Whats on my mind

 Whats on my mind?

So its been a while since I last posted anything. I have been so busy lately that by the time I get home I am just tired and don't want to do anything else. I have been doing a lot of rebuilding and fixing construction defects all over the city. There is no construction defect law in Utah which in some cases can alleviate responsibility on builders. This is unfortunate for home owners. They make an investment into a home with the expectation of building equity and progressing in life, but in many cases they end up having a home with water intrusion issues. This if left untreated or undiscovered can cause organic growth and cause structural members of the building to dry rot. This is not good.

My sister in law is building a home with a well known builder. They are to the 4-way inspection and just did a walk through. Although I was unavailable to attend I went the day before and made some notes. for my wife as they went through today. I love my wife, she can be very persistent when she wants something.  Some of the items I found when going through the home were.

Broken window flanges. This is the flange that the window company mounts the window to the wall. The problem is when there is a crack in the flange it allows water to enter into the house. Water will always follow the path of least resistance.

When flashing the window they did a reverse lap on the flashing. Now every window manufacturer have their own installation instructions. But they don't like their windows installed with cracked or missing flanges.

Non treated wood touching cement. At no point should any material that is not treated for moisture be touching any form of concrete. concrete doesn't fully harden for a long time. OSB sheathing is a sponge. It will pull moisture from the cement and  this will eventually turn into dry rot. Her is a link to the code which specifically explains what is required. International Building Code

These items may seem nit picky to some but to those who are buying the home and investing everything they have it is not. I see the effects of cutting corners on a daily basis as we are tearing apart walls and floors of homes were newly constructed in the past few years. It seems that most builders are in the "get in ,get out" mode. Just to make money.  Not to many people take pride in their work anymore.

If you are building a home or buying a home I would suggest having someone go with you that has knowledge about manufacture recommended installation practices as well as common sense of the building process. It could save you in the long run.

Feel free to comment or ask questions. I am happy to help any way I can.