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Top 5 Things That Go Wrong in Too-Fast Construction
BY DAVE ROOS
In
2005, at the peak of the housing boom in the United States, more than two
million new homes were built [source: McQueen].
In
contrast, only half a million homes began construction in 2009 [source: Emrath].
The
boom fed the public's nearly insatiable appetite for new construction.
Home prices were rising quickly, mortgage terms were
loose, and developers were churning out prefab McMansions on the hope
of flipping an instant profit.
To keep up with the frenetic pace of construction,
corners were most definitely cut [source: Toy].
Developers put pressure on contractors to build cheap
and fast (a Seattle developer boasted a 54-day construction schedule) [source: Pulkkinen].
Contractors, pinched for experienced subcontractors,
sometimes hired teams of unskilled laborers to handle critical tasks like
pouring foundations, hanging windows and shingling roofs.
If that wasn't enough, building inspectors were often
so crunched for time that they often relied on spot checks that overlooked
serious design and construction flaws.
Of
those two million homes built in 2005, experts estimate that 17 percent have at
least two significant defects -- anything from cracked foundations to leaky
roofs to critical structural failures [source: McQueen].
If
you thought that newer homes had fewer problems, read more about what can go
wrong when work goes too fast.
5 Leaky Roof
Homeowners
Against Defective Dwellings (HADD) is a consumer rights group advocating for
homebuyers who have the misfortune of living in a lemon.
According
to HADD president Nancy Seats, one of the most common problems caused by
too-fast construction is a leaky roof.
Roofs
are tricky business. Building a safe, watertight roof involves much more than
nailing down a few shingles.
First
of all, the pitch of the roof must be sufficient to direct water at least six
inches (15.24 centimeters) away from the house [source: Lewis].
Some
construction jobs are pushed too quickly through the design stage, giving the
green light to a roof design with eye-catching angles, but lousy drainage.
Secondly,
you can't skimp on the waterproofing materials that go underneath the shingles.
Qualified
roof contractors will install a layer of metal flashing at all vulnerable
points.
Flashing refers to flat or corrugated metal panels that
are laid over seams in the roof structure, valleys where two slopes meet, and
around disruptive structures like chimneys and vents [source: Handy American].
An
inexperienced or rushed contractor might skip the flashing because the shingles
would conceal them anyway.
HADD
has also received complaints about contractors who neglected to install a
protective layer of felt before nailing down the shingles [source: Lewis].
Without
felt backing, it's easy for water to seep through seams and infiltrate attics,
leading to costly water damage and even mold infestations.
While
we're talking about leaks, let's look at another symptom of rushed
construction: defective windows.
4 Leaky Windows
Poorly
hung windows can lead to a host of problems: leaks, fogging, drafts and jammed
windowpanes.
Like
roofing, window installations are multistep affairs that require specialized
skill and layers of sealing materials.
In the rush of boom-era
construction, contractors scrambled to find qualified workers.
And when high-quality
materials became scarce, they cut corners to get the job done.
To
properly install a weatherproof window, the sides and top of the window (called
the head) must be sealed with a rubberized flashing material
that looks like giant strips of colored tape.
The
sides are flashed first, and then the head strip is applied to further protect
from top-down drips [source: Ueno].
The
bottom of the window, interestingly, isn't sealed as tightly. The idea is that
gravity will always draw water to the lowest point.
By
leaving the bottom of the window frame relatively "open," any water
that collects in that area can simply drain out.
Homeowners
Against Defective Dwellings (HADD) has received many reports of defective
windows that were improperly installed without flashing or foam insulation that
would protect against drafts.
When
moisture infiltrates a house, wooden materials become saturated and swollen,
walls bulge and crack, mold grows, and homeowners fume.
Onto
the next construction nightmare: basement flooding.
3 Basement Flooding
As
a homeowner, there are few sights as sickening as a finished basement filling
with murky brown water.
Construction
engineers cite "moisture intrusion" as the No. 1 reported complaint
with newly constructed homes [source: Roney].
Some
flooding is unavoidable, the result of torrential storms and swollen
rivers.
But
in many cases, basement and crawlspace flooding isn't Mother Nature's fault;
it's the contractor's.
There's
no such thing as a waterproof foundation [source: Building Science].
If
water builds up around foundation walls, hydrostatic pressure will eventually
force the moisture through inevitable cracks and fissures.
With
the right design and materials, however, a quality contractor can keep water
away from foundation walls altogether.
A
dry basement starts with careful grading of the property.
If
a contractor is in a hurry, he or she may not take the time to bulldoze soil so
that water always flows away from the house rather than toward the foundation.
Next,
you should install roof gutters and downspouts that corral rainwater far away
from the base of the home.
If
rainwater is allowed to run directly from the roof to the ground, it will pool
up right next to the foundation wall.
In
a rushed construction job, downspouts are easy to overlook, but they could lead
to costly damage.
Below
the surface, foundation walls need to be cushioned by a thick layer of
free-draining backfill, usually gravel.
When
water flows freely, it drains straight down, rather than seep horizontally.
The
loose gravel ensures that all groundwater flows directly down toward a
subterranean drainage system.
The
system is a perforated drainpipe that lets water in from the top, and then
whisks it away to sewers or a sump pump [source: Building Science].
Failure
to lay the right fill material can lead to flooding, even in high and dry
areas.
2 Cracked Foundations
The
Blue Oaks subdivision outside Sacramento, Calif., looks like a retiree’s dream.
All
250 of the freshly stuccoed ranch homes circle a private, manicured 18-hole
golf course.
But
as the Wall Street Journal reported in 2009, that dream quickly turned into a
nightmare for over half of the subdivision's residents as their homes literally
began cracking into pieces [source: McQueen].
The
residents filed a class action suit against the developers of the subdivision,
claiming that the builders neglected to properly test the soil in which the
foundations were poured.
It
turns out that the heavy clay soil expands in the rainy winter and contracts in
the scorching summer sun, wrenching the foundation walls until they crack.
Those
cracks and fissures spread through walls and tile floors, making a telltale
"popping" sound as the residents tried to sleep at night.
As
Nancy Seats of HADD confirms, cracked foundations are another common problem
associated with too-fast construction.
Sometimes,
as in the California case, builders don't take the time to run soil tests. In
other cases, they skimp on the rebar reinforcements that hold the concrete
foundation's walls together [source: Lewis].
If
a builder is in a rush, he or she might not sufficiently tamp down the fill
soil underneath the footers, meaning the house will continue to
"settle" long after it's finished.
Let's
finish our list with one of the nastiest things that can go wrong when builders
are in a rush: mold.
1 Mold Outbreaks
Mold
is a critical part of the natural order, helping to decompose organic material
and return nutrients to the soil.
But
there's nothing natural about a mold garden flowering in the crawlspace of your
house.
Certain
strains of mold -- namely stachybotrys chartarum (aka "black mold")
and the aspergillis family of molds -- produce mycotoxins that can cause serious
health problems if ingested [source: Nolo.com].
But
even allergies to more common molds can lead to hay fever-like symptoms,
dizziness and skin rashes [source: Department of Health and Senior Services].
Mold
spores are carried by the wind and breed in moist environments.
During
the construction boom years, when materials were scarce and time was tight,
builders sometimes resorted to using damp plywood, sealing it up behind drywall before
it had a chance to dry.
Unlike
hardwoods such as cedar and oak, plywood and other processed construction
materials contain tons of natural sugars, a feast for mold [source: Lstiburek].
Even
in new homes, mold will grow quickly wherever moisture infiltrates and festers
in sealed areas.
If
pipes aren't properly insulated, they can produce condensation, which collects
between walls.
If
an attic doesn't have sufficient ventilation, even the tiniest leak can produce
a forest of mold.
If
the heating and air conditioning ducts aren't properly sealed, they can carry
mold spores throughout the house, spreading allergens to unsuspecting residents
[source: Garber].
Dave
Roos
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Dave is a freelance journalist who has contributed hundreds
of articles to HowStuffWorks since 2007. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
Dave attended Duke University where he earned the B.A. in comparative religious
studies that has served him so well. Dave began freelancing when he and his
wife moved to Mexico in 2003, publishing articles about Mexican food and
culture in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek. Nearly 15
years and three kids later, Dave and his family recently moved back to Mexico
and just might stay a while.
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