For All of the Contractors....

[JayB]

Horribly misconceived and executed DIY project or performance art?

 

Somewhere in Greater Vancouver.....

 

http://vreaa.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/sturdy-with-views-calling-froogle-scott-is-dr-scott-in-the-house-not-in-this-one-certainly/#comments

 

"I view it more as a freeform art piece, an installation, a site for the interplay between the organic forces of wind, rain, snow, and most compellingly, rot, in which the fallibility of humankind’s dreams and aspirations are made manifest. Particularly galvanizing is the unmediated interface between the products of industrialized deforestation and the local terrain, an offering back to Nature of the corpus to be progressively consumed. The artist engenders a powerful commentary on society’s fixation with the instantaneous and the temporary, and posits a tensional opposition between our depletion of the biosphere and our never-ending quest for human fulfillment."

[pat gallagher]

Wait, did my dad rise from the dead with Jebus?

[Off_White]

Oh my, thanks for that Jay, I've got a few people to share that link with.

[JayB]

Thought you might appreciate that.

 

"Building a shed on Vancouver marshland on a foundation of untreated 2*4's..." is evidently a metaphor for a special kind of heroic, defiant, Hemingway-code-hero-esque futility in several cultures.

 

Fascinating.

 

 

[olyclimber]

you know, it really reminds me of the current state of the republican party!

 

just kidding, i didn't really want to talk about politics.

[JayB]

Could very well be an apt analogy. I'm not sure about the whole thing totally collapsing any time soon, but if it was a house it'd be composed of lots of incompatible parts and look like a mess cobbled together by a by a crazy person.

 

 

[E-rock]

Looks about on the level of craftsmenship that most "contractors" produce these days.

[Off_White]

Yeah, right E, go broadcast that opinion at the neighborhood bar and let us know it it went.

[tvashtarkatena]

Looks to me like an ultra short design/build cycle.

[E-rock]

Yeah, right E, go broadcast that opinion at the neighborhood bar and let us know it it went.

 

You mean the bar where actual craftsmen hang out?

 

Or the one where the guys who shop at Home Depot hang out? Cuz I'm pretty sure the guys who hack out original double-hung windows with sawsalls and staple in vinyl replacements, or the guys who install a third layer of architectural shingling over a roof that was never installed with proper venting in the first place, or the guys who bore through clapboards with a hole saw every 5 feet to inject insulation that doesn't do shit and then hammer shitty pine plugs that don't fit properly back into the holes don't take enough pride in their workmanship to care what I say.

 

Off, I don't mean to disparage your particular line of work. And knowing you, I would wager a fair guess that you're a man who stands behind your work and subscribes to best practices. While my original statement was intentionally hyperbolic, you gotta admit, the industry of "contractors" as a whole is populated to a large extent by ground troops for manufacturers that constantly push the latest new advancement in construction materials to the detriment of craftsmanship and longevity.

Edited April 12, 2013 by E-rock

[ivan]

they had much better contractors back in hammurabi's day, when the code said, he who makes a brick wall that collapses and kills a man, so shall he be killed

 

either that or most contractors had a good pair of shoes and were constantly prepared to hoof it

[Mtguide]

Most contractors I've known do actually take a certain pride in their work and want to do a good job. And lots of these same very good builders frequent Lowe's and Home Depot for materials. The big box stores have been getting very competitive on quality of materials as well as prices for the last 3 or 4 years now. So it's nothing against a builder in my book if he buys from one of the chain stores.

It's all in the quality of the finished job. With the amazing advances in power tools, laser levels, all sorts of refinements in materials, there's pretty much no excuse for poor workmanship anymore. I started in the mid 60's when the main power hand tools were the Skilsaw and corded electric drill. To witness the creation and development of nailguns and cordless tools, mitre saws, etc has been pretty amazing.

 

But I've worked on old homes and buildings in Seattle, San Francisco and Portland, built by hand tools, foundations done in the days before plywood or manufactured forms, moldings actually shaped by hand with the old molding planes, and found structures that in spite of age and settling, were still remarkably level, plumb, square and true. An 1889 house across the street from the Kenton firehouse in N. Portland has a full basement 10 feet high, 25' x 35', with almost perfectly plumb walls, original concrete floor troweled by hand, perfectly level, and such a smooth finish it looks machine troweled. The whole thing less than 1/8" out of square. Plank and timber forms, no air pockets or voids in the pour. Better than many foundations you'll see today. Just shows what you can do if willing to spend the time and get it right.

 

I've also seen houses from the same period that show evidence of haste, laziness, and cheap skate shyster workmanship. There were just as many jackleg, half-assed builders then as there are now. At least back then they had somewhat of an excuse,in that the physical labor involved was much more demanding, so cutting corners actually made sense sometimes, and of course building codes were either minimal or non-existent. So you have to cut 'em a little slack. It's still hard work even today.

[Mtguide]

Horribly misconceived and executed DIY project or performance art?

 

Somewhere in Greater Vancouver.....

 

http://vreaa.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/sturdy-with-views-calling-froogle-scott-is-dr-scott-in-the-house-not-in-this-one-certainly/#comments

 

"I view it more as a freeform art piece, an installation, a site for the interplay between the organic forces of wind, rain, snow, and most compellingly, rot, in which the fallibility of humankind’s dreams and aspirations are made manifest. Particularly galvanizing is the unmediated interface between the products of industrialized deforestation and the local terrain, an offering back to Nature of the corpus to be progressively consumed. The artist engenders a powerful commentary on society’s fixation with the instantaneous and the temporary, and posits a tensional opposition between our depletion of the biosphere and our never-ending quest for human fulfillment."

 

You should send this review in to Artforum or Artnews magazine, it's a classic. Hilarious and delightful.

[G-spotter]

This isn't a contractor, it's the homeowner. The original thread is on the bcsportbikes forum.

[genepires]

using contractors means that they will do things according to state regulations and that requires an inspection. Highly doubtful that this shack would pass a inspection no matter how much one covers it up with siding. (which an inspection required before cover with siding and sheetrock anyway)

 

Drew is right. homeowner built but prolly without a still required permit. who says regulation is a bad thing?

[rob]

Anyone who thinks contractors are this bad hasn't been hiring licensed contractors

[Jim]

I didn't realize my landlord during graduate school was still at it! It's amazing what you can end up doing to a house while dividing it up into apartments, apparently without a level.

[Bronco]

This contractor could've made a fortune building at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky. Hardly any regulatory oversight on $2-$20 million homes. Good times!

[ivan]

a built a house like this in my backyard...when i was 12

 

holy shit my dad was pissed when he saw how much of his spare lumber got disappeared