Leaky buildings. Thinking of buying a post '95 home? Own one?

[JimO]

I know a builder who always went the extra mile and ultimately he'd have been better off working for wages. Sod all profit any year.

that more common than you would think

[Spearfish]

I have come up with this situation exactly with architects. Isn't that your job they say when being asked about details. Some of them genuinely do not know, they are selling a concept and it is up to draughtsmen, designers and engineers to be responsible for the finished product. They are more than happy to be responsible for the profit however.
My son finishes his architectural degree this year and doesn't dream of being an architect. After 5 years, go figure! He also qualified and worked as a draughtsman for a few years before that, so is experienced in what goes on.
Many people have different ideas of what is acceptable and ultimately the responsibility often falls back onto the person who is found to have either installed faulty product/workmanship or the person supervised it.

Its probably impossible to get a first floor window to comply with any acceptable solution if it has to be left loose because the Rancidtech drew a stairwell to small or full of turns for any type of furniture.
Dont they do any time in the field?

[SPman]

If you have to use silicon as your main seal, then maybe you need to re-think that option.
Not totally against silicon but I believe it is only good as a gasket, not a bead type seal.
Just my opinion.

Not just your opinion. If you have to rely on silicon, or a similar substance for waterproofing, you've lost the plot!
It's amazing how many experienced builders, only had a rudimentary grasp of flashing details and how persistent water entry can be.....

I have come up with this situation exactly with architects. Isn't that your job they say when being asked about details.

Architects...aaaaargh! Run ins with Architects would be one of our major hassles, in my inspectors life. The "I'm the Architect, I'm right and you're just a useless fucking Inspector" routine, was common amongst a small group of fairly prominent people. Didn't wash with some of us and near fisticuff "discussions" about detailing were often played out ....
By their (rotting) works shall ye know them.....

[Paul in NZ]

I suspect architects are a bit like ad agencies. They design their products to win industry awards rather than to meet the clients specific needs....

The both times we used their services we both thought they were total nut jobs and obviously speaking a strange foreign language that seemed like english except all the words had different meanings...

Usually - once you got speaking to the draughstman you were OK.

Still - my uncle the builder gave us the best advice when we were being pressured into a monolithic clad lego box. "FFS - its a house, a house where it rains a lot is a fucking square box with a pitched roof and big eaves and anything else is a reciepe for disaster....'

[Swoop]

I suspect architects are a bit like ad agencies. They design their products to win industry awards rather than to meet the clients specific needs.

Correct. Most of them appear to treat a job as a way to make another monument to themself. An award is just the cherry on top.






Your uncle is a wise man...

[Spearfish]

Perhaps when budding architects were building sand castles on a beach their parents were to busy with the "he will be an architect one day" and forgot to explain to the kid why the castle went away....



But then you have to ask if the founders of Christchurch were explained that little detail as well

[Paul in NZ]

But then you have to ask if the founders of Christchurch were explained that little detail as well

It was mostly later generations that built in the red zone.

CBD was a different story. ChCh has hung onto old buildings for yonks and a lot of the stuff that fell down was marginal use / small business stuff and getting very scruffy. The bigger / newer buildings - well - I dunno....

Pretty well could happen anyplace in NZ....

[dangerous]

But then you have to ask if the founders of Christchurch were explained that little detail as well

It was mostly later generations that built in the red zone.

CBD was a different story. ChCh has hung onto old buildings for yonks and a lot of the stuff that fell down was marginal use / small business stuff and getting very scruffy. The bigger / newer buildings - well - I dunno....

Pretty well could happen anyplace in NZ....

Also take a river map of CHCH from the 50's and over lay it on todays map... ahhh so changing the courses of the river ways to make the city "pretter" wasnt the brightest idea, IIRC under the CTV building was 5 rivers crossing paths...

[BMWST?]

[B]

Light weight concrete is ok but is also reliant on cavities and in most instances is incapable of supporting itself (needs structural support... usually by timber or steel framing). It is also very permeable (unlike concrete).

not alwyays,for instance the Wellington Stadium was an excercise in lightweight concrete
The problem with tilt slab is that it is heavy making foundations and bracing more extensive.They use a fair bit of concrete in parts of spain

[flyingcrocodile46]

not alwyays,for instance the Wellington Stadium was an excercise in lightweight concrete
The problem with tilt slab is that it is heavy making foundations and bracing more extensive.They use a fair bit of concrete in parts of spain

Yes you are quite right. It is often used as part of suspended floor systems with point loads and heavier ULD's performed by steel of insitu reinforced concrete. It is also used as wall panels, both with and without cavities but (ASFAI) again requires a support frame of some description. I actually quite like the Hebal products when proper thought is put into the application and detailing for weathertightness.

[BMWST?]

its not just architects...as a prenailer i often have "discussions" with architects and draughtsmen about the real world application of trigonometry.Why oh why they draw such complex roof shapes with a hip and a valley within 200 mm of each other.

[flyingcrocodile46]

its not just architects...as a prenailer i often have "discussions" with architects and draughtsmen about the real world application of trigonometry.Why oh why they draw such complex roof shapes with a hip and a valley within 200 mm of each other.

Heh! Or show doors into Attic bedrooms under valleys at junctions to exterior walls that are only a metre high. Lol.

I had my own truss and prenail plant for a couple of years. Started off hand ramming my trusses and had to do all my first multi plane truss detailing job manually as proof to Gangnail that I was worthy of a Mitek license. The web cut detailing and truncated trusses made my head hurt. Though have since done some more challenging detailing the hard way.

[BMWST?]

Heh! Or show doors into Attic bedrooms at the valleys Lol.

I had my own truss and prenail plant for a couple of years. Started off hand ramming my trusses and had to do all my first multi plane truss detailing job manually as proof to Gangnail that I was worthy of a Mitek license. The web cut detailing and truncated trusses made my head hurt. Though have since done some more challenging detailing the hard way.

i been detailing for a LOONG time now and i still get jobs that make my head hurt

[Winston001]

I admire you guys for doing the hard practical work. :

Must say I was startled years ago when I learned architects genuinely believed their job was purely to envisage a unique structure. The rest of it was for the builder to figure out.

[dangerous]

I admire you guys for doing the hard practical work. :

Must say I was startled years ago when I learned architects genuinely believed their job was purely to envisage a unique structure. The rest of it was for the builder to figure out.

thats a bout it in a nut shell... umm spent a bit of time in the office today so off loaded a few pics of damage caused by, buildings I have repaired... if ya's are interested I can resize and post up, you will be amazed the extent of internal damage before it shows through inside or out side.