Quality of construction going up in Fairmount

[elasticpurejoy]

As I walk the neighborhood I am miffed at the quality of work that is going up. Yesterday as I was passing by one I looked down and notice that the new framing goes below grade by a foot. Granted the facade of the building might get a brick or stucco surface but this is not going to keep moisture out below grade. So if building wood frame structure below grade is "code" then the sill plate still should be treated lumber which it is not in this case I also did not notice (may have been some) moisture barrier under the sill. So the structure of the house is built on a base that within a short time is possibly (I would say probably) going to be compromised. I really feel sorry for the people that purchase these houses that are going up. Consumers are buying into the New construction smell but are going to encounter problems and expenses within a few years that could have easily been avoided. I do not understand why people do this knowingly to others?

[#1MetsFan]

Address?

[elasticpurejoy]

This is brown street between 25th and 26th.

[Titus]

I do not understand why people do this knowingly to others?

The Almighty Dollar

[RonMcNasty]

I think it really varies from contractor to contractor. I know a guy who had major, major problems with his really expensive new construction. I believe he had to sue them because repair costs were totaling in the hundreds of thousands.

[#1MetsFan]

There's new construction on Brown between 25th and 26th? This is news to me.

[phillycat]

that's not exactly "new construction" - they tore down an original 2 story rowhouse and are rebuilding on the foundation. it looks a little shoddy to me too, not that I know anything -- but it's going up really fast. I was surprised to see them do that -- the original rowhouses are so solid, generally you get a better result by just gutting to the studs and putting in new drywall, electricity, etc. over it. and houses here go for enough that it's not usually worth doing a complete teardown when you can sell it as a "grandma special" and still get a few hundred k for it. i was wondering if maybe it was owned by one of the adjacent owners and it was going to be attached to their house.

[elasticpurejoy]

As I have been watching the progress,I thought it was going to be a gut job. They actually did it rather stealthy. completely removing and disposing the entire rear of the building. Removing everything in dumpsters. all that was left was the facade. then that came down and a temporary plywood wall went up. the foundation was removed and a new concrete foundation poured. This is where I question why the foundation was not poured higher than grade as to not allow wood structure in contact with soil. So to phillycat I believe it is all new construction and was told it is a Loonstyn property. None of the original foundation is remaining and the pockets for floor joists are not used on the common wall. They built a new 2x4 wall on that side.
From what I have been told the reasoning for total tear down or almost entire demo in the houses is the 10yr tax abatement. If the house is 90% new it has qualified for the abatement. I do not know if that is true but that is what one Realtor told me. If that is the case I personally feel that that tax hole is destroying the neighborhood. I have been on a number of open houses in the neighborhood that have survived the years intact. all case work stairs etc. only to be completely gutted for a Home Depot interior (not a compliment).
Does anyone know how much longer the 10yr tax abatement for new construction is going to last? When I made mention to one person they thought it had ended.

[phillycat]

As I have been watching the progress,I thought it was going to be a gut job. They actually did it rather stealthy. completely removing and disposing the entire rear of the building. Removing everything in dumpsters. all that was left was the facade. then that came down and a temporary plywood wall went up. the foundation was removed and a new concrete foundation poured. This is where I question why the foundation was not poured higher than grade as to not allow wood structure in contact with soil. So to phillycat I believe it is all new construction and was told it is a Loonstyn property. None of the original foundation is remaining and the pockets for floor joists are not used on the common wall. They built a new 2x4 wall on that side.

ah, well if it is Loonstyn it explains why it is done in a crappy fashion and how they were able to get permission for a teardown. doubt if the condition of the property really warranted it.

[funk]

i wonder if their permits are in order?????

[eldondre]

i wonder if their permits are in order?????

whose? as noted, there are two different loonstyns operating. they seem to divy it up by location, with bill in fairmount and the wetern and of fairmount and mike east, in sg and fville. I don't know that it's particularly helpful to say things about loonstyns without saying which one.

[funk]

then let me clarify, the one pertaining to the property in this thread.

[johnnie]

As I have been watching the progress,I thought it was going to be a gut job. They actually did it rather stealthy. completely removing and disposing the entire rear of the building. Removing everything in dumpsters. all that was left was the facade. then that came down and a temporary plywood wall went up. the foundation was removed and a new concrete foundation poured. This is where I question why the foundation was not poured higher than grade as to not allow wood structure in contact with soil. So to phillycat I believe it is all new construction and was told it is a Loonstyn property. None of the original foundation is remaining and the pockets for floor joists are not used on the common wall. They built a new 2x4 wall on that side.

Its not the best detail but if they properly waterproof the foundation and wood below grade it will be fine. I assume there will be a brick facade to cover the wood as well, protecting and hiding the waterproofing. They should have used a PT sill plate though if they didn't. Did you know the International Residential Code allows wood foundation walls? You don't even need a concrete footing. The wall can sit on a PT Sill Plate on crushed stone that bears on virgin soil.

[dRemodel]

... I believe it meet the code requirements.. however I do not recommend this method.. I always say " do better than the code " The code is a minimum requirement for safety .. meeting the code requirements does not guarantee a good quality finish product but it guaranties it will not "fall down

[iionev]

Its not the best detail but if they properly waterproof the foundation and wood below grade it will be fine. I assume there will be a brick facade to cover the wood as well, protecting and hiding the waterproofing. They should have used a PT sill plate though if they didn't. Did you know the International Residential Code allows wood foundation walls? You don't even need a concrete footing. The wall can sit on a PT Sill Plate on crushed stone that bears on virgin soil.

Most homes in the city fall under the International Building Code, not the Residential Code. If the building is attached, like most infill houses are, it's the IBC. The IBC does allow for timber foundations. The IBC also requires any wood structural members within 18" of grade to be pressure treated. Wall framing members, including the sheathing, needs to be pressure treated within 8" of grade.

https://www.facebook.com/SanfordArchitects

[elasticpurejoy]

Local or International code would these pass?
And even if they were minimum code, I would not want to have my walls below grade wood framed.
For the small increase in building cost, they could have made a structure that may have lasted as long as the one they demolished.

[the mule]

You should also be concerned about the stucco over the single layer of building paper over OSB. There are going to be so many lawsuits in the years to come from mold and rotting stucco walls that are going up all over Philadelphia. Stucco soaks up water which then drives right through the building paper into the OSB wall, which falls apart after being saturated. L&I has finally been trained to catch this but they're not typically out there to inspect stucco installation.

There should be two layers of building paper, installed in shingle fashion, or a layer of building paper over Tyvek StuccoWrap. That will leave a drainage plane for the water to leave the wall assembly.

[love to travel]

You should also be concerned about the stucco over the single layer of building paper over OSB. There are going to be so many lawsuits in the years to come from mold and rotting stucco walls that are going up all over Philadelphia. Stucco soaks up water which then drives right through the building paper into the OSB wall, which falls apart after being saturated. L&I has finally been trained to catch this but they're not typically out there to inspect stucco installation.

There should be two layers of building paper, installed in shingle fashion, or a layer of building paper over Tyvek StuccoWrap. That will leave a drainage plane for the water to leave the wall assembly.

My sister in law had this problem . It cost her 100k to fix the mold problem

[funk]

Having seen my neighbor's Loonstyn construction, and enlightenment via PS, i now realize that i too live in one of these mold traps courtesy of the (lack of) efforts of Loonstyn's "construction". What can i do to prevent the mold from happening if even possible at this point?

[the mule]

My sister in law had this problem . It cost her 100k to fix the mold problem

Pennsylvania is ground zero for this. There is an incredible amount of litigation over it and yet I see buildings being built with it all over Philly every day.

BSI-029: Stucco Woes