Why I don't work for Home Builders-what 99% of people don't know
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- There are Home Builders that cut corners and do subpar work. As a contractor I've worked for 5 different mass production home builders and learned how and where they tend to cheat...
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What I don't get is why grass is so hard to grow in fill dirt but it grows great in my gravel driveway.
if you have Clay gets very very hard and water does not seep in very well. The gravel is retaining water allowing plants to grow.
I've noticed that too. Grass seems to grow better when you have some gravel mixed in your yard.
I think what may be growing in your driveway is actual, real grass, and not the species of whatever sod is. I know that sod has a, shallow root system, and that's why it can be cut and rolled up, replanted and survive, and also why it requires such an obscene amount of water. Real grass is deep-rooted and would die if it were cut and peeled up like the sod is when it's harvested.
It must like you.
Guy Tech Gravel doesn’t retain water.
As someone that works for a mass home builder, I can confirm everything this guy says is true.
Thanks for the comments!
Developers have to pay to dispose building debris. So it simply gets spread around the house yards and covered by sod (we call it “turf” in U.K.).
I know UR PAIN! 😡
Few years back I was making the transition from farming to wage earner and getting some pickup work in a new subdivision , one of the homebuyers was a single mom , she had a tight budget and sod was going to run a pretty penny , I told her she could have a good lawn for a couple hundred by seeding , and landscaper was telling her sod would give her instant lawn . She had no money for sod . She got a couple volenteers with half tons to haul manure from my corral , 6" deep and then we deep rototilled , packed and leveled . We raked in the lawn seed and about 5 bushels of winter wheat . A week it was green , a month it was lush , in two years the wheat died and the lawn grass was established . After 15 years she still has the nicest lawn in her area
Winter wheat? That is total bullshit.
@@joewearsadroolbib7347 if you mow it repeatedly and keep it from going reproductive it will live more than 6 months
Same idea I had retired from farming and moved to a city, bought a house with yard landscaped but no grass and after hearing the cost of sod I thought to myself I can finally grow a lawn I can be proud of, give myself something to do and save some bucks. Lol all the neighbors thought I was crazy but by the second year my lawn was great and suddenly I was a genius. (I’m not knocking the pros, what I did was more than the average Joe is gonna want to do, just saying it’s possible to grow a great lawn on a budget)
@@4loops43 Nowdays people can't even wait for grass to grow...
Blessings to you for helping this single mom.
Been landscaping and hard scaping for going on ten years. Literally find this situation come up 8 out of 10 times instead of soil, we are literally chipping away at chunks of trash fill that the contractors tried to hide. Turns a simple job into hell.
I'm one of the warranty managers for the production builder I work for, and let me tell you, I dont know how much longer i can take it. I hate how dishonest it seems to be when i have to come in and tell them that pretty much everything the sales agents and super intendants isnt going to get fixed, then i look like the bad guy. I wouldnt trust a production home builder personally
Appreciate it. So I have a lot In the south I want to build a house on. How do I get started?
@@AnytimeAssemblypros Find yourself a custom home builder!
I love your sales technique. “This is space you imagine you’ll use but you never actually will.” So true!
I go into some “high end” homes for plumbing service and am appalled most times on how cheaply they are constructed.
Or even the EQ (efficient quality) homes that are quickly built to deadlines. It's a double-whammy for homebuyers purchasing houses in new subdivisions.
Who cares. It’s a business. If a douche bag wants to buy let the douche bag buy
Lol My entire house has the hot and cold lines switched. I had to have an outdoor tap blocked off because it was straight HOT water. The builder replumbed the toilets and bathtubs/showers but everything else I have to remember to switch the lines.
When I gutted my bathroom a plumber did that to my house. After 3 years I said screw it and I paid a plumber on craigslist to cut the pipes n switch it back. My hot water toilet was very clean and germ free for this 3 years
@@ambilaevus7607 Oh wow! But expensive I'm sure! The builder fixed mine within the first week so we didn't benefit. But I can't fix my whole house because I'm in Florida and my water lines are buried in my slab so I'd have to demo like my whole floor. Lol But I love my house and I feel blessed to have it, quirks and all.
I love the trip hazard downspout that lays right on the damn side walk.
Lmao no doubt
Looks like he would have put downspout under sidewalk going to a French drain
This is kind of a tough one. Really, because of the location of gutter, they should have dug out and added a drain. From the video, it looks like that spot might be okay without a gutter but i don’t know what the top of the garage looks like. Due to the lack of care put into water drainage, this is sadly the best option for that kick out.
yeah, and the one at the side of the house...wow
@@jojosdarkbar2594 You don't empty gutters into a french drain. You dump gutters into solid pvc pipe to the street.
These vids help me feel better about my 1919 farmhouses with limestone foundations that were built by farmers for other farmers. At least I don't have these problems, even if I have the problems of a renaissance castle.
Minus the limestone I'm in the same boat
Wow! They built to last back in the day. Too bad it's rare now.😢
I started in construction at 18 yrs old, first boss told me "Treat every job like it's YOUR house. If it ain't good enough for Your home, it ain't FN good enough for their home" and 26 years later I still tell people that. I'm now solely working for someone with a large property with multiple Hi end buildings, basically his personal Carpenter. Myself and apprentice spent months grading and shaping the subgrade on this property just the way he wanted. Then he tried to order sod and a seed drill. Homeowners know more than we do. He was just a LITTLE annoyed After explaining we now need 4"- 6" top soil minimum. Over 300 000 sq feet of seeded grass and just under 30 000 sq feet of sod placed around the house in 2ft by 4ft slabs which the owner and one of his investors helped us place for one day. Owner and investor both showed up and made jokes "Make sure the green side goes up" I replied "Ya and there are no free meals around here. Lose the phones lose the shirts the sods over there" and the did. Both wearing business clothes got down in the dirt with us. My helper asked me "Who the F is this guy" I laughed and told him you will never in your life every see a multi millionaire and Billionaire doing manual labour every again. Everyone got bad sun burn that day. hahaha
I'm so glad you cleared up "mass homebuilder vs custom homebuilders"
"builders here install the sod on closing day, so they dont have to water it, dies the next week!! but looks good on sale day!
well .. Grass can dry up to become yellow all the way trough .. but it will never die .. the second a mist is applyed .. then it will start growing again
That line set on that ac unit is just despicable. I couldn’t imagine being so lazy that you can’t even face the valves towards the house and add some nice bends... we do installs for a home builder and I’ll always leave my best work because my name is on the work and the home owner deserves what they pay for.
Good on you sir. I always say I don’t care if you’re making sandwiches at subway for minimum wage, you take pride in your work and make the best damn sandwich possible.
I went gack to look at the A. C and you are spot on correct. Real so called in my day "shoemaker work". I was mexmerized looking at the leaders that aren't diverted under the side yard and front side walk.
To see that AC, it’s right around 2:50 in this video and runs for several seconds after that.
Amen, always put your best foot forward in your work.
They hire the cheapest bid only way the company can afford it is to do bulk and pay lower pay bringing less quality
I'm glad I found this video. My friends had a house built and asked the builder to preserve as many of the trees on the lot as possible. Over the past 3 or 4 years, I've been out there cutting down so many oak trees that looked perfectly healthy when they moved in and have died off since then. I know the guy who did the dirt work on the place didn't stay out of the drip line of all of the oak trees, because he shaved bark off of several of them either with his bucket or his tracks. You've explained why I've gotten so much free firewood over the past few years. Thank you!
After 31 yrs of trimming/ removing trees, you would be surprised at how many " keeper" trees, have had to come down.
Would be glad to share this. I was 22 and my wife and I had a 2 year old daughter. We wanted our own home to raise her so we went to a builder, Port St. Lucie Properties. They told us to go find a lot which we did and your right we loved the trees. I was recovering from a serious car accident and was on a walker. The builder told us to mark the tree's we wanted to keep. Struggle as I did keeping in mind where the house was going to be I put a day glow pink ribbon on the tree's we wanted to keep as instructed. The next time I went to the lot all the tree's were gone completely. Being young without much knowledge of my rights we patiently waited for the house to be built and finished. We were told they would sod the entire yard but that's not what they did. Cheep red ant ridden bahia grass in the front up to the back of the house and nothing in the now barren backyard. Well we needed to get in the house so we let it go and time moved on. Now as we all know in Florida we have a rainy season that it rains heavy coming down in buckets like clock work daily. Well, one day my daughter now 3 and I walked out back for her to play and me to get ideas on what to do about the barren back yard. My daughter came to me to pick her up and the ground under my feet let go. They buried all the tree's out there and the rain washed the dirt out from around them under ground. I held my daughter over my head as I went down so she was ok but I sprained my ankle between two of the buried tree's. I went to the builders office ready to kill but they assured me they would fix it which they did. Funny looking back now, if my daughter had gone down which was at least 3 to 4 feet deep how in the hell would they have fixed my daughter if she had gotten in there and smothered by a cave in at 3? I was there believe me when they dug up the tree's but then said we have to charge you for fill. I went again to their office ready to kill and told them they will do this at their own expense as the lot was way higher in the back and they took all that dirt out. The adjoined lot's on either side were at least 3' higher that's how much dirt they removed. The measurements for that backyard was at least 60' x 80' x 3' deep, that's a lot of missing dirt. They did just that fix it at no charge, but in my opinion, those type of builders SUCK!
Im from there i can confirm port st lucie is shady all around, but colorado is worse. How do you sell a small to med home in a bad area for 160k with NO ELECTRIC PANEL. Also ac isnt required here just heat.
Builders/ developers/ contractors around here, in Jacksonville, N.C. pull some dumb stuff too. They have even built on one of the dump sites for that last, extra home. Fill dirt covers all mistakes. 😆
It's the same across the country. I'm up in CT...worked in landscaping for 10 years...I can't count the number of 10, 20, 30 year houses with collapsing front, back or both yards because so many builders buried the stumps and other waste and took the good fire wood off the lots. Yeah, we got a good bit of business extracting the garbage from the sinking lawns, filling, grading and seeding but it was always frustrating because some of those builders were still around, doing the same crap years later and there seemed to be no controls over it through local building departments, inspectors etc. The other "dirty" little secret...no secret on this channel...was stripping the rich New England top soil, carting it off and selling it and leaving barely anything that could grow the crap "contractor's mix" of junk seed they would throw down. I'll never understand the idea of the biggest purchase of most people's lives, a home, having little or no "warranty" in any sense. So many problems take time to show themselves. Once the builder leaves the site, it's all the owner's problem.
If you were smart enough to have a baby at 22, you should’ve been smart enough to not get fucked over. Should’ve stayed living with mommy and daddy
@@apex107lrp Sounds like those builders are major POSes, if you own the lot what gives them the right to come in like the British Empire and strip it of what little valuable resources are there before actually doing what they were paid to do? Stripping the top soil away because it is valuable, cutting down and taking the trees that had decent wood, it's not their property to be doing that garbage. I'm 20 and haven't bought a home, I had no idea this mess was going on but I am not surprised, just more shitty businesses allowed to run rampant as usual in the US. Maybe I got it wrong, I don't know. But even if the builders do own the lots, that kind of crud is still uncalled for when they're supposed to be working for the CUSTOMER not themselves.
Love the downspout on the sidewalk too, That way you can trip on it and have an ice skating rink in the winter too!
No doubt! How can people be so dumb?
I noticed that as well. I can't see how that's legal.
The sidewalk sub put in the sidewalk and only cared about that piece. The gutter sub put in the gutters and only cared about meeting those specs. They should sub out the landscaping and have the landscaper do the sidewalk and include the gutters in a drainage plan.
4:50. As a custom home builder I appreciate the clarification.
That gutter emptying onto the sidewalk is absolutely ridiculous. Stuff like that is a huge red flag for me.
Right so shitty
That is a temporary piece of downspout so heavy storms (water/rain) will not erode all the dirt there inside the walk area. Mulch or turf stops that, then the piece is removed and a splash block is usually installed.
@@richardbeanii6662 The right way to do it is to go into a subgrade drain and get the water to a low area or the sewer.
New construction with downspouts all over is just a lazy way to save money on some PVC.
Most gutter companies don't deal with underground drains. If the builder had the gutters installed, it's their fault. If the homeowner had them installed, the drains would have just been more money. Putting that extension onto the sidewalk will keep the dirt from eroding until they sort out the landscaping in that area. Looks like the dirt was washing away so the owner probably had gutters installed for that reason.
They could have put one more elbow and at least had it dump onto the driveway. The extension could be hidden a bit by some small plants/bushes. Would still save a lot on underground drains.
I was a landscaper/gardener for15 years. When we bought our brand new house the builder had 4-6 inches of triple mix spread over the entire property. I had to cut the grass twice a week to keep up with it!
In Georgia most home building companies will pop up for the duration of a single project then go "bankrupt" once the last house is built. This makes it impossible to address any issues with construction or landscaping.
Seems like a scam.
The things they do here in Georgia🥵🥵🥵
Mass builder here
1. Communities built on engineered grading plans
2. Black dirt is NOT used
3. Quality Bermuda sod installed (alabama)
4. Proper irrigation installed
5. Construction debris and rocks removed from lot
6. Downspouts piped away from potential drainage issue areas
7. Detailed pre construction lot walk with customer to eliminate surprises
This eliminates 99% of issues and the 1% is handled with exceptional warranty service.
Don't you want black dirt?
You should do a video on stuff to look out for on brand new homes.
Great suggestion Ashish, thank you !
Yes he should it's all trash..
Not all but can be a very big difference from one build to the next. Here's some examples pointed out on another channel...
ua-cam.com/video/zRy1AZYrUE8/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/uTVeDKK0cDA/v-deo.html
There are examples of very well build homes but you really have to do your research to be sure.
Ashish Patel trouble with that comment is, where to start?, but one good tip I’ll give you, if your employing a builder to do works, put in the contract a secondary building inspector will independently check the build in stages, it’ll probably piss them off, but a great test to be held accountable. Also a list of contractors used and named on the building contract. In short, our builder left us with $70k extra in works afterwards. From landscaping to concrete floors not slopes properly, and timber flooring done by Builder’s family with minimal experience. All made aware after the handover..... there excuses to Fairtrading inspectors, it’s too the minimum requirement of the building code! Go figure. I personally love what this guy does on UA-cam... wakes up a lot of issues... here’s one more issue, if your builder doesn’t screw you over, his buddy the certifiers, can be useless and cause you just as much grief... here we can do background checks on some Builder’s, but we as a family here, have never used him again, and that calculated to atleast 2 homes a year in the past.
Number one, is drainage, number two is adequate usable topsoil for future planting.
I've been working on the yard for our house for three years now, have moved many tons of rocks, clay, and garbage (we live in the Black Belt in Central Alabama)...the only way to ensure plant survival is to plant high, and make oversize tree-holes, with gravel in the bottoms and air-tubes, the way the Israelis have been doing for years.
It works!
I see all kinds of new houses (built within the past 30 years) where the builder stripped off any topsoil that might have been there, brought in a small amount to spread where the sod was brought in, and planted the wrong kinds of trees and shrubs in small, shallow holes, then RAN like hell.
Takes WAY too much water to keep things alive (fortunately we get a lot of rain here, SOMETIMES), and is a NIGHTMARE for anyone who wants a beautiful, USABLE yard...
When you buy a cookie cutter house, the yard is the LEAST of your worries.
Benny McKeon Damn straight
I tend to agree, but it's the first problem you'll see.
Brian Ruff I agree, for those that are knowledgeable about all aspects of home building. But less than honest builders take advantage of the customer and their lack of knowledge on the topic. Truly a buyers beware market.
Good to see some practical perspective
I refused to build homes on slabs and spec homes.
A HUGE mistake that I see is inside the house when builders are tiling showers.. Tubs come with a lip for a reason when they are installed for tiles to overlap and create a water barrier..
builders will use caulking to fill this joint which leads to black mold within a few years from water that gets trapped behind the tiles... Just the edge surrounding the tub at the bottom of the tiled wall should NOT be caulked... caulking only lasts a few years before it begins to shrink.... and most homeowners are completely oblivious to this...
Back in 1983/1984 we had a home built when we relocated to Maryland and our experience was that we found out too late (when we began landscape bush/tree installation) that our lot had evidently been used at some point as a debris dumping ground and when we dug holes for planting we dug up broken glass, cans and bottles, etc, etc and that haunted us until we moved to Pennsylvania four years later…I wish I could have dealt properly with that builder but we moved every few years and never did get satisfaction.
When I was young, my mom and I unearthed a 20 foot long by 4 foot wide by 2 foot deep piece of concrete that the builder left in her back yard and just covered with dirt. Thankfully we got them to come back out and remove that for us at no cost but wow, what an amazing cut corner!
Huh, sounds like it could have been a good shed foundation if they poured it higher. Probably mismeasured locations when pouring the foundation.
@@absalomdraconis Exactly waht it was. And that was just the part they couldn't remove. Or it was a retaining wall of some sort.
There's a third option Stan. Soak the clay over several days, use a mechanical aerator that will pull 2 1/2 " plugs, totally Swiss cheese the yard, then have your local Pneumatic Seed /dirt Blower guy blow in fine aged compost to fill the holes and reseed. Not a perfect solution but will fit in budgets that total R&R jobs won't.
Thanks for the tip Mark!
Your statement about back-yard retaining walls separating the yard you use from the yard you think you'll use (but don't) is spot-on and incredibly important. (I lived it and paid for it.)
Thanks for your feedback John 👍
Very true. I don't know where I heard it 5years ago but I planned my whole backyard for that dead space. I stuck to my guns to minimize it. A couple quotes I got wanted to split my little yard in half and make it useless for kids to safely run around in.
I had a similar experience to JJ and it started when we moved in to a new house in the suburbs. The yard had already been sided so we were not sure what was underneath and we decided to buy the home anyway. Well, within 2 years the grass gradually died out and we had to slowly add black dirt over top of the grass and seed it. After that we wanted to add a patio and flower beds all around the house so we imported 3 truckloads of black dirt and removed large amounts of clay by wheel barrow. Today I'd be willing to bet we have the nicest flowerbeds and landscaping in the nieghborhood. We did all the work ourselves and since then avoid hiring contractors when possible due to this experience
As a fellow construction worker, i respect you.
(Sees Goku and Kratos on your wall) Ok now i adore you.
We install septics and do rough/finish grade. 99% of our business is with custom home builders, and we have seen this before. We have cut off multiple builders because we don’t believe the way they skimp on the small stuff is morally sound. The builders we do most of our work with will spend the extra money and do it right the first time, and we will be on those builders sites on a moments notice because we appreciate their honesty and willingness to do it right. Home builders can skimp and as a business owner it is our job to find the “good ones” and stick with em. Cheers.
We are looking to have a septic put in - do you service clay county?
@@susanyoung211 Sadly we do not, we are out of the Lexington area and that’s a little too far for us. Contact your local health department and ask them for a list of installers. Also ask them if they can give you the number of septic install permits pulled for last year, that will typically be a good indicator as to which installers do the best work!
@@maxtonlippert7752 thank you so much for your reply and advice!!
@@susanyoung211 No problem! If you ever move closer to Lexington and need septic/utility/grade work, give me a shout!
Kudos. Unfortunately there are others who are either ignorant or just as unscrupulous that will work w/those builders.
I also love the downspouts. Talk about erosion on the side as well as damage to the concrete walkway on the front.
Also, skip the sod and grow clover if your HOA allows it. More drought resistant, looks great, and feed bees and other pollinators.
Grass is probably better for the kids to play on, though.
You'll slip, fall and break a leg on clover.
I don't believe clover will work on clay soils. I seeded clover over any area stripped of top soil during construction (for temporary erosion control until topsoil is restored.). It never really sprouted much. the weeds & grass seeds in the straw came up better.
I'm a framing engineer in the residential field and have walked many homes. This is 100% true even for the biggest builders.
This is why I always love old houses.nothing beats the old house architecture,intricate details,hardwood etc.
Ultimately the Municipality should know that the "retainer" detail is not sufficient at all. The sod issue is a separate issue.
Same thing happened to me. Laid sod straight on clay. Extreme thatching, Compost/ soil mix, seed, and water. Best looking lawn in the neighborhood.
Side note: covid took my job and now I’m landscaping full time and I love it. Thanks for the videos. They help a lot.
Been through this with a new development home.
Sub put down sod over red clay/rock in the front and back yard. I did your option 2 and over two seasons it looked just okay. Did better after the irrigation system was installed. I was shocked to see the huge rocks pulled up when they trenched for the irrigation system.
The builder left two tall, leaning, ugly pine trees in the rear yard. Supposedly the trees were tagged to be saved by a local conservation group. One weekend the pines vanished, with the help of a tree service. My neighbor thanked me, never heard a word from the builder or tree huggers.
Hmmmm...sounds like a good excuse to cut 2 trees
This is exactly why i HATE subdivisions this and hoa's
Truth!
Anybody remember that old song... little houses, built of ticky-tacky, and they all look just the same...
@@bamahama707 yea from weeds
I purchased a tract home in California/builder-grade materials throughout the home and no black dirt used under sod in front yard and back yard no black dirt or sod, hard clay and construction debris all over! No HOA thank you very much! I hate HOA'S, it's almost like being in school again, teacher can I please go to the bathroom!😡
@@jamesd.coombssr.2528 Yuk..... California
My dad had his house built in 2000 in 2010 we found that when they installed our basement they never removed the insulation along the wall to help drain the water from the basement when it rains and like in this video you mention that dry dirt they put down as the "base" for the fake grass. I realize now that this is literally our entire backyard is just this chalky dusty sand and no grass can grow on it. The garden my step-mom attempted to make did not go well either. You know better you do better thank for the information.
I own a landscapping company I do 200 houses a week and 95 percent of these cookie cutter houses built by homebuilders the sod is on top of red clay and it's so muddy and soupy under it the yard gets rutted up btly mowers and just walking it looks dry but when you go to mow you will sink and their driveway and sidewalk looks terrible from it I'm glad someone else is educating ppl on this
There is a home builder here in Maine that is so bad that the town I live in has banned him from building anything within city limits.
Had my house custom built. The builder told us on the front-end that they don't do the landscaping (we were okay with that). Gave us a few companies that could do our yard.. they did it right 👍
Glad to hear it worked out for you Randy, thanks for watching!
Good on them, how it should be done. That goes the same for the driveways.
Same here...been doing the landscape mostly myself diy style...it’s hard work but very gratifying! Most importantly my wife loves it.
A follow up on what this looks like today would be cool
Stanley, what did this guy decide to do?
Builders aren't the only ones. Had a project to cut sod off part of a yard so the homeowner could plant a flower garden. I was going along the fence and watching the blade when I saw a cable line just under the sod! I stopped and moved the machine and finished the job. I owner was impatient and wanted to get it done, so I did the job before the Utility locate. DUMB ME. Come to find out it was a dead line, but when I was talking to a cable guy, he said some of the cable & phone installers will pull the fresh sod back, lay the lines and put the sod back.
Totally enjoy and appreciate you and your guys taking the extra time to do it right the first time.
I have never seen anyone address this. BRAVO! I am newly retired having run a landscape build and maintenance company for 30 years. I can’t count the number of time I have looked at sod and garden that was improperly installed. The plants are sick, the sod is dead. I watched 13 houses built and ‘yards’ installed incorrectly right across the street from my own home. The did not put in hardly any compost for the garden beds or three way soil mix for the sod. Later when the houses sold the new home owners would eventually ring my door bell and ask for help. In most circumstances I had them remove all of the sod and start at the beginning with proper soils. It is also important to mention that almost every plant was wrong. The contractors know NOTHING about horticulture so they planted two Birch trees (40 to 50 feet tall, messy and with a tough root system) right at the front door, English Laurels (20 feet tall, needing yearly shearing) and ferns in full blazing sun. I wouldn’t hire a plumber to do my electrical work so why do we tolerate hiring a builder to install the right plants, in the right place. In all cases of the 13 homes the gardens were a 100% fail. If you are buying a new house, bargain with them to hire a real horticulturalist. They are cheating you.
I've never built a home but I've had a large in ground pool installed. I must say that experience took two years off of my life just because the contractor kept trying to cut corners and just overall providing shoddy work. Here are a few things I learned:
1. Modify the contract to fit your project. Find a lawyer that will write up a contract for you, be reasonable with your expectations and have the contractor sign off on the new contract. Any contract a contractor presents to you is NOT in your favor.
2. Don't do any handshake deals on modifications or delays. Stick to the contract.
3.Don't pay until you are 100% happy with the project. Once you pay the contractor you'll never hear from them again.
4. Generally if a contractor can "get right on it" right away. Most respectable contractors are minimum 4-6 weeks before they can start your project.
I know contracting is a difficult business to earn a living but don't let them take advantage of you. There are plenty of good honest ones out there trying to make an honest living but the bad one ruin it for them. Do your research before signing a contract.
That siding is an issue going to have buckling in a year. Looks like they over drove the nails by the way its laying. Need a gap between head and wood for expansion and contraction.
That's probably Hardy board
Makes it excellent. For repair $$$. Easier $300 you can make is replacing a few sheets of vinyl siding lol.
I have built 4 of my own houses, only contracting out what I didn't know what to do.
As time went on Labouring for builders, plumbers etc, I learnt more and probably overdone most of my work.
The thing is you have more time to compact, choose good materials and methods and build it as if it's your home for life.
Having said that, I would be happy living in a rustic shed and not worry about the material things in life.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
I live in a rustic shed, with a wonderful garden around it all, near the ocean.
I've done the same thing. When I put floor joists 12" on center then covered sturdy floor T&G with 1/2 inch plywood the contractor tried to substitute 3/4 osb shimmed up. I told him to look at the plans. He said nobody builds like that.... I do. I didn't want my tile work cracking.
We never cut corners at A Zen Haus! We view our homes as works of art and structures that will be loved for generations. Great video as I complain about this all the time!
I live in Central Florida, and purchased a new construction home in 2019. After, regrading my backyard, I found several lunch bags and plastic bottles that were just covered over will sod. Anywhere big home builders can save or cut a corner... they will!!! Anywhere!
As an arborist, I thank you for talking about trees and construction. It's a big problem that contractors, and sadly, landscape guys don't know.
P.S rock gardens under trees at the base is terrible!
You're welcome and thanks for watching!
As a arborist as well this is amazing!!!!!! Thank you!!! Soil compacting is a huge issue!
The property I live on never had black dirt. It's all clay. I've been fighting it for the two years I've lived here. I plan to do the laborious version of fixing it, by bringing in thin layers of black dirt mixed with compost. Thatch and aerate first, then top dress with dirt, then over seed. Hopefully it works.. Great video!! Keep em coming!
Cover the area you want treated with a good layer of gypsum about 25 pounds per 4-5 square foot, then cover this layer with as much 100% compost or organic material as you can (I get rotted horse manure from a nearby stud). Once this has been done use a heavy duty rotavator to mix the clay soil gypsum and compost together. If its really bad tamp it down let it settle for 6 months and repeat with just the organic material again. Once your happy cover with your black dirt (topsoil) then seed or roll out your lawn. The goal is to get as much organic material mixed in with the clay. An added benefit is this will also attract earth worms which should help with keeping the soil in peak condition. Don't do this when the clay is dry and hard as bricks nor do it when its soaking wet.
For upkeep every few years I'll cover the lawn in a thin layer of organic dirt, plus I also use my mower in mulch mode. This leaves the lawn clippings on the lawn again adding more organic material to your soil.
And a lot of sand.
Great video! My house is 10 years old and I'm digging a trench to fix a drainage issue because the contactor cut corners.
Once I pulled the sod out, there was just rocks. I've got a more rocks under my yard then soil 🤣
The home I bought had a sidewalk that made it impossible for rainwater to flow out to the street from part of my and my neighbor's yards and roofs. Water would pool and make a mud pit between our houses, and water would flow back towards my house's foundation. There was also about 6" of large decorative gravel that was poured next to the sidewalk to blend the raised sidewalk with the surrounding soil levels. Whoever poured the sidewalk didn't bother to regrade. When I broke the sidewalk out (only about 3" of concrete), there was about 6" of hard clay, and I found an old sidewalk buried under that. Home builders aren't the only ones who cut corners. The previous homeowners probably didn't know they got screwed until their basement flooded and they had to install a sump pump in a basement window well on that side of the house.
I helped my parents till their backyard. We removed all of the existing grass and put down a mixture of 50/50 topsoil & peat. Then, we added the sod. It did very well and by the time they had sold their home years later, their lawn was still beautiful. It was hard work, but so worth it.
nothing says lovin like that downspout location!
michael ouch! I thought that looked odd too.
That's another BIG problem--adequate drainage!
LOL, yep, that should have been run to the street.
@@MW-gh1mo - the contractor should have piped it into the basement and made the indoor swimming pool claim!
Jimmy Scott
It looks worse than “odd”. It’s totally screwed up.
In general around here if you don't visit your purchased house site while being built you can basically expect them to sod over bricks, garbage, all types of stuff.
Here in Phoenix they've got it down to 26 days to throw up a 4,000 sqft stick house and people buy them like hot cakes
This video reminds me of our house building experience. Young buyers, very excited to have a house built and didn't know enough to look at the landscaping details. Landscaping is always last in a build, and so the builder, having already laid out a lot of expense and been paid from the construction loan, isn't very motivated to do a good job on the landscaping. So we opted to hire our own guy. The spec was to grade the lot. He did, but it was a poor job, with peaks and valleys. He was then supposed to lay down 2 inches of screened loam. When done, I'd say there as a half inch of loam. On closer inspection, the loam was full of broken glass and stones. Not screened by my expectation. Argue until blue in the face because it's either take what we have or he leaves (with our deposit). Being sick of mud and admitting we're no landscapers and seeing the other houses he was doing getting the same treatment, we opted to continue. Sod was installed and looked great. Then, the sins of the job were dealt with for years. Incessant and expensive watering, easily burned grass in the summer, sorting through stones and debris for years as they worked their way to the surface. A lesson learned, along with many more during the build. In the end, we lived there for 20 years, enjoyed it and loved the house and neighborhood, but it cost a lot of money to fix the wrongs that a more experienced home owner may have avoided.
This is why I built my own home. It was more work upfront but saves me tons of time in the future because I know my work and I did it right the first time👍
Those downspouts were making me crazy. It has to be incredibly frustrating to buy a home, and then spend a few more 10 of thousands of dollars to make it useable.
Also Stan,Avoid pruning oak trees during the active growing months of April through June. The chance for developing oak wilt from the open pruning wound is a high risk. Prune all oak varieties during the dormant winter months when the internal fluids are not actively moving through the tree👍✌🤠
Thanks for the info 😀
Also when pruning with a saw, start the cut from the bottom and cut from the top to prevent the limb from spliting back leaving a large section exposed.
@@guytech7310 Time stamp 4:08, looks like a round spot of no bark. So it might be to late to keep the oak tree?
Make sure the contractor includes a set of exterior site elevation drawings before you sign the contract
And promises in writing to give you finished elevations that match or exceed those plans.
@@bamahama707 Most home owners won't even think about it or know how to read it.
@@JoshWeaverRC All they are thinking about is the inside of the house, new furniture and new TV room. They have no idea what a punchout list is and what to look for. They never saw the guys pissing on the floors while construction was going on. I have no idea why a lot of people want a brand new box on unimproved land.
@@JoshWeaverRC All they are thinking about is the inside of the house, new furniture and new TV room. They have no idea what a punchout list is and what to look for. They never saw the guys pissing on the floors while construction was going on. I have no idea why a lot of people want a brand new box on unimproved land.
@@alwaysopen7970 Agree. There is no easy answer. So many corners they can cut.
As a former worker of a landscaping company, I can confirm that I’ve laid sod down on clay before
This is a lesson that needs taught to everyone. My old man said anyone can stomp an acorn into the ground so why wouldn't you have a tree where you want it to be. They grow faster than you think especially some breeds, and I've seen over and over homeowners 20yrs down the road having to spend a fortune having trees taken down that are endangering the house now that they INSISTED be saved when they built. And people do not understand that you can't put fill around a tree and it survive. Great lessons Stan! Pay attention folks. Another thing pa said is who can lounge or play on a cliff in the back yard! This reminds me of that. Grade it so you can use it! :-)
I did a project for a new home owner and the builder stripped all of the top soil to sell it leaving nothing but clay on what was once farm feild.
In a Lennar home I pulled out McDonald's cups and other lunch garbage out from under a corner of my sod that kept dieing. Glad he headed off the sod guys and called you!
Stan you have nailed it...new subdivisions have at best a skim coat of black dirt then sod or seed....takes 20 some plus yrs before enough humus is built in and that's after slamming the Fert and water to it for that period. I have one customer yard that is just course sand and zero organic....will never amount to anything unless the fert and water is pounded to it and even then if neglected during a hot dry period you start all over.....grass in these parts will not tolerate much over 3 weeks of hot dry zero rain.
I should also add never use dirt from a corn field that has been sprayed with Atrazine.....heard stories of that consequence haha
You’re 1/2 log interior window and door trim is awesome. Had to be a pain to do, but the finished product is one off. I’m also one of those guys that has to have what everyone else doesn’t. Thanks for all the lawn install vids, been a huge help.
I build 12-20’ hydro-turns for wheel loaders. They’re expensive, and heavy, but they put the blue ones to shame. 48 degree angle, 1/4” moldboards. Floats vertically and horizontally. Compression spring trip. Let me know ur email and I’ll send some pics.
I thought I was the only one,👍
I think that everyone who is looking to build or buy a home should watch this video. Very informative thanks.
I don’t know how people can live that close to neighbors lol
Jr Vera, my neighbors to the left and right of me are more like to the bottom left and right of me.
They kill each other eventually...
In my neighborhood you can jump from one roof to the next. Basically just hop from one part of the neighborhood to another.
@@HardcoreDuce or in the right suburbs, end up inside one another quite frequently...
Lmao u call that close ? Where i live at at least 10 feet away from my neighbors and I can literally hear em argu
I run a remodeling company..we don’t build any new homes anymore. The black dirt is the best way. However...
This is a good video on the importance of contracts and the details of what’s happening. Every contractor must be very clear as to the scope of work, every homeowner must understand what’s gonna happen and sign the contract!
Thanks for the comments Steve!
same happened to me pretty much. they were going to put sod down on top of a bunch of rocks pretty much
Bought a new build in Meridian ID 7years ago. My lawn was in by the time I moved in so had no idea the builders process until I watched them ready the back yard next door for sod installation. Only prep was to use a shovel to remove bigger rocks and then laid down the sod.
However, I do have a beautiful lawn thanks to Zamzows lawn program
Hey Stan, A house we bought a while ago was in a planned development but was built by our custom builder (Thank GOD). To make a very long story short, a few months after moving in, our back yard would always flood with around a foot or more of water (even during dry spells). Turns out, during the construction of the huge development my backyard was ground zero for a huge pit searching for buried underground oil/natural gas lines. Even though my contractor did everything correctly the disturbance of the "hard pack" (some 25 feet down) created a "white trash french drain" running the entire length of my backyard. Hence all of the subdivision's "natural" drainage sought out the soft newly disturbed hardpack just above bedrock and sat there. The solution was 2 pumps set in 40 foot by 4 foot wide by 25 foot deep proper french drains that pumped excess drainage water from my back yard to a canal. The project cost around 80k to fix and the cost was absorbed by me/builder and HOA.....
After seeing situations like this, I decided to buy raw land, and do as much as possible, myself. I'm way happier. Plus, when we come up on something unexpected, we deal with it, not someone else
You need to be there every day watching.
I had workers explode when I called out their shortcuts and get in my face. They try to intimidate and lie constantly. It's a game to them.
Yep, the first landscaper I worked for did a lot of builder jobs. 3 to 5 years after buyers had bought beautiful wooded lots, most of their trees were dying from all of the construction traffic. It was such a scam.
It's possible to not screw it up. 30 years ago my neighborhood had been a hardwood farm since 1896. Everyone's backyard has a nice smattering of oak, hickory, a few other hardwoods.
I like that you keep calling the tree a expensive stick
We moved into our home in December of 2016. Our builder laid the sod on rock and compacted clay soil. We have watered like crazy and aerated/overseeded every year. In some of the bare spots, I have found water bottles, cans, clothing and baseball hats. We had a neighbor that decided to rip up their sod and have it done correctly. Their yard is beautiful and they do not have to do the maintenance like us and others in the subdivision are doing.
Thats one of the corners builders cut. typical. sorry to hear it happened to you.
Canadian Guy here. I've been managing garden centers for over 20 years, folks in these new subdivision are constantly complaining about their lawns or lack there of. I had a video of a local ''mega'' builder stripping the top soil out of a subdivision, wish I could find it. I try to explain that to my customers, '' You have a about a 1/2 inch of dirt under your sod then dirty fill under that.'' They are shocked when I recommend pretty much the same thing you mentioned here and then quote a price. Some customers actually tear up.
The outfit I used to operate for did all the Excavating for 3 major home builders I used to dig two to three basements a day in one subdivision and then move to another and another and then come back backfill and the ones that were already built on do finish grading they did the same thing lay sod right on top of clay sand you name it We don't work for those people anymore it was very difficult to get paid and a lot of stress and unneeded headaches
@@theguy9290 the company I worked for had the contracts I was just there main operator and Foreman
Your offshoot on the tree subject reminded me of an arborist who is a fellow UA-camr and has an amazing abundance of tree species knowledge. Arborist Blair Glenn, definitely a good education source for anyone interested!
What drives me crazy is when concrete sidewalks are constructed so close to the house that the landscape beds are too small to put much of anything in. Then, the customer wants you to put big shrubs in 😂
Modern houses look like trash.
nah, what pisses me off is when they do not put 5 feet of concrete all around the house. The amount of water intrusion and weeds, shrubs and trees that people think should be planted right next to said house. Only ends up costing someone a lot of money.
@@kameljoe21 You don't have to put 5' out from the house if you can edit the landscape appropriately. Instead you can have a house on a hill with gently sloping away landscape.
@@hithere7382 nah you are mistaken. Take a drive around and you can see all of the houses that have or will have problems because they do not have large eaves and have flower beds/landscape right next to the house. Take a look at the majority of the older houses and how the landscaping is no longer what it used to be. Landscaping should never be next to the house. To avoid a huge number of problems from insects, roots, water, and anything else that could damage the house.
@@kameljoe21 it doesn't have to be this way though. Not everyone is an ignorant wastrel.
I had a buddy that built a new house on a hill in the country. He was friends with the contractor. When they were ready to put his lawn in, he brought up the fact that it wasn't graded properly, and what was left on the property was part clay, and the rest was sand. He had pretty decent black dirt before, but they had hauled it off. When he brought it up, his contractor hauled back the black dirt that they had originally hauled off and graded it. And they then sent him a bill for the following; 1. Hauling top soil, (his top soil), off of the property. 2. Purchase of top soil. (His original top soil). 3. Hauling and grading the top soil. (His original top soil). 4. Hydro-seeding the property. Let's just say that their friendship took a hit until they worked a few things out there...
I’ve seen these large home builders purchase a farm and strip the top soil and sell it. Then, they have the sod company as your video demonstrates come in and throw the sod on that clay. (Also, in your video) it’s so easy when they are building to put pvc pipe down from the downspouts and proper drain. Look at the down spout cross over the sidewalk instead of being buried underneath and go directly to the street. A couple hundred bucks the builder saves adds to thousands for the homeowner to fix draining issues later on
So I agree with you 100×on big home builders would love to hear your comments on home builders who own excavators I've dug up everything you can image in some of these yards
What's the craziest thing you've dug up?
@@danieltillman3858 1960 ?ford can being used as a septic tank
Van not can
My house is exactly like that. Never thought of the soil, at the time I only cared about the grade. One recommendation I would offer when dealing with mass builders is have a lawyer look over the contract. You are already looking at 200 to 300 grand for a house an extra 1000 will not make difference and gives you a price of mind. Anyway the lawyer caught some things that i would have not even thought about, like selling my financial info. When I walked into the contact review with the builder rep I had two pages of addmendment. One of which covered the grading and who was responsible for water damages. The scary part was the builder rep did not even know what half the contract meant.
I know of 3 homes that blew through sump pumps every other year after new buildings were lived in. The exterior drainage to the tile system/sumps all managed to accumulate foundation gravel and construction debris. Clogged the sumps in less than 5 years all 3 homes....basements flooded :(.
New Home owners were left holding the wet memories of their previous lives (destroyed) by their NEW homes...
New homes on new lots make for new hidden headaches.
Thanks for the input TJ
I agree 100% - we have been doing some sod and seed jobs at a new subdivision here in town. The soil at all of the lots looks identical to what you are showing on this video. I told the salesperson we cannot guarantee anything to grow without adding some decent topsoil to the yard. We are working for the contractor but doing a disservice to the homeowner by not doing a professional job. I have worked with other companies who did work for contractors in the past and it is always the same - they don't care if it is done correctly as long as they do not have to spend much money and help pad their pocket.
This is so true. My builder did hydroseed and basically zero prep. When I moved in it was such a challenge to get it to grow. They didn’t put nice black dirt and buried crazy pieces of metal, and wood. One of the pieces of wood I found was like 6 ft long piece of scrap plywood. It was my first home and I didn’t know! Thanks for the video.
One of my customers build a new home and asked for a quote for sod, a couple days later I get a call asking why it cost so much and I said a lot of it was topsoil. She then said TOPSOIL?? I already have soils in the yard (it was filled with roots and rocks). Long story short she did not listen and got another company to put it down with no soil. Fast forward 2 months she could not find a landscaper to mow it as half the yard was dead and 3/4 was filled with rocks making it not mowable.
Can you make a follow up video on how JJ's back yard turned out after your landscape fixes? Thank you, great advice.
Years of core aerating and topdressing is the only way to fix a “builder-grade” lawn. Dealing with that myself now.
When I moved to San Antonio I had bought a house that wasn't finished yet. They laid sod over crush fill, brick chunks, and all the roofing trash. They just scattered it out across the property then layed sod over it. I found hammers utility knives and other tools buried underneath the grass. I hand-dug my yard and hauled in fresh dirt and reseeded it and it's still to this day the prettiest yard in that neighborhood. I no longer live there though. I learned what you were talking about in this video the hard way lol. The association was using Sheridan homes and KB homes for building the houses
I havent had that specific situation, but I have had customers who weren't grappling with the concept of clearing the brush from their yard and waterfront property until I just pointed across the water and said, "Look at what they are enjoying!" Their property! I didnt take every tree out but, I trimmed all of there trees up to 12 feet so they could see their property and I cleared all the brush all the way up to the waterfront. They loved it.
Fun fact! The builder will haul as many loads of dirt as you want to pay for!
Thats the point he is not really honest here
I agree it’s all about the money. That’s a easy easy job and not difficult to get to.
100% true. You want dirt, then pay for it.
That’s kind of a load of crap, you see the lot you see this beautiful place that has lots of black dirt. Any reputable builder moves the black dirt aside then moves it back.
They do this all the time. They screw you when they don’t let you keep your own black dirt.
Asphalt was not there when they started most likely.
alexlechef2 that’s not the point, there was black dirt there most likely when they started. There’s nothing to haul unless you a shifty lazy builder and don’t know what their doing. Then you don’t save the dirt there and make him buy more.
I guarantee you there was most likely NOT asphalt there when they started. Unless they sold him a dump site.
This is what you get with the cheapest quotes period!!! This goes for all phases of work. New builder contractors are just that
i say just lay down field turf and never have to do yardwork again, lol
feelingtardy that’s great 😃
I bury phone lines and I love people like you. No digging, just roll it back and toss the line under, no worries about aeration or digging a garden.
They are still doing this. Signed contract in Dec 2020 for a new home build. Closed Feb 28th 2022. Grass was horrible. the filler for the ground had seashells in it and they just plopped 3 different kinds of grass on it.
I bought a new build in DFW Texas from Dr Horton and there are chunks of asphalt rocks and clay less than an inch from the sod.. I am so glad I watched this video, because I thought it was just because my area had a lot of clay in the dirt, but I guarantee you they didn't put black dirt down