Inspection nightmares

You've heard of the Darwin awards well that guy sounds like a perfect candidate.

I knew a fellow carpenter up north who built a shed right next to his house for his fire fed boiler to feed his hot tub . He left to go and get some beer from the store and came back to fire trucks around his home putting out the fire that just happened for some mysterious reason :dunno:

I think it is called the process of elimination. It happens around the world all the time. The slow ones and stupid ones are sacrificed so that the rest of us can live a happy and profitable life. It is just the way of nature. We don't want to say things too loud as they might hear us and start figuring things out. Then where would we be?? :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
New spin

There is no way I can defend some of these crazy fixes, but I must say, I was only 18 years old when I built my house and without experience, when I ran into trouble I often did some odd-ball stuff. I have since learned, but I think a lot of these people just don't know better. There is a difference between stupid and ignorant.

One other thing I have found lately is that the manufactures now don't make things as easy as they seem. Just the other day I was putting up curtain rods for the addition, and the screws were so soft they stripped right out. luckily I had a options in my shop so it was an easy re-route, but sometimes people run into things and they don't have the experience or the tools or parts to do things right.

Just yesterday I went to install my new tub-shower combination. This one part had inside threads and held the trim ring and seal tight against the shower wall. The threads were not fully formed so the part would not go on. I had to take the part all the way into work, re-machine the threads on an engine lathe, and then install it. Most homeowners would not do that. They would have just left the small part out, which would have left the trim ring from sealing, and wondered why their floor rots out 10 years from now.

After building this new addition, I am truly disgusted with manufacturers. I would say 8 out of the 10 things I bought for this place had to be modified in some way. Most were just changing screws and stuff to longer, or hardened fasteners, to some as bad as the trim ring lock that had to be re-machined. But every time I thought. "You know the average home-owner would be plain screwed if he was in this situation."

I'm glad I got a shop and a little know-how.
 
My wife and I got a laugh the other day along these same lines. As you guys know we are becoming foster parents and one of the requirements that are spelled out in this thick booklet actually said this...

"A foster home is required to have indoor plumbing..."

We got a chuckle out of this, but I know of 3 homes within a mile of me, that were built since the 1980's and do not have indoor plumbing. As for being a foster home, its no wonder in order to be licensed we must have a:

Fire Marshal inspect the home for fire safety
Electrical inspection
Plumbing Inspection
Our water tested for contaminants
Social worker inspection (cleanliness and child safety)

I agree 100% with these things, and I will have a safer home to boot, but I am sure every inspector will have some improvement suggestions. Guess I'll have to take that switch and light out of the shower huh?
 
Yeah it probably was. I pulled a bone headed stunt similar to some of these yesterday. Yeah yesterday no less.

I installed a new tub-shower combination, but waited to put in the wet wall after everything was installed. This forced me to put a wall right over the shower sump in the concrete floor. I checked all the connections, and nothing is leaking, but removing the trap after the drywall is on will be a real squeeze. Literally....

I am sure in 10 years my plumber will be really impressed....

Oh yeah, that plumber is me! :)
 
Hey Travis, at least you will know where to go to complain about it. :doh:

I must admit that there have been situations that I have run into where you have to think outside the box to solve certain problems. I have seen lots of old construction Before there were codes that just make you scatch your head, but they are still standing.

Up in Prince Rupert there are houses called mill end houses that owners have built out of scaps from the lumber mills. Ok you have to picture this. Take 2x4's that are between 8-14 inches long and lay them down end to end and stack them to form a wall. Use lots of nails to hold the blocks together. Yes windows are put in and doors. We actually found one that was started on the upper floor of an old wartime home. Everything was framed normal on the first floor but they removed the roof and built a second floor on it with mill ends. Now they did increase the floor / roof joists with 2x6's ( like that was good enough )

Now lots of these homes are built on pilings as the ground can go from 2 ft deep to 50 ft deep before you come into bed rock. The rest is all muskeg. Oh and why excavate all the muskeg out from under the home just do enough to get the footings in then build the house on top of it. I spent weeks under some of these homes in hip waders replacing old rotten floor joists. Wish that I had pics of these to show but unfortunately I don't. Sorry
 
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