Fixer Upper

[AndyG]

I’m happy for Chip and Joanna Gaines, but this irks me:

The unexpected call he has to make to tell the customer the job requires a beam (LVL) to span the distance needed to remove a wall.

I don’t know if it is the contrived drama or the lack of job planning, but if he can’t anticipate that up front his job vision is way off.

Also the absence of building inspectors.

I guess that’s TV for ya.

 

[Blackjack]

I’m happy for Chip and Joanna Gaines, but this irks me:

The unexpected call he has to make to tell the customer the job requires a beam (LVL) to span the distance needed to remove a wall.

I don’t know if it is the contrived drama or the lack of job planning, but if he can’t anticipate that up front his job vision is way off.

Also the absence of building inspectors.

I guess that’s TV for ya.

It is all about drumming up drama for the camera.

 

[DaveC]

'Reality' TV....

 

[AndyG]

'Reality' TV....

That’s a good one -that really made me laugh- you are right on the money

I have had a crappy week and I really needed that-

Oh, and lost my debit card.

 

[DaveC]

That’s a good one -that really made me laugh- you are right on the money

I have had a crappy week and I really needed that-

View attachment 476270

View attachment 476271

View attachment 476272

Oh, and lost my debit card.

Now THAT is reality

 

[AndyG]

Now THAT is reality

As my 3 year old son who had a tendency to fall apart once said “I hate this world ...”

 

[tr21triton]

Andy did I see that picture right? is that like 6 layers of shingles !

 

[B1Toad]

I’m happy for Chip and Joanna Gaines, but this irks me:

The unexpected call he has to make to tell the customer the job requires a beam (LVL) to span the distance needed to remove a wall.

I don’t know if it is the contrived drama or the lack of job planning, but if he can’t anticipate that up front his job vision is way off.

Also the absence of building inspectors.

I guess that’s TV for ya.

I've noticed the same, and dealt with more flippers than I care to mention. Seen beams put in with zero footing added, just plop the support on the 4" (hopefully) slab. Saw one where they just plopped it on the top plate of interior wall framing on both sides to support at least 16 feet and didn't add any support, saw another where they removed the dining room wall and put the beam in the attic on top of the ceiling joists then secured it to the roof rafters with plumbers tape and screws, you can't make that stuff up.

How do you like the ones who say "It's not in the budget, figure out another way" or the ones who haven't a clue about HVAC, plumbing or electrical and don't understand why there has to be a soffit. They think a soffit was put there just for the hell of it and it can be ripped out, I mean why would there be anything in it?

One remodel job I was at the contractor had the room skinned and there was a 3/4" emt in the ceiling heading to the roof top unit, he pointed to the emt and said "you can grab power there". He was a contractor I actually walked on that one.

I felt bad for a lot of people who bought flips then later discovered major issues, actually had 1 where they sheetrocked over an active fuse box and plenty where they buried splices, had one where they spliced all the home runs in the wall with no box and ran them out to the main in seal tight then sheet rocked over all the splices. Home inspector didn't have a clue but when you have a fresh remodel on a 1950's house and the outlets test open ground, all the wire in the house is old cloth covered without a junction box in sight, not even in the attic, but in the outside panel it shows up as brand new Romex duh.

Or the old homes with old 2 wire Romex and no ground wires in the panel yet all the brand new outlets test grounded...hello can you say bootleg grounds? Home inspectors never catch that one either, we catch it after the sale is done and the buyer gets stuck with it.

Don't get me started.

 

[AndyG]

I've noticed the same, and dealt with more flippers than I care to mention. Seen beams put in with zero footing added, just plop the support on the 4" (hopefully) slab. Saw one where they just plopped it on the top plate of interior wall framing on both sides to support at least 16 feet and didn't add any support, saw another where they removed the dining room wall and put the beam in the attic on top of the ceiling joists then secured it to the roof rafters with plumbers tape and screws, you can't make that stuff up.

How do you like the ones who say "It's not in the budget, figure out another way" or the ones who haven't a clue about HVAC, plumbing or electrical and don't understand why there has to be a soffit. They think a soffit was put there just for the hell of it and it can be ripped out, I mean why would there be anything in it?

One remodel job I was at the contractor had the room skinned and there was a 3/4" emt in the ceiling heading to the roof top unit, he pointed to the emt and said "you can grab power there". He was a contractor I actually walked on that one.

I felt bad for a lot of people who bought flips then later discovered major issues, actually had 1 where they sheetrocked over an active fuse box and plenty where they buried splices, had one where they spliced all the home runs in the wall with no box and ran them out to the main in seal tight then sheet rocked over all the splices. Home inspector didn't have a clue but when you have a fresh remodel on a 1950's house and the outlets test open ground, all the wire in the house is old cloth covered without a junction box in sight, not even in the attic, but in the outside panel it shows up as brand new Romex duh.

Or the old homes with old 2 wire Romex and no ground wires in the panel yet all the brand new outlets test grounded...hello can you say bootleg grounds? Home inspectors never catch that one either, we catch it after the sale is done and the buyer gets stuck with it.

Don't get me started.

Never a shortage of idiots.

We’ve even seem extension cords in walls.

Crazy crap.

 

[03coloradowrangler]

View attachment 476272

Looks like my daily punch list at work bet about 90% of them post it notes you won't see anything unless your eyes are about half a foot from it and in that case the defect is considered a non issue.

"I spent half a million on this house and the quality doesn't match what I would expect for a half million, you guys are cheating me."
"no sir or mam, you bought a run of the mill 300k house that currently cost a half a million to build/finish and if you want the 1/2 million quality you should have bought a house for 750-1 mill".

our contractor quality is excellent, but inflated prices skew the minds of the home buyers... their all still stuck in the pre covid boom prices.

 

[AndyG]

Looks like my daily punch list at work bet about 90% of them post it notes you won't see anything unless your eyes are about half a foot from it and in that case the defect is considered a non issue.

"I spent half a million on this house and the quality doesn't match what I would expect for a half million, you guys are cheating me."
"no sir or mam, you bought a run of the mill 300k house that currently cost a half a million to build/finish and if you want the 1/2 million quality you should have bought a house for 750-1 mill".

our contractor quality is excellent, but inflated prices skew the minds of the home buyers... their all still stuck in the pre covid boom prices.

So true.


People get hypercritical and have to be reeled in.

In this case the painter offended the client and she retaliated.

I called her out on it.

Crazy - and it will end a job bad if not handled well.

 

[bucky]

I looked at a flipped house once where they said it was rewired. All they did was cut back the fabric wire added pigtails and 3 prong outlets with no ground. Some of the best house deals that I ever got were buying the “buy for no money down and pull out $30k in equity” scam after they got foreclosed on by the banks back in the 80a and early 90s. The scammers would do a quick refinance using a corrupt appraiser pull out as much money as possible and run. The lenders would dump them for pennies on the dollar just to get them off their books. Cash and a 2 week escrow. Those were the days.
There is no such thing as reality TV it’s all contrived Bull Shit.

 

[Rickyd]

Surreality tv. Fodder for people to feel good about their own problems by solving made up issues on tv

I was at a chimney fire at 3am today. A single layer of brick between the fire and an old redwood wall. Family was lucky someone was awake to notice their large fire had ignited the redwood and took an axe to the outside wall so they could splash water on it. 5 minutes later and it would have went up into the attic and they'd have lost their 100 yr old house

 

[AndyG]

Surreality tv. Fodder for people to feel good about their own problems by solving made up issues on tv

I was at a chimney fire at 3am today. A single layer of brick between the fire and an old redwood wall. Family was lucky someone was awake to notice their large fire had ignited the redwood and took an axe to the outside wall so they could splash water on it. 5 minutes later and it would have went up into the attic and they'd have lost their 100 yr old house

I marvel at the things I see in houses that are close to starting fires…charred studs, bare wires, nails in wires….I think the probability of danger is higher than we all may realize.

 

[Rickyd]

I marvel at the things I see in houses that are close to starting fires…charred studs, bare wires, nails in wires….I think the probability of danger is higher than we all may realize.

Sheetrock hides a lot of crazy stuff

 

[AndyG]

Andy did I see that picture right? is that like 6 layers of shingles !

For sure - But not enough to bear a roof load