Watch out for these building practices before buying your next home!! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sLipZKSLvti5dWw.html

Oh man. That flashing above the window.... While installing a deck ledger, I pulled some siding off my house...and discovered a new project for that day: fixing water damage that could have been prevented by that stick of flashing. Side note: thank you for keeping your videos clean and insightful.

Would love it if you guys did a series starting from the foundation, then framing, windows, electric, plumbing, HVAC. I’m not a builder or anything like that, but have a dream of having a house built for me. I’ve learned a ton from you guys.

I oversaw the building of my first house with a huge national builder. I’m not an expert but much more knowledgeable than the average buyer. There were a few egregious errors midway through that I caught and they promptly fixed. I visited the site from prior to site prep to finished home at least four times a week. I’ve been in it two years and honestly have been beyond happy, considering the price I paid. Biggest defects were two nail pops and a single cracked tile hidden behind a toilet, all due to settling. Not even a single drywall crack. Lots of cheaply done stuff, for sure, but I feel I got my monies worth and then some. I even made some money selling all the builder grade fixtures and fans when I replaced them with my own. I’d do it all again, but under a watchful eye.

Good job, Jordan. Very valuable information. Keep doing it!

Excellent! All home buyers need to watch these two videos! An educated buyer is the only way to change how large spec homes are built.

Thank you for giving the average homeowner a heads up on building science. Much appreciated.

I've subbed bro! You've earned it, I just got into plumbing this year and can't wait to learn more

I love how you make the point that good building practices don't cost significantly more in materials, it's about whether builders care about the customer or the bottom line. I think the project manager can play a huge role as well, that PM needs a raise or to start his own company!

Great informative video and the content will help everyone building or buying a home. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and please keep these great videos coming!!

Oh my God!! Perfect timing for all the information you provided, and so much appreciated. I wrote it all down to discuss with my builder, liked and subscribed your channel, very informative. Thank you sir!!

Great video Jordan. Really enjoyed this two part series

Good video dude! I just built a spec home in buckeye Arizona and they actually hit all of these points spot-on, believe me I was there 3 days a week while it was happening haha.

Great info!!! Thank you and keep it up

As a UK builder I have to smile when you talk about durability on what is really just a wooden shed. It's no wonder they blow away.

Great video! Thank you for taking the time 👍🏻

KZfaq rolled me from your 'Is This Even Legal' video to this similar style home by a different builder. Great seeing the differences between the two builds.

Glue on the cross bracing.. I am going to do that even though I am remodeling an old brick house with stud walls on the inside. Glue and screws are king!

THIS is what is needed to help educate people on modern mass-production builder practices. If no one complains about it (since they don't know) nothing will change. It is not okay to build a home like in Part I. Unfortunately they don't do full OSB or plywood sheathing in AZ, but at least they do it partially in corners and engineer designated areas. You'll see some builders using the bare minimum with maybe 20% of the house sheathed then using (tiny) cross metal braces, but some builders sheath about 40-50% of the house. Toll Brothers is the only one I've seen currently doing 100% OSB sheathed, and those homes start around 650-700k. There are plenty of other 600k new homes though that do partial sheathing. Thanks for putting this video up Jordan, I almost bought a new house this year and had spent a lot of time trying to find information like this.

Good comments Jordan. I watched a builder switch his exterior sheathing when COVID started but never dropped the home price!

Always comes back to doing the details correctly.

dude, you are on the right track..

So much knowledge for a youngster. Well done.

Very well said; Jordan!

Here in BC Canada, we back dam the window as well as use horseshoe shims elevating the bottom of the window 1/-1/4" giving any water any area to escape. Also, we flash the window and trim and carry it past the edge of the window and end dam the flashing to give the water only one place to go, out

Great honest video, thanks for sharing!

Hey Jordan. You and Matt Have been are the front of house innovations with construction and building products. With all the new products, could you guys do an updated version of a bomber best practice window install? You guys have talked about it but have not done one in a real long time. This would be much appreciated and I cant't talk for all your viewers, but I can see an updated full window install to a liking.

These are great and informative videos! Thanks!!

Awesome video! I work in construction and I have never heard of houses being built this well.

13 years ago we paid extra to have TechShield radiant decking and Tyvek house wrap. Our attic does not get as hot as the neighbors. Oh, and when I go look at new homes I always crawl into the attic to check for radiant. No brainer to put it in all homes here in North Texas.

If you r a smart home owner get involved in what materials are being used, if you are clueless, pay someone to look at it for you.

I honestly didn't know they would even build a house without basic osb or ply sheathing. That's insanity.

Jordan, can we see how you deal with air sealing/waterproofing external additions like when the service company installs the meter. What's the best way to deal with the screw penetrations when this is added. As an example, my neighbor had an electrician run conduit on the outside of their house for a mini split and I watched as he drove screws right though the siding and drilled a big hole for the conduit to run inside. This all done after the house was complete. Are there products out there to help deal with the "afterthoughts." Also, when are we going to get back to some steel work and welding like when you originally started? I need a fix!

GREAT VIDEO!!!! 👍

Jordan, preach it. Cover why Retro Vinyl window leak & cracks. Leaving old window frame & no proper drainage escape other than between the old & new vinyl flange. That's water damage you see years after installation.

Thanks Big Homie 👍

The little details can make a big difference like putting a 2x10 or 2x12 in the wall between the studs where you plan to mount a tv or in the bathroom where you want to mount grab bars so after the drywall and you go to install you hit wood 100% of the time and skip the drywall anchors.

Great Video Jordan, yes it is a cold water heater, who heats hot water? When I saw BMC I though Texas then I heard you say Texas, I live in Abilene now, formerly Colleyville, (Fort Worth area) we have BMC in ABI. I have built 4 houses myself over the years in different parts of the country. When I say I built I was swing the hammer not a contractor. It is nice to se you exposing Cookie cutters shorts cuts. When OSB showed up in the trades I was not impressed I used 4 x 8 Plywood for all of corners and sheathing on the straight runs. So today contractors think OSB is a premium build quality. Not knocking you. OSB is better than nothing. I saw your other video about cease & desist Warning. I can’t believe the inspector would allow that. Keep up the great work.

Great info/insight! Thank you!

I was in a track home for a well known builder near Houston and saw very similar issues you identified previously. One major concern was their lack of care on water tightness. It was appalling. And even more appalling was I called and spoke to them about my concern and they just bricked over everything without an ounce of effort to correct their errors. And that is for a nearly $500K house. Just saw the home sold. You have to feel bad for the new owners.

Man this needs to be out in the public! Start a go fund me for the lawyer fees and let them file a lawsuit against you! Lol you would win and thousands upon thousands of future home buyers will win!

I think a good upcoming video would be way to drill holes in existing structures. Say you want to run a wire on built house, how do you do that properly. Or if you are attaching something to the house with screws how do you do that correctly.

I thought about doing something like the tech shield but heard that stuff doesn't work unless there is at least some sort of air gap. Maybe a video by you or Matt on straight up foil products would be nice.

Thanks for the tips!

Regarding the LP Techshield radiant barrier roof sheathing...... This video prompted me to evaluate and research my understanding of radiant barriers in the attic. I've always assumed that the reflective foil was only effective to reduce solar radiation if it had an air gap(3/4") facing the roof sheathing. I also assumed that the reflective barrier facing the attic space was only good to help reduce radiant heat loss from ceiling and ductwork from leaving the attic space during the winter (in a non-vented sealed attic). It never dawned on me that emissivity was the missing factor in my understanding of radiant reflective barriers. I had always assumed that the reflective coating in direct contact with a surface(like the roof decking) was useless. Now I understand that the lower the emissivity of a hot surface is the less radiant heat will be emitted. If the attic side of roof sheathing were painted matte black(a high emissivity coating) it would radiate massive amounts of heat from solar radiation. Having the reflective foil laminated to the osb sheathing facing the attic space(and nothing in direct contact with the foil on attic side) lowers the emissivity of the hot sheathing thus lowering the amount of heat being radiated to the attic space. I think the real world averages(according to govt. testing) in a warm climate is a 17% reduction in the temperature of the attic space which is valuable. (Up to 30% reduction in some cases) It is still best to have reflective foil facing the roof decking with an optimum 3/4" air gap so that it will reflect up to 90% of the heat that is radiated from the roof assembly. And I assume that if you used the foil faced sheathing plus a second reflective radiant barrier membrane with a 3/4" gap facing that sheathing you would have the best results. The double sided reflective foil membrane's side facing the attic will still have the low emissivity value as long as there is nothing touching the membrane(like fiberglass insulation) otherwise it becomes a great conductor of heat (especially if it has aluminum in the coating). One negative I see using any foil faced sheathing is the reduced capacity to dry out from the attic side (the tiny perforations in the foil are not enough to make a difference in my opinion) if there is any water or moisture build up from the roofing material. Osb already is bad enough compared to ply or solid wood in that category.

Holy shit, I knew these houses were built cheaply. But I had no idea they were building houses with no sheathing now. that's horrid! lol

Thank you! Good, good information!

Some of these things may actually be required by code in many areas (and most are interpretations of code), but the building inspectors don't catch it all. It can vary according to your area. Some jurisdiction simply don't care or don't have the means to properly enforce the code. Being in the industry I can say, this is definitely good advice. Learn some of these things and get it checked out, or have friend check it out for you, before buying. You can also hire a building inspector (I would even though I have been inside and out of many houses over the years in my work).

good video , good information

The Tech Shield does not work in reverse, it would have to be facing the roof to reflect the radiant heat back. The sheathing is going to absorb heat from the shingles and reflect into the attic like a oven in the summer. Tech shield installed that way is just going to keep the house warmer in the winter and keep heat in. You need a air gap to prevent conduction of the heat then radiation of it from that surface. Its better to apply a radiant wrap that is double sided to the rafters so the heat is reflected in both directions. Tech Shield or radiant wrap works even better on your walls that have brick due to the air gap between and will keep the house from heating more due to the sun baking the brick. Try standing next to a brick wall late in the evening after the sun goes down, you'll get cooked! Thanks for the video, keep a eye out for those pesky cookie cutters! Casey

Jordan, How about waterproof, low humidity basement construction?

Love it good job

In Iowa the wood sheathing is required for a residence. I cant believe its not in your state. that is just crazy.

Would like to see how HVAC are installed in attic spaces. Had a home in NC HVAC in attic sitting in catch pan. After

Question for Jordan or anyone in the comments that sees this: anyone have channels like this they could recommend that cover the Mid-Atlantic and or North Eastern climates? I find videos on this channel, and Risinger's very useful, but they naturally spend a lot of time talking about Texan concerns and I feel some of mine are opposite. Specifically, some of the literature about my area stating that you need to have vapor flow so your walls can dry to the outside.

What do you ask for in a concrete foundation? Concrete type, rebar, footings, finish, beams, etc. Insulating home from roof deck in attic, walls, sound proof between garage and home. Sound proof between rooms. Best windows and best way to install to prevent water intrusion. Best house wrap to prevent water intrusion.

Until you called it out, I had not thought about saying "hot water heater". I am a DFW area resident, and I have always said "hot water heater". Wow.

I wish you would of shown the window tape flashing detail at the top of the window if they lapped the house wrap over the top of the window tape flashing

What is your opinion on Tilson homes? I’m looking into them and I’m wondering if you’ve done some research on them.

Almost The whole addition in my area leaks from the tops of the windows on the north and west sides like this. Of course the builder bankrupt long before any warrenties could be used. Now the home owners are stuck for many reasons. I,d never advise anyone to buy a new home or a Trac home

Maybe the water already comes hot in Texas, we just need it hotter? I don't know why we say that. Great call-outs.

Thermoply is literally thick paper with a little foil/plastic bonded to it. Best you can say is "It might pass code sometimes", because it's stripped back to minimum prescribed shear strength values. Load it any other way (eg kick the wall) and it will break. Foil 'radiant barrier' in general? I would expect that to be totally ineffective. Heat at 1 atmosphere of nitrox and heat differentials of tens of degrees is moving around almost exclusively by conduction and convection; Radiation becomes trivial. The only place the aluminum foil would actually become a serious part of your strategy would be if you surfaced the roof with it, as a better-than-white 'cool roof' coating - if the foil is in contact with anything solid, it will happily pass all the heat straight through it with a quickness; Aluminum is used in heatsinks. It gets used in 'space blankets' largely on cool-factor borrowed from NASA's MLI technology, but MLI is orders of magnitude less effective even in a place with 1% of our atmosphere like Mars. Here unless it's exposed to sunlight, you can expect it to perform about as well as saran wrap or 6mil poly or any other vapor barrier.

Great videos man. Concern the room upstairs you’re standing in that exterior corner is by no means built correctly. And neither is that window weatherproofing either. Why does Texas build such cheap inferior housing.

I remember when OSB sheathing was considered cheap and most houses used plywood and floor joists were real wood not OSB I-beams. Our standards just get worse and worse but the prices keep climbing.

There's really only plywood on 2x4s? Water proof wrap, flash windows, doors, then siding?

Can you say who the builder is Jordan? If not I understand. Question: Lot's of "custom" builders are still creating nice homes with the basic 70's unconditioned attic. Is that still OK or should a new home buyer suppose to stay away?

I c it all the time I would never want to buy a house built by anyone else unless I knew them

Thanks

As someone who spent most of his career around custom home contractors, seeing tract home construction makes me shudder.

Im judging from my high horse sitting on my soapbox screaming hallelujah !

Ya, profit is evil. Companies should live on low margins and minimum cashflow, who caress about reserves to weather volatile housing markets. On some serious note: You being a custom builder your not needing margins to purchase and develop land/lots. It can cost millions to develop a subdivision and lot prices here in the NW are close to 150k for 7000sq. knowing where to apply value engineering is a skill all on its own. Here in the NW, with land prices pushing starter (new) homes close to 400k - you are correct, there is temptation to go overboard on finding value and still provide a home that is durable and esthetically competitive. Consumers are materialistic, in the end bling sells, unseen details don’t. This is why we don’t even touch the starter home market. We build higher end production homes so we can provide durability and bling, our typical buyer is purchasing their forever home and prices are 540k - 700k to provide your level of detail and esthetics. The starter market is tough and too full of bottom feeders - but the materialistic desires of the consumer are perpetuating the problem of builders having to take shortcuts in the unseen I’m glad your exposing the QC problem, maybe it will help consumers reprioritize there perspective on what’s a quality home.

10:01 Any tips on how to found builder like this?

Boy, you hit that nail on the head when you said there are two types of builders. That is why we NEED and HAVE building codes; there are some people out there who have zero concern for the people who buy and use/live in their products. Great video. Thanks!

If the radiant barrier on the roof faces into the attic, or is insulated over, then it can't reflect any radiant heat OUT and it is just wasted money, isn't it? Radiant barriers need to face OUT and to have at least a 1" air gap in front of them, from all the data sheets I have seem. No?

Again big tip if you new and you want to buy a home. Get a Lawyer and talk to the Inspectors for the Community they are more than happy to tell you if those houses are good or what to look for you might not know about.

I hear everyone saying "hot water heater" even in advertisements!

All of the old school houses that are 50 years or old or better are the most stable and reliable. Brick and mortar.

What makes me sad is when they seem to care, like they made efforts, but then shoot themselves in the foot. We are building in Georgetown, living in a brand new rental in Taylor in a neighborhood FULL of spec homes. (The neighborhood with the streets named with Friends references). There is zero insulation in the interior walls. No big deal. There are little signs that they made efforts, such as an ERV system for fresh air. But you can see daylight around the exterior doors. I guess the home has some level of air tightness though because when you run the vent under the microwave it doesn’t draft at all because no makeup air I guess. Basically the buyer made some upgrades they asked for through the horrible Pulte homes hoping it would make a difference. It probably did. The carrier A/C barely runs (single stage 3 ton in 2100 sf home. Sized for a leaky home so we die of humidity in the middle of the night when it just doesn’t run for long periods). I keep meaning to go in the attic to see if there is any foam.

haha we say hot water heater in new jersey too

You forgot to show the top window flashing detail, that's where they mess up.

Every house is built to "tract home" cookie cutter status. Some are larger with more use of stone or ornate exteriors but they are all built the same in my region at least.

It's byutal based window tape. Not asphalt. Asphalt based window tape eats vinyl nailing flanges. Fyi

wouldn't putting a small gap under the window flange allow for air infiltration?

LOL! SHEATHING!!! Finally LOL!

Who's the builder though? If they're doing things right give em a shout out.

Sad thing is your average buyer just pays attention to the kitchen and maybe the flooring. These important things will go unnoticed and if mentioned often ignored. Rich pricks ripping people off make money. Solid builder with integrity pride and discipline makes a couple bucks off the good homes he builds in a year.

I think shipping containers would be a better form of building a house. Air and water tight!thank you for taking the time to make the video

😂😂😂😂 Hot water heater ! It is a Texas thing, we all say it haha

They build these homes with chicken wire and stucco to save on costs so that the contractors can pocket more capital, right?

@ Jordan Smith U can call it a hot water heater if u wish 😜. Ur not the only 1 😉

Gluing that let in brace on the interior wall that is helping to resist the racking/shear/etc is a bad idea. 2015 AWC SDPWS 4.3.6.3.1 Adhesives: Adhesive attachment of shear wall sheathing shall not be used...... complicated bad idea exceptions follow.

So much better... I would be pissed if I bought a house and that night I wake up to a squirrel farting outside!

Never understood why you want to heat hot water. 8-)

It's not $2500 per home for the builder saved from not sheathing. Look at the labor costs to sheathe a house. No panel cutting, no scaffolding, no guys on ladders, etc. My question is, how do the HVAC guys, plumbers, etc. deal with penetrations? How do you plumb a hose barb? A dryer vent? Are they just doing using banding directly to the side of a stud? Man that was a sad and scary video.

Who is it that said “ Greed is good”. And yet it is what drives the globe.

"Similar lot costs" 100 miles can equal much better job opportunities, and overall a better area to live in. Its 2019 you're not getting quality on any home build, they haven't built houses good for over 30 years, if you don't know that then you haven't been in enough of them, sure there are a few exceptions but c'mon people its about money, that's all it about!!!

Big Lenny would never live in such a home

Bet that's not a KB Home.

FYI that rap on the house is not waterproof one bit whatsoever it's basically fancy lettering on the outside of the building why don't you do a video where you do a water test on that stuff and see how the water just goes right through it

That is not easy a lot of people willscot and insulate the lines on the outer walls only but that stuff is so cheap I will have my guy put that around all the plumbing because every little bit helps also you have to make sure plumbers properly strap so when you turn the water on or off you're not hearing the pipes knocking around