Jan 04 2009
It Takes Real Skill To Build A Sturdy Home
 
The best example of how the liberal bleeding heart creates ideas that are all hype with no substance (i.e., all hat and no cattle in the vernacular of the Western US) is how the ‘free’ housing built by Jimmy Carter by cheap labor (volunteers with little to no building skills) are now falling apart:
RESIDENTS of a model housing estate bankrolled by Hollywood celebrities and hand-built by Jimmy Carter, the former US president, are complaining that it is falling apart.
Fairway Oaks was built on northern Florida wasteland by 10,000 volunteers, including Carter, in a record 17-day “blitz†organised by the charity Habitat for Humanity.
Eight years later it is better known for cockroaches, mildew and mysterious skin rashes.
…
One man pulled up his floorboards to find rubbish 5ft deep under his kitchen. Other complaints include cracking walls and rotting door frames that let in rats and ants. Many residents have complained of mildew and mysterious skin rashes.
These are rush jobs built by unskilled labor (even if they are overseen by skilled builders). It just goes to show that you get what you paid for. What is not humorous is how the dreams of these people are now in shreds. No one will want to buy a cheap charity gimmick house – not for a prime price at least.
I worked many summers in home construction. And I can tell you that when I started I was completely naive of the engineering and quality required to build a good home. After watching gifted builders work I realized it took more than swinging a hammer to build something of quality and durability. Which is why you don’t want the following people working on your home:
A forthcoming legal battle over Fairway Oaks threatens the reputation of a charity envied for the calibre of its celebrity supporters, who range from Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt to Colin Firth, Christian Bale and Helena Bonham Carter.
Celebrities think they can do anything – when in reality they know how to do very little outside their gilded Hollywood enclaves. Playing Santa Claus seems like such an ego trip, but to do it right and not disappoint requires skill and experience. Is there any better representation of the disasters of liberal policies and how they stand the test of time?
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AJ you are focusing so heavily on results. Don’t you know it’s the thought, the kind words that count?
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Build on a garbage dump and the foundations will shift. Windows won’t shut and doors have gaps. I guess it was too much trouble to clear away the rubbish and take core samples of the grounds before building. Even an idiot knows better than this. But libs are idiots for the long term efforts.
I’ve participated in building at Habitats for Humanity and similar organizations and never seen anything like this. Though the homes I’ve worked on are considerably better that the one in the picture. I think a combination of the hurried work and the location are to blame.
I have to question this a bit, since as one commenter in the thread of the story says , A British paper, with a Los Angles reporter on a Florida story.
I can’t even find anything other than this one story in my news portals, not even a local Fl story listed.
Those homes had to be inspected along the way. What of that? I hope this story isn’t true. I had a lot of respect for Habitat for Humanity, and really don’t want to go sour on it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/us/17habitat.html
NYT has a story up now and this place is in NE Fl and built by HabiJax which is associated with Habitat.
Considering the number of houses and the few to complain so far..I wonder if someone is sort of convincing people that something is wrong that needs to be complained about.
I will wait to see more coverage as it develops.
Still looking for a story in the local paper or tv coverage.
Just checked again the NYT and the Miami Herald have the story but the local paper in Jacksonville has not a word on this.
Not a peep about this on the websites for any of the local television stations.
Finally found a couple of archived away stories from Feb of last year time frame.
86 houses in the project
36 complaints from owners 25 already resolved others are scheduled for completion.
From what I see some of the issues are what you would expect to see from lack of maintenance by the owner after occupancy.
Compared to what I see done to Section 8 housing in the near area ,which 10 years after construction looks like a war zone, the houses seem to be in overall fair shape.
Minor cracks in cement floors which are easy to fill and patch if a house settles on a slab floor.
Roach infestation..please an owner issue to control pests and roaches are a constant fight here so that is nothing new.
I really don’t see anything that looks like a builder fault except the hairline cement slab cracks and that as I said could be strictly due to aging which is common even in high end housing here.
I suspect some of the other things are due to small damage by the owners or their children that were not dealt with and over time grew to be larger problems.
In any event the city and HabiJax is addressing all issues and this story seems to be much more blown out of proportion than it should be.
AJ
OT but I saw on Jammi wearing fool that Terry McAuliffe has announced he is running for governmor of Virginia.
Interesting that the ex head of the DNC wants to run for Governor and the current Governor was just announced as being the new head of the DNC.
One of the dirty little secrets of the builders is that high-end housing is built with the same materials and same slap-dash methods as low-end housing – it’s just done in more “valuable” neighborhoods and has more square footage.
breaking scandal, not well publicized yet – several high end builders may be liable for homes built in the 2004 – 2006 period for using imported Chinese wallboard that was made from coal plant waste and which gives off toxic, sulfuric fumes to the houses which were built. They did it because it was cheap.
How dare you demand actual results! Don’t you understand that strapping on a hammer and looking cute for the photo-opps are far more important? You nazi, neo-con, McCarthyite!