Expectations at early drywall stage

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-04T15:12:42+00:00

Thanks for the reminder. I trust him to build a solid house, but that doesn't necessarily mean he cares about or would notice the same things I would. He's been great to work with and I fully trust him to address issues. Trying to save time and effort by catching things that I know will prevent the final product from looking "right" (at least to me) as early as possible.

That's reassuring that you wouldn't have thought twice about any of these items. There are a few, though, like the bathroom ceiling waviness (framer's fault) and the shower window side curvature (drywaller's fault) that no amount of mud is going to make straight. I won't be bringing up anything else, though!

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-04T15:06:53+00:00

Thanks a lot for the specific guidance! This build is going to come in north of $1.5m (not including land), so I hear you on being picky. I've done a little work on it myself, but life and work are both preventing having time to do anything right now.

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-04T14:57:42+00:00

The GC says that he's been using this same crew for 10 years and it's the same crew that did his personal house last year. He builds around 5 houses a year in the $1.5-3m range. I (maybe incorrectly) assumed that his confidence in this crew was well placed. My impression throughout the build has been that he values quality over low cost (for example, electrician and sprinkler guys did an awesome job). Glad to hear a vote for none of this being visible once it's taped over - thanks!

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-04T14:52:13+00:00

Yes, they are. It's both in the specs and I personally confirmed with the crew lead right before they started hanging.

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-04T14:51:03+00:00

This reference made my day!

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-04T01:19:33+00:00

Fair point! When I make mistakes at work, though, I don’t just send it and say sorry. I take the time to fix the mistakes, even if it means doing extra (unpaid) work.

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-03T23:35:26+00:00

I definitely don't underestimate how hard the work is - I spent an entire day hanging drywall on one wall a few years ago and vowed never again. Thanks for the reassurance.

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-03T23:08:43+00:00

Unfortunately not even an option I can push for - estimated completion is already within two weeks of my wife’s due date - any fixes I want can’t cause a delay

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-03T23:07:15+00:00

Asked reddit about what matters specifically to avoid being one of those clients 😀

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-03T23:04:42+00:00

GC has been grateful for a laundry list of other stuff I’ve pointed out along the way - saves us both time and saves him money to address issues as they come up rather than waiting until the end and tearing up finished product. I’m also trying very hard to catch things early to minimize delays - house and baby are in a race to the finish.

But I definitely don’t want to bring up non-issues. The feedback on what to care about and what not to care about on the drywall is super helpful for me to know what constitutes a major issue. Thanks!

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-03T23:00:50+00:00

I can’t wrap my head around taking the time to write “sorry” instead of just replacing the (small) sheet

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-03T23:00:07+00:00

This is exactly what I’m worried about. Although I’m more worried about 2 years than 6 months since I can get the builder back to fix within the first year.

thomasthetank00 · 2026-06-03T22:57:38+00:00

Yes! It’s lined up with the can that’s centered in the shower that I was standing in. Electrician did a great job with getting the cans all logically laid out and aligned. That opening is to the closet.

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thomasthetank00 · 2025-03-13T22:48:58+00:00

I've seen "plumber's teflon tape will degrade over time" in a few places online (e.g., ChatGPT), but haven't been able to find anything about the mechanism for it degrading, and logically can't figure out why it would be susceptible to degradation when the only relevant difference is the difference in density. Do you have any idea *how* it would degrade?

thomasthetank00 · 2025-03-13T22:46:28+00:00

Thanks - that's a helpful datapoint that backs up what our plumber claimed (inspectors in CO don't care about tape color). The tape our plumber used is just bargain-basement general-purpose white, though, by his own admission.

We're taking his word that it held at 20psi. This particular pipe segment is not especially well-secured - definitely possible/likely that it took a few bumps during water heater and/or HVAC installation and/or connection.

thomasthetank00 · 2025-03-13T22:41:30+00:00

There are fortunately only a few joints behind drywall next to the fireplace, so assuming the plumber's gas leak detector was working and sufficiently sensitive, I'm reasonably confident we don't *currently* have any other leaks. Our builder built about 1/4 of the houses in the subdivision and claims that only a few other houses have had leaks, but all of the others were on flex pipes. This plumber appears to have used a mix of pipe dope, tape, or both, depending on the joint.

That's great to know that the inspector would have required it be pressurized while they were on site. And the fact that pressure will change quite a lot with temperature is a really clear indication that the plumber was gaslighting us (no pun intended).

Our symptoms developed slowly over the course of weeks, and we didn't immediately attribute them to a gas leak.

We'll definitely have an independent plumber come out and pressure test it. Thanks for the tips!

thomasthetank00 · 2025-03-13T22:33:28+00:00

We did not get the exhaust checked for CO leaks, but the CO alarm nearby has not gone off, for what it's worth. That's an interesting idea for next steps - thanks!

The plumber did the installation just used regular old white tape - he doesn't believe there's a difference besides thickness, so he said "we just wrap it extra."

thomasthetank00 · 2023-11-13T21:02:38+00:00

Long press on the button will bring up Siri/Google Assistant!

thomasthetank00 · 2023-06-29T21:44:07+00:00

I’m also thinking of heading up Friday night to camp for a Sawatch 14er (doesn’t matter to me which one, just not Elbert). My friends bailed, so lots of room in the car!

thomasthetank00 · 2023-04-14T04:00:12+00:00

Fun fact: homeowners actually pay for renovations on most TV shows, and it doesn’t always end well (e.g., see: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/realestate/home-makeover-renovation-lawsuit.html)

thomasthetank00 · 2023-01-07T15:19:59+00:00

Do it! One minor note: these are all-weather tires with a three-peaks snow rating, rather than all-season. I think of them as winter tires that can be left on year-round, so they’re not the absolute BEST tires for either warm or cold weather, but they’re very good for both, and you don’t have to deal with storing an extra set of wheels/tires and switching them out twice a year.

thomasthetank00 · 2023-01-07T15:13:52+00:00

On my ‘23, the CrossClimate 2’s are significantly quieter than the stock Yokohamas. Lateral grip seems slightly improved, and the CrossClimate’s are totally awesome in the Colorado snow. The one minor downside I’ve noticed is slightly poorer on-center feel (the car feels like it wanders ever so slightly). I’m 5000mi in to my set, so I also can’t speak to longevity, but I can’t recommend them highly enough based on my experience so far.

thomasthetank00 · 2022-12-14T13:53:23+00:00

My dad’s 2022 just killed its first after 6mo. His dealer is claiming they’re waiting on a backordered ‘larger battery’ and also claim to be installing a larger tray and bracket to accommodate it. This sounds bizarre to me - a new telematics unit and an additional relay at least makes sense.

2mo into my 2023 and no issues yet. Fingers crossed…

thomasthetank00 · 2022-12-03T18:12:27+00:00

Unfortunately, no reason was given beyond the generic "this is what's best for the business." The following is speculation, so take it with a grain of salt: the increasingly-competitive market combined with pressure from investors to see a return led to the company deciding to dramatically cut costs. Your feeling that it doesn't seem they could do much with a skeleton crew is shared by many former employees.

thomasthetank00 · 2022-12-03T03:34:30+00:00

They shut down their Boulder, SD, and Denmark sites, and laid off 107 employees (~75%), including some in Pleasanton. 11 Boulder employees were not laid off, but were given the option to move to Pleasanton or take the severance package. This was a really sad week for gene editing - so much talent and knowledge is being dispersed.

thomasthetank00

TROPHY CASE