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The repair work at the house on Bonnie Oaks is Completed. Unfortunately, because of some very poor construction practices by the original builder, many of the houses on this street and in this neighborhood are well on their way to condemnation in very short order.
Here are some details of the negligent construction practices used by the original builder that are particularly egregious.
In short everyone in this neighborhood needs to consider repairing and waterproofing their houses with new sheathing, a fresh layer of caulk, and a more durable exterior surface such as cedar, vinyl, hardiplank or Brick.
What are structural insulated panels (SIPs) and why are they important? A SIP is simply an engineered one-piece composite panel which provides structural framing, insulation, and/or exterior sheathing. While there are many types of composite panel building systems, the acronym SIPs commonly refer to panels made from a thick layer of foam typically polystyrene (as well there other type cores which provide similar thermal and structural performance such as agricultural fibers or polyurethane) bound with two layers composed of oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, or fiber-cement. Mostly precut, the panels can be rapidly assembled without extensive training making it possible for houses to be placed under roof in a matter of days rather than weeks, and thus reducing overall building costs. Also SIPs provide the ability to easily construct curved walls or an exterior building envelope that is quiet, strong, air-tight, and energy-efficient. (more…)
Before Picture of Bonnie Oaks Drive
Smart Homes has just recently started repairing a house with extensive termite and water damage. The house is sided in Masonite, a very poor external construction material that requires intense preventive maintenance to maintain its structural integrity. Masonite is basically stiff cardboard, and to prevent it from literally just falling apart it must be painted and caulked once ever 2 years at the most. If you are unfortunate enough to live in a house with Masonite siding you probably already know what I’m referring to.
The house on Bonnie Oaks, in addition to having compromised Masonite siding, also had extensive termite damage on the lower 1/4 of the house. The Masonite had deteriorated away in some places do to poor caulking, irregular maintenance, and poor construction practices by the original builder. Through these cracks, termites crawled in and they were having a feast on the exposed stud walls. This compromised the integrity of several key structural elements of the house.
The primary area of concern is in the garage header beam. Through a combination of water damage and termite damage, this beam had rotted to the point of having birds making a next in a large soft cavity which formed over time in the middle of this critical support beam. Had this beam completely failed, then the entire facade of the second floor and the portion of the roof being supported by this beam could have came crashing down.
From the pictures you can see where we’ve stripped off the bad portions of Masonite, and replaced it with OSB sheathing. We also had to replace several structural studs behind the sheathing in these areas. I do not have pictures of the wall prior to replacing the bad studs, but you can see that we filled nearly half of a 15 yard dumpster with the waste, and we are not through yet.
The plan of attack for this house is to first remove all the badly rotted cardboard … I mean Masonite and replace it with OSB sheathing. Also repair and termite damaged or water damaged studs and beams. next we will wrap the solid Masonite and the new Masonite sheathing in Vinyl to protect and beautify the exterior. We will also replace the badly rotted columns on the front and back porches with load bearing, structural and rot resistant fiberglass columns. We will also replace the front door and rear garage man door with brand new painted steel doors. The house should undergo a complete and eye popping transformation as a result.
Well we can only hope for change we can believe in. I don’t mean to sound sceptical, but in reality all of Obama’s and McCain’s proposed policy initiatives are nothing more then guidelines. Specifics will be determined hopefully in a concerted effort between the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government and the public. The breadth of the Internet and the reality of the 24hour instant news cycle makes engagement by the public possible and unprecedented.
Obama has shown a willingness to include the common man in politics. With modern technology and the feedback loop that is the Internet and the 24-hour news cycle, involvement by the unknown citizen is feasible. Not only that, it can also have a meaningful impact.
Does this however put to many cooks in the kitchen? Are there too many people running the show? I don’t know, but I’m willing to bet that compromise will play a big role in an Obama administration, and right now in this age of divisiveness it is a good thing. Obama brings with him a willingness to work with all branches and all factions within government. He also has shown a willingness to compromise without disdain or ridicule. He brings an inclusionary attitude sadly absent from American politics over the last 200+ years.
To be honest, we had two really great candidates for president this year, Senator McCain and Barak Obama. Both were intelligent and forward thinking. McCain however is a fighter, and Obama on the other hand is a lover. In this moment, in this time in American history, we need a lover. McCain’s time I believe was in 2000. He should have beaten Bush then, but he blew it. Poor campaigning, and a lack of funds kept him from winning him the year we needed a smart, fighting president. We could have used McCain’s war experience during 9/11 and through to the invasion of Afghanistan. If McCain had been president 2000-2008, I don’t think we would have had a war in Iraq.
We’ve just picked too many fights in this world over the past several years that need to come to an end. Why did we go into Iraq? … Really does anyone know? Right, lets face it, we didn’t have a reason. The Bush administration has also picked fights with environmentalists over global warming, also fights with France, Canada, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, China, Gays, Liberals, Conservatives, Illegal Immigrants, unlawful combatents, and Musilims among many others. Right now we need someone who is wiling to compromise, someone willing to heal the “divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, ‘We are not enemies, but friends. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.’”
Obama isn’t going to be name calling though, lest he raise the ire of Bush’s remaining supporters. Of course he must also not throw stones at the glass house he will inhabit come Janurary. History will have no problems casting those stones for Obama. So now that the election is over, expect little to no mud slinging from his side. That is not the path he will take. In his speech he promised to “resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long”. Obama’s journey will be one of a uniter. He shouldn’t be everything to everybody. He shouldn’t try to fix everything by micromanaging the economy, the war, and the country piece by piece. He should simply stick to being an inspirational leader. He will accomplish more as this type of leader then one in which he violetnly takes the reins. Bush was pretty rough with his tough-love leadership approach, and his poor decision making affected us all. I think skinny kid Obama will take the intellectual, gloved hand approach. That is what I am hoping anyway.
What will Obama do for the home builder? I think his focus should rightly be on the economy as a whole and not one specific industry, so lets take a look at the specifics his plans that relate to contractors and their consumer home owners.
On par I think Obama has some good idea, some politically motivated ideas, and some bad ideas which is pretty common for a politician. Let us pray he give us th best he has to offer. If that still isn’t good enough, and if the US doesn’t climb out of our downward spiral, then lets kick him out in four years.
-db
Highlights of the latest Commerce Department’s report on the state of the economy:
Sales of existing homes rose by the largest amount in more than five years in September. The National Association of Realtors, NAR, on Friday said that sales of existing homes rose by 5.5 percent in September compared to August, the best showing since a 5.6 percent increase in July 2003, during the bubble.
Why? My theory is that existing homes can be had for a greater discount. Homeowners, often have more equity in an older home then a builder like myself has in a new construction house. Therefore, even if they are selling short, selling for less then what they owe, they might have an easier time talking the bank into the short sale. Also I think many people are skittish of building a new construction house right now because of the economic turmoil.
Funny thing, while writing this blog, I got an e-mail from a potential client saying that instead of building a new home she is now considering buying an older one.
“…I am considering purchasing a preexisting home, because the market has reduced tremendous, and construction has stayed the same, or rose in some areas.”
Good news for me is that I’m taking on more renovation jobs. I love renovating historic homes, and they are a great investment for the home owner!
