Value Engineering- Today's Disposable Home

I’d think that if anyone could get a tract home built right it would be me. I was swinging a hammer before Ty Pennington had spit out his baby teeth and I’ve been making my living inspecting new construction for the last seven years. You’d think a guy like me would be the last person spewing the futile threats of a desperate new home owner into the deaf ear of Joe Customer Care. If you were to think that, you’d be thinking wrong…

Since moving into my dream house this spring, it’s been one thing after another. I’m not talking big things, mind you. During construction, I made frequent visits to the jobsite and structurally all is well. The little quality of life things is where today’s builders are dropping the ball. For every one “House Falls in a Fissure” headline story, there are hundreds of seething new home buyers spending time away from their busy lives calling, waiting, and fighting with customer care because of a bad light switch, poorly installed cabinetry, or a door seal that lets in more hot air than a political debate. Yesterday I spent (I’m not kidding) six and a half hours waiting for the second replacement for a defective garage door opener!

To some degree, it’s always been this way, but over the last five years it’s gotten much worse. The reason: Value Engineering. While this term is not familiar to the general public, it is quite common in the vernacular of today’s bottom-line minded builder. Remember the good ol’ days when your windows were trimmed with wood? Why use wood when drywall saves a few bucks a window? Did I say WOOD trim? Silly me! Most home builders, these days, use MDF (Medium Density Fiber) instead of wood trim. While MDF, is more environmentally friendly, at least from a conservation standpoint, the main reason it’s now used is because it’s much cheaper than wood.

Notice how the floor tile is butted to the baseboard molding? Value engineering! You see, it’s cheaper to trim the whole house and paint it before installing the flooring. The reason it’s cheaper is because the carpentry crew, painters, and flooring contractor only have to make one trip. The result of this short cut is that the grout that meets the baseboard is prone to cracking due to expansion and contraction. Because the grout is not flexible, it cracks. The builder may fix it in the first year of ownership, but after that they tell you its regular homeowner maintenance. When you’re on your knees grouting every other year, until the eternal planting, thank Mister Value Engineering.

If your home is less than four years old and has cultured marble bathroom sinks, go and look for the overflow hole. Actually, don’t bother because it’s not there. My understanding is that the sink manufacturers had a high incidence of “overflow failure” at the factory. Instead of coming up with a solution to the problem, they just did away with it. Ahh, Value Engineering Hall of Fame!

The overhead bedroom light fixture has been replaced by switched outlet. You want a light? That’s an upgrade. Back in the day, cabinets came with knobs. Today, that’s an upgrade. The standard interior paint job would barely pass for primer 10 years ago. Speaking of paint, ever notice that it’s almost the exact same color and sheen as drywall compound? You don’t think that’s a coincidence, now do you?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a businessman and I believe everyone deserves to make a fair profit. I just don’t get that new home prices have nearly doubled, in the last five years, and I can’t get a decent showerhead.