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justmed
11-26-2008, 03:25 PM
We were talking with my father in law the other day, think he's had bad experiences with new homes

ANyways, he said we should have insulated our pipes, taped our ductwork and gone in to screw down our sub floors better.

Did anybody do this? Are we in the dark>
smartsexystylish
11-26-2008, 03:39 PM
Hey Justmed,

We thought about doing the above, but we don't really know what we're doing, so we didn't want to mess anything lol

That and the fact that time escaped us, we didn't. The perfect time to do all of the above is just after your framewalk (before the drywall obviously lol)

Are you thinking about doing it?
justmed
11-26-2008, 03:43 PM
Dianes having me think about doing it ;)

But yeah, depending on when our drywall goes up it could be done...

I just dont want to mess with any warranty stuff either, so didnt know about playing with the pipe / duct work.

Floors should be no problem
justmed
11-26-2008, 03:46 PM
do you think they'd take it down if it went up pre framewalk?
smartsexystylish
11-26-2008, 03:49 PM
from everything I have read, they have taken stuff down pre-framewalk (hence the perfect timing) the reason being that that's the perfect time, is that the drywallers who go in have no clue what it's supposed to all look like, they just drywall.

And when you go on your framewalk, them mention and show you the floors and stuff behind the walls (electrical and plumbing, ect)
justmed
11-26-2008, 03:52 PM
ok, that makes total sense.

Diane was going to ask them about it at the framewalk... big no go on that one, dont want to tip them off :D
smartsexystylish
11-26-2008, 04:08 PM
ok, that makes total sense.

Diane was going to ask them about it at the framewalk... big no go on that one, dont want to tip them off :D

Haha Yea... DON'T Tip them off LMAO!!!
gagnon777
11-26-2008, 08:54 PM
They may remove what you do. We had a friend that spend a few hours on their new home screwing the floors and by the next weekend, all those screws were taken out. Can you believe it?!!!
smartsexystylish
11-26-2008, 09:00 PM
haha yea I can imagine sadly.
They're most likely proving a point that it is NOT ok to go ahead and do things to the home. Even though it is alot of time and hassle to remove what was put in.

Do you think they put it in correctly or would've caused problems and that's why it got removed? Or did they know what they were doing?
BrianNSara
11-27-2008, 07:26 AM
What about adding Speaker wire (before drywall) in a room would that be removed?
smartsexystylish
11-27-2008, 10:27 AM
What about adding Speaker wire (before drywall) in a room would that be removed?


You would be chancing it. You would have to add it right after your framewalk as the following day they are most likely drywalling!
dvar
11-27-2008, 11:25 AM
They may remove what you do. We had a friend that spend a few hours on their new home screwing the floors and by the next weekend, all those screws were taken out. Can you believe it?!!!


I'd be kicking someone's ass if they took the screws out! With all the dust on the floors etc I am surprised they could find them or noticed them (or cared).

I screwed down my last new home's floors and plan on doing it again (at least the top floor). Just take a walk through the model homes and listen to the squeeks.
You can always screw them down afterwards if needed for anyplace that has carpet. They apparently screw them down but I cant say for certain...if they use 1 screw per joist or 50 per joist, they could say they screw them down. I heard the tradespeople supply their own nails etc, not sure how true it is but it would probably impact the #of screws used.

I never gave much thought to the ductwork but come to think of it Holmes on Holmes is always squawking about how all joints should be taped.

I worked with a guy who got approval from his builder to wire up whatever he wanted in his house (non-electrical), he ran speaker wire and Cat5 throughout the whole house! I think the bigger the builder the less they negotiate on things. Probably a liability issue just having us roam through the houses nevermind doing actual work on them.

Either way...my Stepfather works for a screw manfacturer....I have already ordered a case! ;)
JFiolek
11-27-2008, 01:51 PM
We have our floor skrews ready as well as duct tape we will be trying to get there right after the framewalk as well. Do we really think they would take out the skrews??? and take off the duct tape??? if we did it earlier then that.
Danny
11-27-2008, 06:39 PM
how much time is there between the frame walk appointment and the drywalling?
BrianNSara
11-28-2008, 07:39 AM
We have our floor skrews ready as well as duct tape we will be trying to get there right after the framewalk as well. Do we really think they would take out the skrews??? and take off the duct tape??? if we did it earlier then that.

I will be doing the same... Going to buy some night vision goggles and be there the night before the drywall..
justmed
11-28-2008, 01:34 PM
We have our floor skrews ready as well as duct tape we will be trying to get there right after the framewalk as well. Do we really think they would take out the skrews??? and take off the duct tape??? if we did it earlier then that.

FWIW, dont use duct tape on the ducts... get a few rolls of aluminum tape, bout 7 bucks at Home Depot. The one thing you dont use duct tape for is ducts :D

Aluminum tape will last longer and give a better seal


how much time is there between the frame walk appointment and the drywalling?

Think it depends on the house.... ours still needed insulation, so drywall isnt for another week they said.
smartsexystylish
11-28-2008, 02:21 PM
how much time is there between the frame walk appointment and the drywalling?

They told us they would be starting the next day when we went for ours. They said it would take a day or 2 to put up the drywall.
JFiolek
11-29-2008, 09:39 AM
[QUOTE=justmed;1137]FWIW, dont use duct tape on the ducts... get a few rolls of aluminum tape, bout 7 bucks at Home Depot. The one thing you dont use duct tape for is ducts :D

Aluminum tape will last longer and give a better seal

Thanks I did not know this!
anxious_f
11-30-2008, 10:48 PM
[QUOTE=justmed;1137]FWIW, dont use duct tape on the ducts... get a few rolls of aluminum tape, bout 7 bucks at Home Depot. The one thing you dont use duct tape for is ducts :D

Aluminum tape will last longer and give a better seal

Thanks I did not know this!

Actually, it's against code to use duct tape on ducts now. You have to use aluminum tape.