So you bought a new house, and the builders so called plumber did this...

[Mainia]

If I saw this in a new house I was going to buy, I would run. You can't make this kind of stuff up. That can't be a licensed plumber who did that. The secondary pan was not even sealed to the first pan. What else is hidden behind walls like that?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

How did this ever pass our great inspection process?

 

[walterjay]

That was pretty bad. I have seen a lot in my plumbing career. I remember the worst plumber in my area. He would do shoddy work and ridiculous things such as plumbing in a water heater backwards.

He went on to become a county plumbing inspector. What can I say.......

 

[Bud]

No pride in work.

 

[ctechbob]

But yet you'll get no end to plumbers complaining about homeowners doing their own work and bragging about how much they made on the job. Same for HVAC people, same for electricians. They act like they are gods gift to the homeowner and then there are those that do stuff like the video.

 

[Hall]

That can't be a licensed plumber who did that.

In home construction where one builder does dozens or hundreds of homes, are they actually using licensed electricians, plumbers, etc or do general contractors do much of that work ? You don't have to be "licensed", if I'm not mistaken to do it and as long as it passes inspection, it goes. Our house is a little over 20 years old and I've discovered a couple "issues" with the electric work. I've replaced all of the outlets with a lot of commercial-grade ones as well as all of the switches with Decora-style (including many smart switches). Downstairs, everything is great. Upstairs, I found many devices with the shepard hooks backwards or (2) wires under one screw in a few devices. Tells me a different person did some of the wiring upstairs, for sure, and yes, I fixed everything. The electric panel appears well done to me and still has the city's "inspection" tag on it.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

In home construction where one builder does dozens or hundreds of homes, are they actually using licensed electricians, plumbers, etc or do general contractors do much of that work ? You don't have to be "licensed", if I'm not mistaken to do it and as long as it passes inspection, it goes. Our house is a little over 20 years old and I've discovered a couple "issues" with the electric work. I've replaced all of the outlets with a lot of commercial-grade ones as well as all of the switches with Decora-style (including many smart switches). Downstairs, everything is great. Upstairs, I found many devices with the shepard hooks backwards or (2) wires under one screw in a few devices. Tells me a different person did some of the wiring upstairs, for sure, and yes, I fixed everything. The electric panel appears well done to me and still has the city's "inspection" tag on it.

Well a license isn't a guarantee if good work. Besides these production builders are extremely price sensitive and bid the work accordingly. Another thing is that the builders prioritize interior living space over a logical layout for running utilities and HVAC. Back in 2014 we looked at some new townhomes which were going for around $700k. The duct work for the HVAC and range hood was horrendous. The builder used the shallowest floor joists they could get away with.

 

[Donald]

I think there are probably worse cases than that.

If the only thing wrong in my new house was that one thing with the pan for the HW heater I would be OK.

But builders are still using house wrap rather than zip board. I wonder if zip board is an option when you have a house built like "super efficient".

And of course all the new homes are getting low end HVAC units that will fail in 6 years. (Goodman?) How well is the duct sealed.

But I do wonder who is doing the mechanical work on the developments where none of the people doing the work speak English.

For electrical work non licensed people can drill holes but you need a journeyman license to run wires. And a master license to sign off on the house. I think that's right.

 

[Cropduster172]

Well a license isn't a guarantee if good work. Besides these production builders are extremely price sensitive and bid the work accordingly. Another thing is that the builders prioritize interior living space over a logical layout for running utilities and HVAC. Back in 2014 we looked at some new townhomes which were going for around $700k. The duct work for the HVAC and range hood was horrendous. The builder used the shallowest floor joists they could get away with.

You're spot on about the license. Home inspectors in most states are licensed but there's no established requirements...pay the fee get the license.

 

[repairman54]

And in the inspectors contract there is the disclaimer on non responsibility on not finding every issue.
In development construction its one licensed guy with a gang of helpers. Worse work I've ever seen has been in those big developments, individual homes and condo projects. And I've seen a lot during my time doing on site service calls. And heard a ton of horror stories on getting things rectified by homeowners who thought a new home was less problematic than a older home.

 

[KrisZ]

But, but , but you have to get a permit to make sure everything is done safely and to code...

 

[Zee09]

My brain can't absorb this stupidity

 

[Pablo]

Ever have a plumber leave a stuff rag in a toilet flange?

My dad has.

 

[Hall]

But I do wonder who is doing the mechanical work on the developments where none of the people doing the work speak English.

What relevance is the language they speak ? Is HVAC duct work or plumbing or electrical something only English speakers are capable of doing ?

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I think there are probably worse cases than that.

If the only thing wrong in my new house was that one thing with the pan for the HW heater I would be OK.

But builders are still using house wrap rather than zip board. I wonder if zip board is an option when you have a house built like "super efficient".

And of course all the new homes are getting low end HVAC units that will fail in 6 years. (Goodman?) How well is the duct sealed.

But I do wonder who is doing the mechanical work on the developments where none of the people doing the work speak English.

For electrical work non licensed people can drill holes but you need a journeyman license to run wires. And a master license to sign off on the house. I think that's right.

A lot will depend on your local building codes. That being said ZIP is a little slower to install because it forces the framers to take care not to overdrive nails and they have to be careful when applying the ZIP tape at the seams and flashing windows. With OSB framers can just fire away with the nail gun and the housewrap will handle bulk water intrusion.

The premise behind products like ZIP is speed and ease of sealing the house but it's less tolerant of mistakes. Technically overdriven nails must be capped with a piece of ZIP tape or liquid flash. Production builders typically don't want to waste time with that.

When we looked at building I was going to use ZIP-R (R5). It's cool stuff.

 

[Fitter30]

In a county that has no codes. Want to build a just start. Can't keep a eye on the builder buy a doublewide. Bought existing house had it inspected what a joke. Plumb, level and square what's that?
Said part my neighbor built the house.