart before the horse" as he has done in so many instances.

The soil pipes are not in the correct location for a good straight vertical drop nor are they in a position for using a couple Els to an offset position. Some are not lined up either way and are too close to the house for els out front or sideways. With the pipes being too close to the house they had to use a round funnel transition, and even then force the downspout bottom crooked to enter the fitting.

Normally the pipes in the soil are located after the downspouts are hung with a definite plan as to straight in or offset. In can be done ahead of time, but you have to know exactly where the downspouts will be mounted, how big the fitting radius are if using elbows on the bottom. It is much simpler to just wait till the downspouts are in place and fit the soil pipe location to them.

It's kinda like cutting window and door casing with a handheld framing saw instead of a mounted miter saw. I'd like to see a picture of the miter saw they are using to frame the windows and doors. Even with a straight cut, a handsaw is not acceptable when doing trim work inside a home.
Ron

 

[srs]

Good point about the foam cans Ron, I'll try to see if I can catch that before they trim up the front door.

Should you get the kind of foam that doesn't expand too much? Some of the foams really expand and perhaps could affect how the door operates. They make a foam that is designed for windows and doors I believe that won't distort the door, just a thought here.

 

[FairfaxStu]

No Stu, not making you a bad guy, at all.
A true friend is someone who will point out problems, not someone who always say "looking great" when there are obvious flaws.
The rest of us don't know Peters personality, as you do, so we don't know how hard to push before making him mad, which none of us
want to do, as you say.

Thanks for the kind words Ron. As for Peter's personality, he is probably one of the most outgoing and friendly guys I have ever met. I think I only saw him truly mad one time so I think the chances that anybody on this forum will do that with comments or criticisms is almost nill. Keep up the criticisms, witty comments, etc. All of us here just want to see Peter's Mom end up with the best quality home for her investment.
-Stu

 

[pacerron]

Peter,
On the septic tank itself, sooner or later it should be pumped.
A lot of guys putting them in don't care about that. There are concrete riser rings ( very cheap ) that can be put on the clean out cover/covers to bring them up to grade and a concrete lid
that fits on top of the riser. Do that while installing the tank, before backfilling, and it will save a lot of digging later on to get to the tank cleanout.

Put a nice little flower bed border around the top of the tank and put some good soil in for your mom to plant an oasis of flowers. That will also keep you off it with your tractor when mowing.
Ron