Power grid challenges in Texas

[Dude#1279435]

That's the issue with them. The need to be better. That's one thing I like about Mike Holmes (if you know who that is). At least in Canada, he's helped establish more specific codes and a lot of other legislation around contracting in general. For a celebrity contractor, the dude is impressive.

I look at minimum code the same way I look at minimum wage. They're both the bare minimum you're legally allowed to do.

I would always something well above code if it were my house/building. Bare minimum isn't good enough. Unless the bar is raised, then it'd be fine.

There's no doubt Holmes is a pro, but his services are only for a specific clientele who have money. There's a reason for a minimum code: cost.

 

[highfigh]

That's the issue with them. The need to be better. That's one thing I like about Mike Holmes (if you know who that is). At least in Canada, he's helped establish more specific codes and a lot of other legislation around contracting in general. For a celebrity contractor, the dude is impressive.

I look at minimum code the same way I look at minimum wage. They're both the bare minimum you're legally allowed to do.

I would always something well above code if it were my house/building. Bare minimum isn't good enough. Unless the bar is raised, then it'd be fine.

Hanging a door shouldn't require a doctorate degree but if someone doesn't know the codes, they shouldn't be working in that field. Project managers exist for this reason- that's their job and if they do it wrong, people can die.

Code compliance to the extreme is very expensive- if someone is building commercially and going way above code but the margin was extremely slim, short cuts are taken. When the money needs to go out but not enough has come in/costs increased unexpectedly and those weren't built into the bid, it's not uncommon for a builder to rob Peter to pay Paul.

 

[highfigh]

There's no doubt Holmes is a pro, but his services are only for a specific clientele who have money. There's a reason for a minimum code: cost.

No, the code is really for safety but building to the minimum saves money. OTOH, there's a reason some builders like to work for people with a lot of money- they often don't look at the details as closely as someone who's spending so much on a tight budget.

 

[Dude#1279435]

No, the code is really for safety but building to the minimum saves money. OTOH, there's a reason some builders like to work for people with a lot of money- they often don't look at the details as closely as someone who's spending so much on a tight budget.

The "minimum" code/build in most cases is the most practical because of cost. If in the case of one episode you want to preserve a 100 year-old house because it has an outstanding foundation and you have the money to do so, I have no problem. However, it meant literally gutting the house. The cost to do that is likely the expense of close to a new home. I'd like to fortress my house too, but it's expensive.

 

[highfigh]

The "minimum" code/build in most cases is the most practical because of cost. If in the case of one episode you want to preserve a 100 year-old house because it has an outstanding foundation and you have the money to do so, I have no problem. However, it meant literally gutting the house. The cost to do that is likely the expense of close to a new home. I'd like to fortress my house too, but it's expensive.

Where does a building code EVER mention cost? The amount of material testing that has gone into finding the minimum needed to maintain support is extensive, but builders & contractors (usually plumbing, electrical and HVAC) ignore some of the requirements. The things I have seen in houses that were done after final inspection were bad enough but I have seen some things done before the walls were rocked that likely cost people their jobs. In one house, the electrician ran all of the Romex from the second floor in the same stud cavity as the cable for the lightning suppression- even bundled everything together. One direct lightning strike and the whole thing would have been history. I have also seen where floor joists were hogged out so pipes, wiring and ducts could be run, but the requirements are specific- any holes in a joist must be in the middle third and any time it exceeds that, material must be added, to make up for the loss of stiffness and strength. Allowances for location WRT the distance to the end of the joist can be made, but only if the holes are small.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a house knowing that it was built using lumber from one of the major home building supply stores because their framing materials and sheet goods suck- the moisture content is too high and it's some of the worst crap I have seen and struggled with. Spongy floors in a new house are a good sign that someone screwed up- whether it was intentional or not remained to be seen.

My house was built by idiots and at least one former owner was even worse. I, OTOH, seem to have gone blind when I looked at it before buying.

 

[Irvrobinson]

My house was built by idiots and at least one former owner was even worse. I, OTOH, seem to have gone blind when I looked at it before buying.

I've owned eight homes over the years, and I've come to the conclusion that the only way to get good residential construction is to be your own general contractor and to be at the building site daily. Every home I've owned, including two new spec homes, had several instances of outright stupidity in them. There are some cases where you just have to pick your poison (water pipe materials, siding types, and roofing materials, to name three), but some choices are still wiser than others. Every one of those eight homes had thieves or morons involved in the design or construction.

 

[panteragstk]

I've owned eight homes over the years, and I've come to the conclusion that the only way to get good residential construction is to be your own general contractor and to be at the building site daily. Every home I've owned, including two new spec homes, had several instances of outright stupidity in them. There are some cases where you just have to pick your poison (water pipe materials, siding types, and roofing materials, to name three), but some choices are still wiser than others. Every one of those eight homes had thieves or morons involved in the design or construction.

I'm at one home built and this pretty much sums it up for me too. The things we had to skimp on simply because they didn't offer it or "forgot" to tell us still irritate me, but now I know better.

You aren't the first person to tell me that if you want your home built right you have to basically become the general contractor. The next house I built will be close enough that I'll be able to do just that.

 

[highfigh]

I've owned eight homes over the years, and I've come to the conclusion that the only way to get good residential construction is to be your own general contractor and to be at the building site daily. Every home I've owned, including two new spec homes, had several instances of outright stupidity in them. There are some cases where you just have to pick your poison (water pipe materials, siding types, and roofing materials, to name three), but some choices are still wiser than others. Every one of those eight homes had thieves or morons involved in the design or construction.

"Daily" I would think 'constantly'.

Incompetence is a big part of the construction industry. A friend who worked as an entry level archi in the Green Bay, WI area went to a job site and found an 10' wall that was 8" off of plumb. He called the builder and said it needed to be fixed, but the crew showed up with a chain saw and sledgehammer. He fired them on the spot.

Another friend in the PHX area brought food and water to the crews and his building didn't have many issues.

 

[Pogre]

That's the issue with this and a lot of other things. People simply don't know what to ask for. I know if I had questions the first person I'd ask, aside from my brother in law since he's a plumber, is @Pogre since he can do home inspections. I bet he'd have some interesting things to say about codes.

The home inspection thing didn't work out so I'm pretty rusty with codes. I haven't studied or participated in an inspection for quite a while now. That was a bummer, but I got out and switched gears before things got ugly. Partner turned out to be very unreliable and I picked up on the red flags early into it.

I do have a dog in this fight tho, my mom was without power for days. She lives right in your neck of the woods. I haven't heard from her in a couple days tho so I'm not sure if she's back up and running yet or not.

 

[Gmoney]

Where does a building code EVER mention cost? The amount of material testing that has gone into finding the minimum needed to maintain support is extensive, but builders & contractors (usually plumbing, electrical and HVAC) ignore some of the requirements. The things I have seen in houses that were done after final inspection were bad enough but I have seen some things done before the walls were rocked that likely cost people their jobs. In one house, the electrician ran all of the Romex from the second floor in the same stud cavity as the cable for the lightning suppression- even bundled everything together. One direct lightning strike and the whole thing would have been history. I have also seen where floor joists were hogged out so pipes, wiring and ducts could be run, but the requirements are specific- any holes in a joist must be in the middle third and any time it exceeds that, material must be added, to make up for the loss of stiffness and strength. Allowances for location WRT the distance to the end of the joist can be made, but only if the holes are small.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a house knowing that it was built using lumber from one of the major home building supply stores because their framing materials and sheet goods suck- the moisture content is too high and it's some of the worst crap I have seen and struggled with. Spongy floors in a new house are a good sign that someone screwed up- whether it was intentional or not remained to be seen.

My house was built by idiots and at least one former owner was even worse. I, OTOH, seem to have gone blind when I looked at it before buying.

@highfigh Great info! you sure don't want to buy a home down here in the South or even live in a apartment. There are these setup apartments where they'll have say 4 or 6 apartments and one of them is the setup. Where one poor sucker that happens to live in the setup apartment. The power is switched say you live in apartment #1 and the apartment #3 above you is a two bedroom, well the sucker in #1 is paying the electric bill for #3 and #3 is paying the bill that is for #1. Its done with the water also. When the building was built the electrician wires it after the the meter so no ones knows the better. Heres a even better one I lived in a mobile home park in the mobile home I lived in I discovered that the guy who owned the park had a electric "loop between the box inside that mobile home and the meter. Lived there for 11 months I lived there alone my power bills where never under 280 a month. It was only by chance I forgot to pay my power bill one month and power was cut off. It was a Friday power was cut off well that weekend I noticed two of the other tenets where packing their cars up with foods and they left didn't come back till Tuesday cause Monday I had to go pay the bill to get power back on. Well low and behold here they come back. So I started looking at the feeder lines coming into the mobile home park, well the power came to my poll first than from there it jumped off to two other mobiles home. So I went into the breaker box in the mobile home I was living in and discovered how the landlord was doing it. That f..ker had wired the breaker box from the box in my mobile home ran it to the other two mobile homes, a extra 60 amp breaker. I couldn't move at the time was waiting on funds to move but before, I would turn off every breaker but the one to power the refrigerator i'd leave on. Well my bill was still high for 3 months like umm 180 to 200 bucks. So i dug a little deeper and that f..king landlord had a loop from the power coming into my box but after the feed from the meter ran that power line to the mobile home behind me. Well we had it out when I was giving him the key to the place he goes you still owe me for this months read plus next months rent cause you didn't give me a 30 day notice I looked him in the eyes about a foot from his face and went I'm sure You don't went me to call the city inspector about that lil power loop you got in that breaker box huh? His eyes got as wide as a 50 cent piece. Told him I would catch him out of his element meaning not on his property, that if I could bail myself out of jail I'd whip his a$$ right where he stoop.

 

[Dude#1279435]

Where does a building code EVER mention cost? The amount of material testing that has gone into finding the minimum needed to maintain support is extensive, but builders & contractors (usually plumbing, electrical and HVAC) ignore some of the requirements. The things I have seen in houses that were done after final inspection were bad enough but I have seen some things done before the walls were rocked that likely cost people their jobs. In one house, the electrician ran all of the Romex from the second floor in the same stud cavity as the cable for the lightning suppression- even bundled everything together. One direct lightning strike and the whole thing would have been history. I have also seen where floor joists were hogged out so pipes, wiring and ducts could be run, but the requirements are specific- any holes in a joist must be in the middle third and any time it exceeds that, material must be added, to make up for the loss of stiffness and strength. Allowances for location WRT the distance to the end of the joist can be made, but only if the holes are small.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a house knowing that it was built using lumber from one of the major home building supply stores because their framing materials and sheet goods suck- the moisture content is too high and it's some of the worst crap I have seen and struggled with. Spongy floors in a new house are a good sign that someone screwed up- whether it was intentional or not remained to be seen.

My house was built by idiots and at least one former owner was even worse. I, OTOH, seem to have gone blind when I looked at it before buying.

I meant "build." The service Holmes offers is simply going to be expensive and not a realistic option for the average homeowner. If you do want that than you're better off doing as much of it yourself because I imagine (don't know for certain) "Make It Right" means spending a lot beyond the average, solid enough build. I mean going to a used home and adding a layer of protection over a brick side seems waaaaaay overboard IMO. The brick on that house looked good. Maybe the homeowner gets a special rate since it's televised? I dunno, but as a straight up service it doesn't seem realistic for the average person.

 

[Gmoney]

Why, again, is the US the bad guy WRT pollution?

Texas freeze led to release of air pollutants as refineries shut in. 337,000 lbs pollutants of benzene ,suffer dioxide
Articles on: Reuters. Before anyone screams climate change, back in 1899 anticyclone hit the East coast and the midwest with -20 f. sooo.

 

[highfigh]

Texas freeze led to release of air pollutants as refineries shut in. 337,000 lbs pollutants of benzene ,suffer dioxide
Articles on: Reuters. Before anyone screams climate change, back in 1899 anticyclone hit the East coast and the midwest with -20 f. sooo.

That anti-cyclone affected far fewer people than if it had happened now, especially if the US population at the time is considered. According to US Census records, the population in 1900 was about 76 million, less than the current population of California, New York State and Virginia (#12 on the list). Construction practices would make survival much easier IF people still knew how to make a place warmer without the benefit of the utilities.

 

[panteragstk]

The home inspection thing didn't work out so I'm pretty rusty with codes. I haven't studied or participated in an inspection for quite a while now. That was a bummer, but I got out and switched gears before things got ugly. Partner turned out to be very unreliable and I picked up on the red flags early into it.

I do have a dog in this fight tho, my mom was without power for days. She lives right in your neck of the woods. I haven't heard from her in a couple days tho so I'm not sure if she's back up and running yet or not.

Ah, I had forgotten about all that. I did know you had family out here. I think the majority of San Antonio has power and water, but I'm not sure how reliable it is. I'm lucky in that we have both and the boil water notice is over. So, all back to normal now. 75F right now. Crazy how our temperature swings are.

Hope you're mom's all good.

 

[Gmoney]

Heres a good read on that Texas power failure explains a lot of who's to blame

Article: The New York Times:
"Texas Power Run by ERCOT Set Up by State for Disaster"

How Texas’ Drive for Energy Independence Set It Up for Disaster (Published 2021)

Texas has refused to join interstate electrical grids and railed against energy regulation. Now it’s having to answer to millions of residents who were left without power in last week’s snowstorm.

www.nytimes.com

 

[panteragstk]

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Abbott-calls-on-Texas-energy-to-winterize-15962930.php

https://www.newsweek.com/dallas-county-judge-says-gov-abbott-consciously-chose-regulations-that-led-power-crisis-1570289

 

[cpp]

you sure don't want to buy a home down here in the South or even live in a apartment.

Well I guess it all depends on where it is and who built it the home. I've lived in the South, Franklin TN, Lexingtron SC and central Fla and actually have never had a dud, of course I never lived in a trailer either. But regarding apartments, Orlando has thousands of them and they continue to go up in weeks,. Actually never lived in an apartment either. So buying a home in the south, or the east, up north, or out west all depends on the homework you do, get the right inspections and get everything in writing before you write a check., but there is some crap all over the county as far as building goes.

 

[panteragstk]

Well I guess it all depends on where it is and who built it the home. I've lived in the South, Franklin TN, Lexingtron SC and central Fla and actually have never had a dud, of course I never lived in a trailer either. But regarding apartments, Orlando has thousands of them and they continue to go up in weeks,. Actually never lived in an apartment either. So buying a home in the south, or the east, up north, or out west all depends on the homework you do, get the right inspections and get everything in writing before you write a check., but there is some crap all over the county as far as building goes.

I knew all this too, but when I started building and couldn't go on my own to do inspections of my own house, I just sorta had to trust them. Now, I'd be a GC as @Irvrobinson said. I don't trust people to do their job properly. I know that's not everyone, but I've had enough "WTF did they do that for?" moments that I'll just help make sure I won't get surprised.

 

[cpp]

I knew all this too, but when I started building and couldn't go on my own to do inspections of my own house, I just sorta had to trust them. Now, I'd be a GC as @Irvrobinson said. I don't trust people to do their job properly. I know that's not everyone, but I've had enough "WTF did they do that for?" moments that I'll just help make sure I won't get surprised.

I do know what you are talking about, in my case I was on the site about everyday, but my neighbor built this big old home 4 houses down and to this day 3 years later they still have roof issues. PS they live in Buffalo NY and only made 2 trips a year down to see the house while under construction, they trusted the builder and have had nothing but water leakage issues from their observation deck looking out over the ocean. Its unknown how much is code correct vs how much the builder skirted the requirements. Sad for a $$$$ home. Trust nobody when there is money changing hands.

 

[panteragstk]