My annual "its all junk" rant

Maybe its more than annual.

They say they don't build things like they used to. Every year, I find I'm returning more and more stuff that either just doesn't live up to its billing, or is outright defective. Seems like we customers are the only quality control manufacturers have. I'm now up to returning nearly half of what I buy. And even the stuff I do keep, rarely work the way they ought to, and died prematurely (see below).

My Samsung monitor, which I've had for nearly three years went all fuzzy, and they replaced it with a newer model refurb, which appears to have its own issues. This is why I rarely make use of warranties, you just end up spending time and money shipping stuff back only to get something just as bad back. I have a 11 year old NEC that's still trucking away, and this thing couldn't last three years. Build quality just keeps going down year after year.

There is no doubt, if I didn't have to face the prospect of buying yet another piece of junk, I'd be buying more more than I do. Even thought I hang out here, I actually don't buy that much anymore. It would just be throwing money away.

And its not only electronic stuff. Just take a look at house construction. I'd much rather have a house build before 1970 than anything they build today. They're all just slums in waiting. They use cheap materials and shotty construction. Yet people snap them up. I'd love to build a house, but it would be too challenging to find the right people to do it, or insure quality materials are used. Even so, it would end up costing many times more than just buying an old house.

To to find a monastery.

Originally Posted by hagbard

And its not only electronic stuff. Just take a look at house construction. I'd much rather have a house build before 1970 than anything they build today. They're all just slums in waiting. They use cheap materials and shotty construction. Yet people snap them up. I'd love to build a house, but it would be too challenging to find the right people to do it, or insure quality materials are used. Even so, it would end up costing many times more than just buying an old house.

Oh i hear you. A month or two ago i went to a new development, and looked at the houses that they were building. Now it was scarry; there were places like arround the stairs where there had obviously not laid the plywood correctly, so there mush hav been extra, and you could see chainsaw marks where huge hunks of stuff had been cut off to make the staircase curve. It's all because of the huge demand for housing, they just can give it out to the vheapest bidder, and they don't care about the real quality, just how it looks. That's why they don't have waranties, or eve offer PSP because they know they would be screwed.

One obvious "give away" that they're all building on the cheap are staircase railings. These used to be elaborate, heavy duty things. Now, the kind of railings they used to use in basements have found their way into the main house. Cheap cheap cheap. Floors all creak, walls are ultrathin drywall, if you see how they build the outside walls you'd wonder why water isn't pouring into the house, OSB has largely replaced superior plywood (which was ealier replaced by superior shiplap boards). Some of these houses I'd be surprised to still see standing twenty years from now.

Then there is the entire issue of house styles, which seem to dominate during certain periods. Here in Victoria, when I first moved here nearly 15 years ago, they were building nothing but huge ugly stucco boxes (we have another name for it, but I'll leave it at that). Now, its phony arts & crafts. Not as ugly as the stucco boxes, but still extremely cheaply made and boring. I personally like modernist houses, largely constructed in the late 50s to 60s. This is a house:



http://www.eichlersocal.com/GalleryP...aVista1151.htm

Its the style of house and constuction method (post and beam) my wife and I would like to build. My second choice would be a genuine A&C house, then a solidly built house from the 1940s or 50s.

Originally Posted by hagbard

One obvious "give away" that they're all building on the cheap are staircase railings. These used to be elaborate, heavy duty things. Now, the kind of railings they used to use in basements have found their way into the main house. Cheap cheap cheap. Floors all creak, walls are ultrathin drywall, if you see how they build the outside walls you'd wonder why water isn't pouring into the house, OSB has largely replaced superior plywood (which was ealier replaced by superior shiplap boards). Some of these houses I'd be surprised to still see standing twenty years from now.

Then there is the entire issue of house styles, which seem to dominate during certain periods. Here in Victoria, when I first moved here nearly 15 years ago, they were building nothing but huge ugly stucco boxes (we have another name for it, but I'll leave it at that). Now, its phony arts & crafts. Not as ugly as the stucco boxes, but still extremely cheaply made and boring. I personally like modernist houses, largely constructed in the late 50s to 60s. This is a house:



http://www.eichlersocal.com/GalleryP...aVista1151.htm

Its the style of house and constuction method (post and beam) my wife and I would like to build. My second choice would be a genuine A&C house, then a solidly built house from the 1940s or 50s.

now thats a home! gl with the construction process if it happens

My wife runs hot and cold on the idea of building. Right now, she's kind of luke warm. This would be a good time to do it, since building is now a bit less expansive then buying (that is, if you can find a builder). I think I could win a builder over with this house, its unique for this area, and could attract future work. Frankly, I think if someone did a development based on these Eichler designs, they'd take over as the new hot item.

totally agree. everything sucks nowadays. i'm gleefully waiting for the day when the much-lauded Toyota corporation has a recall on the Corolla for malfunctional airbags or something...

That's an interesting idea for a house.

Make it look but ugly on the outside to deter thieves, but yet inside it looks amazing.