Pet Peeves in New Construction - Found in Surrey, NW, Langley and Burnaby homes and condos
There's a few things I see in new construction these days in the Lower Mainland that might meet the code, but they are very poor quality. Other's seem to have been skipped by for some reason. The takeaway from this , is it's all in the lack of attention to details. SOMETIMES. Not all new construction is bad! Here's a few things I've been seeing a lot more of lately.
CLOSETS: Think about taking a measuring tape with you when you look around at the home for sale. Over and over again, I'm seeing closets (especially in the front entry) that have been made smaller by 4 inches or more to increase the space of the common area. However, you can't even hang up a coat in the closet, because they are too narrow (20" or less) rendering them basically useless. It's these small modifications that might look good when you first see them (large entry way) but forever frustrating when you finally decide to use it as a coat closet. I've actually had coat closets that had empty hangers, and when I closed the closet, the hangers fell off because the door turned and twisted them off the rail.
FANCY ROOF DESIGNS: They may be pretty, but they'll drive you nuts in a few years. A common design for new houses is to concentrate rain water from several roof surfaces to a small area, which greatly increases the potential for foundation and basement water problems. Really look at that roof and think about where the water is going to go. If improperly managed, you can be in for a lot of potential water problems in your first floor or basement or anywhere that the gathered rainwater is going to congregate.
MISSING ROOF VENTS AND IMPROPER VENTING FROM DRYERS: Most municipal inspectors don’t walk on roofs. So, it's not uncommon to have missing roof vents that are necessary for the proper handling of air in the home. This is why you should always look in the attic and the roof to make sure everything "lines up". Why is that important? Moisture trapped in the ceiling will be very humid and can (and will) contribute to a mildew problem unless it has a place to go - which is why we need roof vents in the first place.
INSUFFICIENT INSULATION: Without a doubt, the most common problem that I find on new construction inspections is insufficient insulation in the attic. I've been talking about this for a long time, and I still find this defect at a lot of new homes. Is it something that is being missed in final inspections?
DECKS: The most common deck defect that I can find on new decks was improper nails used on joist hangers. Many of these nails aren't even half the length they need to be. The problem with these nails is that they don't even begin to penetrate the ledgerboard. Unfortunately, badly built decks is one of the most common defects I see in a home.
IMPROPER INSTALLATIONS: I've seen improper installations of everything from hot water heaters, tilework in the basement (especially the shower), doorframes, electrical and outdoor perimeter draining and the list goes on. Here's another. I found an improperly installed stove. The anti-tip bracket provides extra protection when excess force is applied to an open oven door. But, this one hasn't even been installed, although the pieces are there. I suppose it might take another 20 minutes or more to do the right thing.
Stay tuned for more ranting — and hopefully, when I do see something nicely maintained, I'll RAVE about it. Because in the end, we all want to live somewhere safe, comfortable and without unnecessary changes or maintenance due to neglect or careless attention to detail.
