cgallagher

Yonkers,

Is the stone that you're referring to real stone or thin stone veneers? If they are thin veneers, then you won't need flashing. Real stone, you will. You can tell real stone, because it will sit out about 3-4" further than the stucco. If they are thin veneers, they should only stick out about 1.5".

Don't bother with another inspector. I would find a place on the inside of the home and cut a piece of sheetrock and investigate the high moisture content. If the stucco is allowing water to leach in, you will see water damage and/or mildew especially on the exterior plywood. It is really the only way you will find out for sure.

Simpson shows that they make custom doors. Have you asked them? Otherwise, it will be very difficult for a local company to do a good match just from this picture.

Glass Craft 110%

I recently moved into a second floor apartment that is located right off of a busy highway. Needless to say it noisey, all of the time. I was going to look into soundproof windows but I wanted to be sure before I invested money into this temporary dwelling, that this wasn't something that the apartment community would have to address. Are there any bulding codes or residential community laws that address specific requirements when the dwelling is close to a highway? It's kind of weird because on both sides of the highway there are the sound barriers, except for where my apartment building is.

Thanks

I don't know of any codes. I am always suprised how poorly the new apartments are sound proofed against highways. I think the cost to fix this is going to be very expensive. Windows are always the "weakest link" of sound protection. You could start experimenting with some heavy material drapes. But your right, more could have been done during construction.

OK, as a spin-off/add-on to this question...

On a "cost-plus" job where the GC is just tacking on a % to whatever he or she is paying the subs and paying for the materials, how much % wise do you think is fair?

flipper

For remodeling jobs, it should be 12-20%. For new construction, it could be 10-15%. It depends on the soft costs that will be associated with the job, which are dictated by the homeowner. For example, a contractor may add up to 10% for a full time supervisor that is permanently stationed at the job till completion. It's important to note that although the GC is guaranteed money, they will work a lot harder for it. When the homeowner has the ability to make changes as they go, it creates a lot more work for the contractor.

I think most remodeler's will put 25% - 35% in their quotes. But will normally end up with about half that.

We are in the process of a kitchen remodel, and purchased an electric 27" oven to replace our existing 24" gas wall oven. We couldn't find many gas options available in the 27" size, so we are having to switch to electric.

Problem: We have a 110V line behind the existing gas oven now, but need a 220V for the new electric oven. Is this something that can easily be done ourselves (if so -how), or will we need to hire an electrician? If we do need to hire an electrician, does anyone know how much this would cost, or have a recommendation of someone reputable/affordable that we could work with? We live in the Spring area.

If the oven is located on an exterior wall or has open workable attic space above it, the job is easier and cheaper. If you are on an interior wall and have a 2nd floor above, the job becomes much more difficult/expensive. You will need a 220 dedicated circuit run from your main breaker panel over to your oven. So the closer your oven is to your breaker box, the easier and less expensive it will be. All in all labor + material: best case scenario $250, worst case scenario $850. Worst case may also require additional sheetrock patches and paint.

Have your electrician give you a quote on site. Do not take or expect any quotes over the phone. The oven will have a required breaker size located somewhere on a lable. Make sure the electrician knows this spec. It will effect the wire size and price.

You don't see too many grass driveways in this part of the country. I remember we were going to do one, but a well known landscape architect talked us out of it. Unfortunately, I can't remember why, but it probably has something to do with the thick clay that our city is built on. You can't build a crushed concrete pad under the grass to add support. The roots can't grow into it.

If you are not good at that stuff, don't try to do it on your own. It should cost $250-$400 + the cost of the disposal.

Let's wait to see what the engineer says. It soulds like the foundation plans that KatyHomeOwner were given, aren't the correct plans. If the perimeter footprints don't line up, it is highly likely that you have the wrong plan. I can tell you that if the foundation is off more than a couple of inches, then it throws off the entire home.

I'm sure KatyHomeOwner is going to post the engineering results to help ease everyones curiousity.

Mmmmm...., nice pics. But it looks like a 14 on 12 roof pitch. Typically they're hard to find in the Spring Branch area. You're probably going to find that your roof is 3/12 - 6/12, and it makes installing baffles very difficult. Just keep in mind, if you install batts, don't run them all the way to the edges. If you blow in, go around the soffits afterwards and use a powered blower to clear any insulation that may have falled over the holes.

If you add insulation, be careful about blocking the soffit vents located at the eaves. You can cause more harm than good.

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I 2nd that.

You, don't even need to install the greenrock. You can put up the 1/2" durarock by itself. That way it butts up to the surrounding sheetrock nicely. Be sure to use a flexible membrane on the joints and nail holes.

Does $100 an opening sound about right for the price? I have 35 cabinets doors and drawer fronts, so I'm hoping price would be $3500. Any thoughts?

It doesn't sound far off, but it depends on the amount of detail and wood species. Your on the right track to go ahead and get a company out there for a quote.

You won't find granite with fossils. Granite is an igneous rock, formed by cooling magma. For fossils, you need to look for limestone, a sedimentary rock. Limestone looks good, but is much more porous than granite, which makes cleaning more difficult.

Actually, at Colours on 59, I saw one granite slab that has shell fossils in it. It's the only one I've seen like that.

If you compare the strength rating as an exterior sheathing, plywood and OSB are exactly the same. It is true that OSB will tend to swell more on the edges when it gets wet. So you don't want the framing left open for too many rain storms. We have not had much rain during the spring and winter months, so it is likely that the framing wasn't exposed for too long.

The best thing you can do is go ahead a pay for the spray on radiant barrier in the attic. It will cool your attic space down about 20-30 degrees. And since the machine and ductwork that cools your home down is located in this space, it has to work much harder when the temperature is 145 degrees as apposed to 125 degrees.

Some new homes are incorporating machine rooms that are insulated and cooled. This helps out with the energy efficiency quite a bit.

With the rise in natural gas prices, we will all be experiencing drastic increases in our electric bills over the next year. My bill also doubled this month. We could open up more drilling on the Florida coast... Natural gas drilling is clean and has minimum enviormental impact. I guess when the Florida residents realize that no one can afford to drive to see their beautiful beaches, they will probably decide it's worth it to add a few wells here and there.

Recent? most builders are trying to maximize their profit

which results in poor workmanship even in the higher end ones.

...

Hearing about all these problems, I guess you have to hire a 3rd party company to watch your builder. There are too many Yahoo's out there pretending to build homes.

i think that's what he's been pointing out the whole thread, many builders don't build a quality product and try and weasel their way out.

Yeah, I remember the previous post of the guy with standing water on his 2nd floor patio. These stories are disturbing to hear.

I know the recent downturn in the suburb construction market has caused many of the volume builders to cut back on staff and services. This in turn will ultimately result in lower quality construction. It is a shaky time for them. The big guys are trying to provide low cost housing, all the while construction material pricing is going up and sales are flat.

I'm really suspicious of the volume builders right now.

I asked to see the reports of the inspections of the foundation before, tension cable testing, and during the pour and the builder said that they don't have to have it done and no builder does.

OK, this is a little disturbing. Most builders will have these inspections done. Your builder is not telling you the truth.

Any reliable 3rd party warranty company would never insure a foundation without the satisfactory Pre Pour, and Tensioning reports. They usually won't require an "inspection during the pour"

Technically, these inspections are not required by law. But the TRCC has made new laws, and starting in September of this year, all builders will be required to have these inspections done in the areas without municiple inspections.

If your neighbor is only getting 2-3" concrete core depths, you may have a reason for concern.

Structural Engineering firms typically will staff several "forensic inspectors". These inspectors are trained to read the engineering diagrams and specs and verify that the slab makeup is ready for concrete. Typically they have to go through state administered testing to qualify for this.

Most Engineering firms only have one or two actual PE's on staff. But, they may have 10 inspectors. The PE's are the structural designers and will rarely ever leave their office.

The Engineer will typically sign off on the slab once they have recieved the satisfactory report from their field inspector.

Point is ... Although you may not have seen an actual PE, it is more than likely that the inspector's opinion is correct.

Fact is every home that exists in Houston will have surface fractures in the concrete. It is not a matter of "if" but "when". It has more to do with the way the concrete was cured.

Again looking at you pictures, everything you've shown is extremely common. In fact, the picture you've shown of the outside of the home is not a crack at all, but it is actually a joint between the brick mortar and the slab.

One more note:

Cost range for forensic inspector $35-$75 per visit

Cost range for PE inspection visit $225-$275 per visit

1/2" sheetrock has been installed on 24" centers for years. However, many builders consider is bad practice for this exact reason. Your builder should have issued exact guidelines for which sheetrock issues are considered "warrantable" and "not warrantable". If the deflection qualifies, he should definitely fix it.

The foundation issues are completely normal, especially for a post tension home. You don't need to worry about that. Be very careful when removing any concrete around the cables. They are under 25000 pounds of pressure and if you knick them and they pop, it is likely you will lose any flooring, furniture, or limbs that are in the way. It makes me very nervous that you are going around exposing cables. This can also put your foundation warranty at risk - consult a professional engineer.

Sometimes the cables are not in the center of the 4" slab because they have to be bent around plumbing pipes. And I believe the requirement is that the cable has to be about 1.5" from a pipe. This would explain the fact that the cable is only 0.5" from the top of the concrete.

As for the quality of your home, check out the superintedent in charge of your construction. If he is attentive to you and acts like he cares about the issues you now have, he probably cared when he was building your home. If not, then he probably wasn't concerned when he was building your home. Even great superintends will have a the occaisonal leaky sink.

It's true 5/8" sheetrock resists bowing more than 1/2", but it has more to do with the spacing of the joists where the sheetrock is attached. 16" spacing will hold sheetrock fine. 24" spacing will likely have problems.

Also, is there a special paint to use on stucco? This has been painted now for about two months and it is already peeling off the stucco.

It's the primer coat. The cost of paint is going up with the price of oil, and many of the low ball painters are skimping on the primer coat. Exterior latex paint will not stick to the concrete undercoat without a solid primer coat.

It may be just a few areas that didn't get good coverage, power wash these off. Then reprime and repaint. But if the painter skipped the primer all together, the entire paint job will need to be removed and restarted.

They also make another finish coat that has the sand and the color mixed in together. They have to trowel this on. Unless you've paid for this upgrade, it is most likely you did not recieve it. It does not peel off.