I have an older home (1950s) with partial cast iron piping for plumbing and two-wire electrical wiring that we have been slowly replacing as we remodel different areas. It has been a pain and I was wondering about recent construction and what material or methods will turn out to be a mistake down the road.

What are some materials or methods in recent construction that you think will turn out to be obsolete/fail or become a giant pain? It seems like all spray foam insulation would turn into a pain down the road, but was curious what others more knowledgeable than me thought.

IMO the main structure (foundation, framing, exterior) of an average house is pretty solid, has been for years and I don't see many methods changing. Now, you could have poor workmanship and carelessness affect it; breaking or cutting through trusses/joists, poor nailing patterns, window installation (lack of a good sealant), waterproofing, etc.

Interior wise, I think electric evolves steadily. Some areas have codes that are getting a little crazy. The electrician I have working with me now said in our area, we are getting to where inspectors will want all breakers to be arc-fault type at $70 to $100 more per breaker. I am not an expert on electric but he did say that was overkill. Main problem, big increase in cost. The reliability of our electric grid is a whole other issue.

I have and expect to continue to see a decline in plumbing quality. Thinner pipe walls, plastic parts within fixtures and diverters, valves/fittings made of poor quality metals. (My sister recently had to spend about $20k to redo much of her Pex piping due to all the leaks in the fittings and valves from just 10 years ago.)

I see a steady decline in appliances, be it laundry, or especially the kitchen. Yes, you can spend a ton and get great stuff. But an average ref is only expected to last 5-7 years. Trying to keep costs down, but add lots of features (I don't need my refrigerator to tell me the weather), is a recipe for lowering overall quality.

Last, is workmanship. Maybe things will change with college being too expensive. But we will need a lot of skilled people to replace the many that are phasing out (retiring, dying) of certain trades. It will take some time though.

Curious to hear what other trades people have to say.

Based on all the fun surprises we are finding from the original construction and subsequent changes, I am not sure craftsmanship was ever really that great...

BenTheGoodAg said:

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Captain Winky said:

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What are some materials or methods in recent construction that you think will turn out to be obsolete

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Craftsmanship... We're nearly there.

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I live in a very rural area, and as of the past 5 years, thousands of acres have been sold to development not that far from me. So, in a short time, it will be 'the city'. Anyway, your post is dead on. When I drive 'into town' i pass thousands of houses being built. I can watch them pour a slab one day, and that house will have a roof going on in about 3 weeks. Maybe that timeline isn't exact, but it's pretty damn quick and I drive by once a week.

These houses are being sold for 500,000 or more, and they have 2x4 roof rafters. Also, they don't crown anything the same way so when the sun is just right, you can see the 'wave' in the rooflines. LOL.

**** boxes is what I call them.

PEX will be a thing of the past. It will be the galvanized pipe of the 1980's as it begins to fail, or rather, the couplers fail.

A lot of homes built with the above specs will be failing and depreciated neighborhoods in 15 years. Those are the houses that are failing due to poor materials and workmanship, they become too expensive to keep, quality owners leave for better builds, and lower income folks move in, and well....that's how certain places end up with babies standing on the corner at 3 oclock in the morning.

I think this style of house is a big mistake:

Hard to waterproof & drain correctly with windows like that & flat roofs.
Plus they are already starting to look very dated... like the Tuscan boom of the early 2000s.
Couple of other things, more design related that I hate:

• Having giant windows at the front of the house, no privacy.
• Giant open living/kitchen/dining area, too loud & hard to clean.
• The "butler's kitchen" fad. What a waste.
• Gigantic sliding glass doors you can only use a few weeks, maybe days out of the year in most of Texas.

1988PA-Aggie said:

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IMO the main structure (foundation, framing, exterior) of an average house is pretty solid, has been for years and I don't see many methods changing.

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I'm in commercial where steel stud is standard, and for my mudroom addition (converted part of garage) and basement I went with steel stud.

To me it seems far superior than wood;
No issues with moisture/termites/warping/rotting, fire proof, already has holes for wiring/plumbing, light weight, can get way more on a truck, no dust/cleaner air in enclosed areas, recyclable, sustainable, can be fabricated to correct lengths for a framing package for less waste.

But they cost more (up front.. who knows about total cost over the life).. so no one uses them.
But seems like a hole in your comment... I could see this changing as people understand it better.

Apache said:

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• Gigantic sliding glass doors you can only use a few weeks, maybe days out of the year in most of Texas.

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'in most of texas' lol what a caveat. Didn't know Texas was the end all of what trends people want.

I wish I had a huge 3 pane slider. Most new houses in my area have them. I have our patio door open for several hours nearly every morning from about spring break to thanskgiving.

It faces west, so can honestly be open until about 10. This morning it was about 62* out.. it's 95 now.

Quote:

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Didn't know Texas was the end all of what trends people want.

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Obviously I was referring to this design feature as far as it's practicality in most of Texas. It works elsewhere quite well, places with drier air and less mosquitos and flies.

Most new construction looks like IKEA barfed in the kitchen and took a dump in the bathrooms. Low quality painted cabinets and "engineered" flooring. The latest house I purchased, an early 2000's custom, has beautiful solid walnut cabinets and 3/4" solid oak flooring, all of which will outlast me. Our realtor admitted it felt a bit dated, but we both agreed it would stand the test of time a lot better than the current trends.

I can see the metal being better. But the challenge comes with Electrical. With metal studs, now I have to have EMT or EMC instead of just Romex.

So for places that may be wet or dry, as long as no electrical, metal studs would be nicer. Easier to find after construction, as well.

~egon

Dr. Doctor said:

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I can see the metal being better. But the challenge comes with Electrical. With metal studs, now I have to have EMT or EMC instead of just Romex.

So for places that may be wet or dry, as long as no electrical, metal studs would be nicer. Easier to find after construction, as well.

~egon

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I literally just wired my entire basement with 1000' of romex.

I spent $30 on these.


snap it in.. easily unsnap and move it if you need to. Very easy to pull since it's not a tight fit/rough edge like a hole in a wood stud is. I can fit 4-5 wires in this.

and use these for water



and I despise hammering in those stupid staples that always bend, or I drop it a few times.
Pop a screw in this and it's done. Once again, easy to move if necessary.



All of these items are readily available and are really easy to work with.

I am an architect. One of the most concerning trends which I see commonly in new construction is cardboard-like sheathing (such as Dryline). The material will surely break down over time, creating a recipe for extensive moisture damage. ZIP System sheathing or even conventional housewrap are far better options, as long as penetrations are sealed properly (a big "if").

I am also concerned with the amount of generic fixtures being installed in new construction these days (particularly for plumbing and electrical), most of which do not last and will be impossible to find replacement parts for in 5-10 years. Word to the wise: stick with Moen, Delta, Kohler, etc. for plumbing and Leviton, Lutron, P&S/Legrand, Eaton, etc. for electrical.

That's cool. Didn't know about that.

My training for electrical was taught that only wood could use Romex (assuming it is tied down), but once you went to metal studs, you had to have the wires in a protective metal shield; either EMT or EMC.

I'm sure the code's changed and others will point out what's going on. But yes, putting snap on rings would be infinitely better than those damn metal staples (or plastic/metal staples). HATED that on new builds.



Getting back, one trend that I'm glad is GONE is the whole-home entertainment/communicator things. My current house has a HUGE radio/intercom system that doesn't work, as well as most rooms having the speaker in the wall. Want to remove it, but then I'll have to patch sheetrock and let's say, that skill is long in the tooth from grad school days (where I did it once a week for 10+ hours on jobs).

So they stay.

~egon

hijakeroo123 said:

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I am an architect. One of the most concerning trends which I see commonly in new construction is cardboard-like sheathing (such as Dryline). The material will surely break down over time, creating a recipe for extensive moisture damage. ZIP System sheathing or even conventional housewrap are far better options, as long as penetrations are sealed properly (a big "if").

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Thin sheathing and improperly installed Hardieboard will be a huge issue in the future. A long with installers realizing that not wearing PPE when cutting Hardieboard is going to kill them eventually.