stupid, stupid, stupid

[doyle]

Stupid architects, stupid builders, and stupid carpenters. I know we all have our gripes about thing being done wrong...so what do you hate about your house?

I have a double door leading into the master bath, but only one door is meant to open all the time. The light switch is on the wall next to the door that stays closed. Kinda stupid to have to reach all that way to flip the light switch on.

I was recently installing one of those neat closet organizer systems in a customer's house and couldn't believe what I ran across. The closet was 5ft across. I start knocking on the back wall with my knuckle to locate the studs into which the metal hanging track would be installed. knock-knock-knock.....they all sounded alike. No studs? WTF? So I go back down to my truck and get the electronic studfinder out. Starting in the middle of the wall I find....nothing. I finally found one stud 12" in from the left corner. Get this....there was no other studs AT ALL in the wall of that closet! A whole 4ft section of wall that I could push in about 1/2". I'm glad that's not MY new $200,000 house, I can tell you that much. Scary stuff. What else is lurking to be discovered in that home? lol

Here's a pet peeve of mine.....bathroom light switches that are backwards. I think when there's a light switch and a fan switch side by side, the light switch should be the one closest to the door. But Nooooo, about 50% of the time, the fan switch is the one closest to the door. Why can't common sence prevail in situations like that?

[Cole]

So there is 48" of space without any studs?

4X height????

[Vector]

Not particularly stupidity related (though there is plenty of that), after 110+ years, there is nothing left level, plum, or true anywhere in the house I'm remodeling.

Some of that is because of stupidity, like not having footing under the main load-bearing wall in the basement. Or building load bearing walls directly between (parallel to the wall) 16" OC joists, thust picking the weakest possible spot.

Or the idiots who removed a load bearing wall in the basement. Or the plumbers who cut all the way through several joists under the bathroom. Or the idiots who installed a steel I-beam on the main floor to level out the sagging that was due to the lack of footings in the basement...

Maybe the homeowners who thought that having the soil come right up to the bottom of the siding was a good idea (and yes, it was obviosuly done intentionally, some time in the past 20 years).

Maybe whoever decided that wrapping trim that was installed in the 1890's and already rotted, in aluminum was a good fix.

[Vector]

My favorite in new construction: Electricians who don't look at the plans to see how the door will swing, and install the switches to the side where they will be covered by the open door.

Seen that one a lot.

[doyle]

Yes Cole, a 4x8 section of wallboard with no studs behind it. I didn't even mention it to the homeowner. I just used toggle bolts to fasten the metal bracket to the drywall. Hope it holds...lol

That's some good stuff there Vector!

Another thing I hate is cabinet drawers that are too close into a corner and won't open because it hits the stove door handle or the knob on another drawer.

And why is it such a problem to install outdoor outlets? Seems there's never one within 50 feet of where you need it.

[grumpydasmurf]

The stupid person who decided to place radiant heat in the CEILING back in 1958.

[Rich]

Here's your sign :)

[mjpliv]

A couple of years ago we had some framers who installed half of the vinyl horizontal sliders in the basement upside down. The frame vents were at the tops of the windows instead of the bottom. The first time anyone opened the windows the sashes fell out and smashed on the floor.

[grumpydasmurf]

Here's your sign :)

HAHAHAHAHA Excellent!