Any Builders/Carpenters Here?

I agree with the consensus. I would definitely push to have the problem corrected. From the photo, it looks like they used prefabricated trusses. You need to determine who is at fault. Are the trusses built to spec? Are the specs. wrong. Has the construction crew erred in their framing? Three possible causes with the truss manufacturer , the construction crew, and the architect all pointing fingers at someone else.

I am surprised that the building inspector that that slip by. It's a good thing that you have photos of the defects. If it were me, I would push to have the problem fixed properly, even if it meant having the roof torn off and redone. Barring that, you should be looking at a substantial settlement for the shoddy work.

When I see workmanship like that, I always wonder how much more is there that I don't know about. On the various constitutions projects we have had done, I would go around after the workmen had left for the day, noting any deficiencies and ether correcting them or pointing them out to the contractor the next morning.

Good luck!
 
I think the trusses are ok, but as Mickri pointed out the soffet supports are two long, That rests with the framers. You payed for the A crew, but got the B crew, sadly all to common. I was a general for many years, and now as then good help is hard to find. I used to run two crews and, and it seemed all I did was buy tools, and fix !$$*ups. Went back to working with 2-3 decent carpenters, and life was much better, and probably when all was said and done just as profitable. The thing with inspectors is, it doesn't have to be good to pass, just meet code, and often they don't really pay any attention to detail. Hope you get some satisfaction. Mike
 
Are the roofing shingles already installed? That will complicate the repair. No matter what the fascia is junk and has to be replaced with proper good quality lumber. With the fascia off easy to cut off the long board. Then the fascia will seat up against the tails of the roof rafters. I would go over all of the framing and compare what has been built to the plans. Check to see that the details were followed. And read the fine print. Get yourself the longest straightedge you can find. At least 8' and 10' or 12' would be better. Place it diagonally against the walls to check for bows. Houses are designed from the roof down and built from the ground up. Errors in the foundation and framing will rear their ugly head throughout the entire job. Make yourself a 3'x4'x5' triangle out of a piece of plywood. Check all of the corners and walls to see if they are square and plum. Make a list of every error you find and demand that the errors be fixed. The word will spread quickly through the subs that the owner is checking everything twice and making a list of corrections. The subs will have some choices names to call you but the quality of the workmanship will improve dramatically.

My ex wife and I did a major remodel on a house. She believed that cleanliness was next to godliness. Everyday after the workers were done she showed up with her vacuum, brooms and scrub bucket and cleaned the house from top to bottom. There was not a speck of saw dust, scraps or anything to be found anywhere. The drywallers had fits when she read them the riot act on how sloppy they were. They ended up putting plastic sheeting on the floors which got picked up and disposed of everyday. I was on site everyday also. Early on a sub refused to correct his errors. I threw him off the job and only paid him for the work that he did correctly. I never had anymore problems with subs doing shoddy work. The moral of this is that you have to be a #@$#@%hole if things aren't getting done right. Otherwise the contractor and subs will just shine you on.
 
Wow, just ... wow! I'm not a contractor, nor have I ever played one on TV, but even I would not accept that level of work or the grade of materials used. I did a lot of carpentry in my younger years with my friend, a journeyman carpenter and master cabinetmaker, and while I am not qualified to judge, I do know that I would be tearing that contractor's ass apart for allowing that kind of work to be done. I would stop work right now and make them fix this before doing anything else, and I would not pay for the repairs. This is the contractor's problem, not yours.
 
@mickri Yes the roof is shingled. I figured out the price per sqft. If you use only finished sqft and base price. $250 sqft. I've added some upgrades, larger garage, setback an additional 50' better floors and exterior brick. About ten grand in upgrades.
Then somehow I got listed as a supervisor and have been getting calls from contractors. Not a big deal but...
I also found out they have to put a sewage basket with a pump in my basement because the exit is to high? Yep, he thought I was the super.
 
When you mention the "exit" are you referring to where the sewer pipe comes into the house? Is the house on public sewer or septic tank? Also that sewage basket will stink to high heaven over time. It will also fail at some point in time. Probably years down the road. It should be outside of the house. Not in the basement. Sounds like whoever installed the sewage system messed up. I wonder what else is wrong with the house. Like I said above you need to do a complete inspection of the property from the ground up. And I mean everything needs to be checked out. Everything. If you don't have the expertise to do that then bring in someone who does to assist you. I spent the last 12 years of my working life dealing with defective construction and construction claims. There is never just one thing that is wrong. It will all lead back to the general contractor being asleep at the wheel in terms of quality control.

I have lots of horror stories I could share. That would fill a book. One quick one. A plumbing sub used rebar to keep the copper water lines in place when the slab was poured. The copper piping failed quickly and started to leak. As time went by the homeowner started to get very high water bills. Nobody could figure out where the water was leaking. During one inspection the homeowner happened to mention how she loved the warm floors in the house during the winter time. A light went on and the person doing the inspection found one of the leaks. The concrete slab was water logged. The fix was rather expensive to say the least.
 
I don't think that the builders are meeting the building code here. First, there is a requirement for "tight fit" on edges of framing members -especially for roofs. Second, there is a "nail penetration requirement" when nailing to end grain. These clearly do not meet either requirement. There is also a "generally accepted standard" that is not met here. I would bring the GC, or the owner of the company and point these defects out and DEMAND that they be properly fixed. If he says, "ahh, that's how all houses are built... ", I would counter, "... okay, let's let the building inspector decide."

At this stage, your final roof is probably installed. Too bad, so sad for the contractor. I would have them rip it all off and properly install and nail everything to code - at his cost. Contractors like this NEED to be run out of the business.
 
@ddickey - the short term pain and inconvenience you experience now making the demands to have your property built to code (let alone just good craftsmanship standards) is going to be a lot less than if you ignore it and deal with the consequences later.

I agree that you should stop work and have the building inspector spend a day with you on site. Maybe I missed it, but it sounds like you are the general contractor on this project? Or are you paying a GC to manage the entire build? If so, I would tell him date and time to have his @$$ at the site with the inspector and to schedule a few hours.
 
SLK001 said:
I don't think that the builders are meeting the building code here. First, there is a requirement for "tight fit" on edges of framing members -especially for roofs. Second, there is a "nail penetration requirement" when nailing to end grain. These clearly do not meet either requirement. There is also a "generally accepted standard" that is not met here. I would bring the GC, or the owner of the company and point these defects out and DEMAND that they be properly fixed. If he says, "ahh, that's how all houses are built... ", I would counter, "... okay, let's let the building inspector decide."

At this stage, your final roof is probably installed. Too bad, so sad for the contractor. I would have them rip it all off and properly install and nail everything to code - at his cost. Contractors like this NEED to be run out of the business.
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Usually trusses are built in a jig at the factory. I'd be looking at the top plate and the walls to see if the trusses were set right. Check the walls for straightness...Check and see if all the trusses were set on the walls at the same measurement....
 
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