As my dad who was a carpenter for 35yrs. used to say; You used to have craftsmen but, now as long as you have a hammer and a bag of nails, you're a carpenter.
@@ChadDidNothingWrong Blame the corporate bigwigs, who flooded the market with cheapness in hopes of making the public become accustomed to it, which they did.
@@ChadDidNothingWrong I agree but how are the boomers to blame for generations of retarded people that think they have skills but can barely wipe their asses.
I'm a computer O/S programmer, now retired so I had little deck or construction knowledge. In my 50's I built a couple of decks after seeing a Sunset magazine (maybe it was Better Homes and Gardens) model of one. I never even came close to making a mistake like any shown here. However, after a few years, I realized the one mistake I did make needed correcting. I had used big 6" long lag screws on the frame and the wood fibers had sheered with weather and use. So a couple of years ago I easily backed them out and used bolts and nuts. Whoever did this deck was definitely a crook. He should be sued civilly, if not arrested.
A few quick notes: The ledgers on the house had no anchor bolts The joists had no joist hangers The rim joists should be doubled The decking should cover all the joists The posts at the front of the deck should be notched for the rim joist to rest on. The joists should not be supported by screws alone. This is a dangerous deck. If this was done by a licensed builder they should lose their license.
In my forty some years in construction I've seen hundreds of carpenter helpers actually believe they were real carpenters because they could swing a hammer.
I used to be that kid, but never took on big projects on my own. I am almost a master now, but need get some more experience under my belt. Most say im one of the best, and am only 30
Just as I've long said: People think they are a mechanic just because they are able to remove and replace bolts. People think they are a lumberjack as long as they can pull the trigger on the chain saw and it goes "VROOM-VROOM". And the list goes on. Or, as I've also said: The less you know about something, the simpler it seems : )
That crew was in WAY over their heads. They're not capable of doing any better, or they would have. I'd have run 'em off. Any more, I want to see a recent job by that exact crew before I'll hire, and I want a contract for a deck that meets all applicable building codes, industry standards, manufacturers' recs, and best practices. Somehow I get the impression that didn't happen here. Oh well, at least it's not that far to fall.
The only experience I have building decks is watching a bunch of RU-vid videos and being a fan of Mike Holmes on the DIY channel. From that experience alone, I am certain I could have done a better job with this deck. I am glad the second deck builder made it right for you.
I am a retired engineer / project manager type who now builds things, because people ask me if I would do it for them, based on other work with my name on it that they see, or referrals from happy customers. As a self-employed builder, I am painfully aware of every flaw however minor it may be. Every error can take the wind out of your motivation if you let it slide. I fix everything I screw up and am very fussy. I sketch it before I build it in tricky areas. This deck had me cringing at every turn. But, mostly I ponder how these shoddy “craftsmen” ever get to the end of a job without quitting, while every day adding more errors as they get deeper into shit. It must be miserable. How do they face an inspector? I’ll bet he tosses and turns all night, wakes up and resists going to the job site. High Quality and delivered value are the keys to having any chance of success and peace of mind.
Wow, i have built a deck before. A couple. And let me tell you i am no pro but after seeing this job i feel great about the work that i did. Makes my deck look pro for sure. Lol.
I bought a new spec home years ago to live in and improve. It had a 50' X 10' deck. When I went enlarge the deck I discovered the contractor didn't have a ledger attached to the house and instead attached the joist hangers directly to the house siding which meant they weren't affixed to anything but the siding. This meant it was not attached to the house and could have fallen over. I tore the whole thing out and rebuilt and enlarged to code.
@@MWorsa I'm just wondering because he said new home and it included the deck, which means the deck is on the prints approved by the county, which also means the house cannot get a certificate of occupancy until the deck is finished and inspected. Idk it's just mind blowing how these things happen
What I'll never get is why some people will pay somebody so much money to clean their house, but when it comes to having projects like this done they always want it done for nothing. My stepmom makes stupid money cleaning people's houses.
You're completely missing that the base and top rails need to be cut from a centerline to provide equal end spacing of the ballusters. That had to be an unskilled homeowner or the biggest pro deck ripoff I've seen.
I'm no tradesman by any means, not even a skilled DIYer, but I hate unsymmetrical layouts in things like this. I'd have measured that within an inch of its life. Overall centre, centres of each panel, centres of the posts, frame, and treadboards of the stairs. You'd be able to snap a grid onto the screws. Those stairs are atrocious. Three 4x4 posts with a 2x4 sitting on top of the them, then sit the stringers on top of that. I've no idea what the code calls for, but I couldn't see that coming down.
@@capnskiddies As long as the deck is built to code, you attach the stringers to the rim joist (but you'll want some extra blocking behind it for more security). And the way you attach the stringers are with stringer hangers (look like joist hangers). The stringer hanger manufacturer (probably Simpson) will inform you what fasteners to use. Inspectors are anal about stairs as that is one major point of failure if not done right.
Yeah, wow. I built decks on my own in college, but knew how to make them structurally sound. I got them permitted and inspected and had very few issues. Of course my finish work wasn't pro level, lol, but at least they were safe.
There's really something to be said for that finish work too. I'm a passable carpenter (not by trade though) as long as the job isn't too complicated, but the finish work is as much art as it is science and I'm having a hell of a time finding someone who actually knows how to perform good finish carpentry.
That's what I say when I give quotes the home owner will say we'll I had a quote that's like a couple grand off your price I tell them have him do it why are you even contacting me for a quote that's a hell of of a good price then I get called again to fix all the bullshit they did
Maybe. My dad used a contractor he used before on a previous house but it wasn’t really the same company. The previous owner retired and the company sent a bunch of guys that only spoke Spanish with very little oversight. When they did a horrible job and destroyed the siding, the company didn’t stand by the work. The old owner used to work with his crews but the company grew and he retired. His daughter with an accounting degree took over and it looks like her plan is to just screw people and pay to take the bad reviews down. None of it was cheap either but they used to do really good work.
You know…I’m a DIYer and even I wouldn’t do something this poorly. Its pathetic that someone had to pay for this shoddy bullshit. How in the hell do you f up this badly, on the cuts, the brackets…. That’s the easy stuff!
This is what's known as a compression deck. As human bodies step onto the deck it gently compresses down onto the floating beams, Gives the impression on stepping onto a cushy carpet rather than a hard wood surface. That's right out of the contractors sales brochure.
As a contractor for 35 years this needs to be removed and replaced, and get a legitimate contractor. It may cost more to do but they are professional, have proper insurance and will warranty their work. I’m still scratching my head on what holds this to the house.
As a homeowner who can swing a hammer, I’d have to try very hard to screw something up this badly on purpose. And yet you still see it. And that’s why we dread calling any type of contractor for anything. I’d rather get it done right myself or not have it done at all, given the option.
Caulking job reminds me of a bathtub/shower tile job I got done quite a while back. These morons obviously didn't know how to read a tape measure and were left with a 1/2 to 3/4" gap at the bottom which they proceeded to fill with caulk...I'll leave it up to you to figure out what happened
I’m a deck builder and that looks so bad it seems almost staged. It’s like made specifically for showing what bad looks like. That thing needs to be torn completely off and rebuilt from scratch.
that deck looks great compared to the one my step dad built around 8 years ago. the steps are falling off, and the paint he kept saying was stain is mostly chipped off. stain dont chip off, it soaks into the wood. the deck boards are unevenly spaced as well.
I’ll never forget hiring ‘drywallers/painters’ and I came by and one of the guys were actually painting WET drywall mud lol. They were immediately fired to say the least.
That’s good stuff. Everyone is a contractor thanks to Home Depot and Lowes . Magnet sign on the truck door and you’re good to go. It makes all legitimate carpenters and craftsmen look bad. I’m guessing they gave you the lowest estimate?
I know this video is 3 years old but I just stumbled upon it. I must admit it’s not everyday that you see a deck that didn’t have a single thing done correct. I mean literally every single thing on the deck is complete garbage. My favorite was the trim from the deck to the house. They didn’t even try to miter them at all.
I can picture that crew. Probably hard-working guys who just have no idea what they're doing. Some slick contractor came by to sell the job, then sent a crew of exploited, incompetent day laborers who don't know how to plan ahead, use tools properly, do any kind of math, etc. They just know they need to throw _something_ together to get paid, because it's hard for the contractor to lose a civil suit as long as they build _anything,_ no matter how bad.
looks like after partial install , noticed support brackets and said- damn where do these go?…. now we gotta screw em in upside down cuz my drill wont fit under the rail
Its sad but true , this is very common these days, we are going on two years with a contractor building a 24 × 24 addition , 3 failed inspections , letters , lawyers , total nightmare , have a lawyer look at the contract and have a time frame in place , and research the contractor in depth, this will save you from assault charges .
this shit makes me wanna puke. I'm a diy type of dude out of necessity, I can't afford to pay someone to do this kind of shit for me so I just learn as much as I possibly can and if I make a mistake its on me... The thought of ACTUALLY PAYING SOMEONE thousands of dollars and for them to take full advantage of me and slap together some bullshit like this makes me irritate. I'd see red if I walked out on this garbage.
I don’t work residential but I know that rail doesn’t meet code. Picket spacing, gaps and load requirements still matter. You need to make a claim with the BBB
This is why I (licensed home inspector, ICC qualified building inspector, working on my civil engineering degree) will DIY any home project I can. Too many half-baked "contractors" out there that cut corners and rip people off.
FYI what you are calling beams are actually called Joists. Your deck was not built with proper beams to support the joists. The boards screwed to your house are called ledger board, and its done wrong with minimal fasteners and no joist hangers
@@joebloe9901 sure, girder, just like beam is not a specific term per say. When I worked with a framing crew, they only referred to beams that got joist hangars as girders.
I think what he was trying to say was that "beams" are actually posts. Posts hold up a beam. Girders are typically made from metal in the shape of the capital letter"I"
Surprised that everyone isn’t praising that job. Most RU-vidrs are horrible at building, but everyone says great job I wish I could hire you. They have no idea of what quality is, it’s just new and resembles something they want. Goes to show most of work force is out there for a check and not to actually learn and better their trade. Sad!!!
I live in Corpus Christi, TX and I thought I had seen bad carpentry done to my house but this makes me feel not so bad. And a contractor like mine let them do that? I would put that contractors work on local news and social media so people won't get screwed by them ever again. Put them out of business.
