New (to me) Houses and Home Warranties (ot)

Bought this place in October... When I told my buyers agent that I wanted to get a home warranty, he bought one for us as a housewarming present. (Thanks, Lee!) And has it come in handy... The place has two heat pump units. One for downstairs and the other for upstairs. The downstairs unit started acting up in December and it was determined the circuitboard was morked. The unit was old enough that the parts were obsolete. They replaced the whole unit a month ago. Now the upstairs unit acted up, and it was determined that the air handler coil has a leak in it. Same deal. Too old for a replacement coil. In a couple of days they are replacing that unit also. My total cost? $75 for the initial service call. $175 for ductwork changes to fit new air handler. Charges that I was able to whine my way out of: $75 disposal fee (I'll dispose of it myself) $50 'recovery fee' (Freon recovery). I asked them why I was being charged to recover Freon that already leaked out.. They saw my point and backed off on the charge... So far, so good... Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Rice
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Around here it seems like a 1-year home warranty is written into the closing costs for the seller.

Lee

Reply to
Lee Aanderud

Not a bad idea, depending on whom is administrating the warranty policy... I know in Florida and Illinois it is/was an optional thing negotiated by the buyer/seller.. Jeff

"Lee Aanderud" wrote...

Reply to
Jeff Rice

It's optional here too, but a friend of mine who is a real estate agent says it's normal for buyers to ask for a home warranty. For as little as they cost most sellers don't even question it.

Don't bother trying to get a refrigerator replaced if the previous owner put potpouri Stick-Ups in it to mask the smell from being unplugged with the doors closed.

Lee

Reply to
Lee Aanderud

Keep your eyes on the sky today... "High Risk" for severe weather in your area according to the NWS.

Oh, and keep the camera handy!

JT

Jeff Rice wrote:

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

I'm surprised they didn't double that Freon recovery charge... it's even harder to recover after it's already leaked out :>)

Reply to
WayneC

Looks like more nasty weather down South. I'll take earthquakes and fires any day. Would a well constructed concrete block house survive a direct hit by a big tornado? Minus the roof of course, but would all the walls stay upright?

Reply to
Alex Magdaleno

Concrete will. Concrete block....might. Depends on the debris flying around.

175 MPH is survivable for some well built wooden structures, again, depending on the debris and duration of wind. 300 MPH (like the F5 that hit Moore and OKC) is pretty devastating.

side note- I noted the construction methods when I was stationed on Okinawa. ALL buildings are made of reinforced poured concrete. Almost all windows had bars on them, not for burglary deterrent, for debris protection. Okinawa is on the Pacific ring of fire and they have LOTs of earthquakes AND Typhoons (Pacific -talk for hurricanes).

Very sensible approach to building for the conditions, and not much damage gets done when 150 mph typhoons come smoking across the islands. It is expensive to build that way, but it is termite-proof as well. Oh yeah and canyon -type wildfires would not hurt that kind of house.

Mark (amateur engineer) Dunning

Reply to
Mark Dunning

Reply to
oldcarfart

No, and they wouldn't in a big earthquake, either... Jeff ( Mother nature is not cruel, just indifferent......) Rice

"Alex Magdaleno" wrote...

Reply to
Jeff Rice

after the Katrina thing down south, one of my restricted trade magazines showed pictures of 2 guys going and opening various vaults that were left standing.. One picture showed a concrete box out on a flat concrete floor.. with lines painted on the floor.. The lines were the former walls of the building and the concrete box was a 12 by 20 foot vault.. the walls were made 'old style', in that they were probably over

12-15" thick, and had perhaps 8 miles of rebar buried in the concrete.. The rule was NO cavity over 1 inch cube without rebar present.. for a house, the weakness would be the doors and necessary windows..

--Shiva--

Reply to
me

Oh the horror... I woke up to a dead branch in my yard... probably 4 feet long. I'll clean it up after work if my dog doesn't do it for me.

Lee

Reply to
Lee Aanderud

Concrete block structures (unless rebar reinforced) are far worse than frame structures during severe weather/seismic activity.

I remember one incident on Diego Garcia where a supposedly reinforced block bus stop (with a cast concrete roof) fell down when gently tapped by a vehicle. Luckily, no one was inside when it happened. No evidence of rebar to be found anywhere including the roof. Low bidders.. Ya gotta luv 'em!

JT

Mark Dunn> Concrete will.

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

I should have said a well engineered block house. Rebar in every verticle hole with tie bars running along some courses. All cavities filled with concrete. Should hold up pretty well in an earthwquake. But of course, unless you built it youself, how would you know if all that was done?

Reply to
Alex Magdaleno

one of many reasons I bought a fabricated home (mobile on FHA approved in ground foundation and brick underpinnings) is the fact I do know how it was constructed. I have seen some crap at 3X the price.

Reply to
oldcarfart

If you're going to do all that, it'd be cheaper to do a poured concrete wall. I'd love to see how you're going to tie rebar horizontally in a block wall.

Lee

Reply to
Lee Aanderud

Having watched enough shows on television about these houses... one thing is for certain, everything is square, plumb, and level in your house. Many of these houses are built using jigs. I don't think I could have a stick built house built today without shooting people. A friend lives in a 2 year old

4000 sq.ft. house and is one of the few people in the subdivision who hasn't sued the developer and builder... but the builder has been back to his house a half-dozen times.

Best screw up I've seen so far in going through new houses. I saw one where they were installing a laminate countertop. There was an 1-1/2" gap in the center... the wall was bowed out that far, and already finished. How the hell do you fix that without ripping out the wall? You can't put 1-1/2" of drywall mud to build it up, you can trim 1-1/2" off the countertop... even splitting the difference wouldn't look right.

Lee (does all his own work)

Reply to
Lee Aanderud

Yeppers... This last homebuilding blitz due to cheap interest rates really brought the unskilled part of labor out in droves. The quality of mass built 'stick built' homes has been remarkable in the lowered quality. The fact that municipalities have allowed this stuff also shows a lack of inspection talent. There is an entire town east of here that they slapped up a few thousand homes without the least thought about infrastructure, and who was going to pay for that. They just saw single family home tax revenue. Now they have a severe lack of school capacity, no stores, poor street design, traffic woes up the yinyang... And they are raising the tax rates through the roof to 'catch up'. The very people that fled Chatham county (Savannah) to go west to the new 'cheaper' suburb(s) are now bitching or bailing and headed out west to where I am. That may well bode well for me. Wait a while and when the dollars get wacky enough, I'll sell again and go live in 'Calvinland' ..... Jeff (Location location location...it's true!) Rice

"Lee Aanderud" wrote...

Reply to
Jeff Rice

You mean where the famous road sign is located:

Lee

Reply to
Lee Aanderud

Alex, if you going to that much trouble with block, why not just pour a concrete wall?

The problem really is that we have been accustomed to building our homes only to support themselves against gravity, and have neglected to consider other forces that may act upon them.

Gord Richmond

Reply to
Gordon Richmond

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