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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Vosilla who wrote (29460)	4/12/2005 9:38:37 PM
From: GraceZ	Respond to of 306849

how you think the new homes being built today compare to the shoddy construction of the late 1980's? My own house was built in 1980 by an independent builder. After having seen how poorly some of the mass houses were built from that era, I'm happy to report I live in a house with real 2x4's, real wood floor joist and plywood instead of R-Max. The roof is still original, all the windows are Anderson. Whereas we used to joke that people put elaborate alarm systems in houses that you could cut your way in with a matt knife through the outside wall, on mine you need a sawsall. The foundation has held up amazingly well considering we live on quite a hill. Termites are a fact of life here and in every other house I've ever lived in, you treat for them or face the consequence. My Y2K problem was that every appliance in the house turned 20 years old and died shortly thereafter. Even the copper pipes needed to be replaced with pvc because the well water is acidic and ate away at the copper even though they used the best grade. Water heaters last on average 8-10 years. I've regularly inspected the custom built house in back of me from foundation to appliances (the workers leave the basement sliders unlocked) and I'm amazed at the quality of the workmenship, it is better than my sister's much more expensive custom built (every time I visit I have to hold my tongue when I look at the drywall joints, the door moldings, as well as the way they did the tile). Much better materials in the new house out back and a far better grade of appliances than the mass built houses of the large home builder I work for (although you can buy an option for better ones), even though it is a spec house that will sell for around the same price as those houses. Material science has made enormous strides since the 80s. Some composite building materials are far more beautiful and lasting than their natural counterparts. We built an out building with cedar plank siding and it was immediately attacked by chewing squirrels. If we'd used the cedar look-a-like materials I doubt seriously if they'd have found it so tasty. Some of the new composite siding has to be scratched to tell the difference between it and wood even after many years. None of that sagging vinyl crap you can put a dent in with a tennis ball seen in houses from the 80s. I was particularly impressed with how the foundation was built. The house is much better built than my own and a much nicer design, although I'm certainly not tempted considering the price they are selling it.