Sorry if this isn't allowed. New construction and apparently the shower head pipe cap came unscrewed. We had water spewing on the ceiling and down/under the walls for about 24 hours. The water level never got too deep, but I'm wondering if I have a mold issue now.

My dad and I are building out my house, so forgive me in advance for not being technical as I’m learning! we’ve got this weird area that needs to be sealed off. The blue in the top part of the photo is soffit. We were thinking of building a small frame with 2x4s and adding metal roofing where I’ve drawn the triangle but are there any other ideas for this area? It’s protected by the overhang so good for weather, just want to be sure of bugs and small critters making their way in the house! TYIA

Doing a modular felt like a lot of sitting around at first, but when things start happening they happen fast.

Superior walls were set last Friday, and the house was lifted on today.

Hey everyone,

Finishing up a new construction walkthrough in Georgia and need an opinion on a flashing issue.

🔍 The Issue

Where our exterior lap siding meets the lower-level brick foundation ledge, the home inspector flagged the metal apron flashing for poor installation. The horizontal segments are loose, lifting, and overlapping poorly with visible gaps.

• Inspector's Note: He's concerned that wind-driven rain will push right into these loose horizontal overlaps and joints. He suggested adding a silicone sealant to the edge.
• Builder's Pushback: The builder refuses to fix it, claiming it is "per code" and that the gap is designed that way so the wall cavity can weep moisture.

❓ My Questions:

1. Is the builder right? Does code allow the horizontal flashing segments to bow and lift apart at the joints just because the system needs to weep at the bottom?
2. What is the correct fix? Should the horizontal metal overlaps be fastened flat and sealed together where they intersect, or is it normal to leave them gapping?

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

First-time North Phoenix homebuyer here dealing with settlement issues on a new build completed in 2024. Multiple interior doors have shifted out of alignment and no longer lock, and we have pending drywall and window sill cracks.

An independent foundation specialist just ran an electronic manometer survey on our post-tension slab. The attached heat map shows a vertical deflection reaching down to -2.5 inches (dark red zones) in the front section of the house.

Key variables:

The Lot Profile: The area showing the worst -2.5" drop correlates perfectly with a section of the lot that was built up with an elevated mason retaining wall and a thick additional layer of sand to meet grade during site prep.

Community Context: Neighboring homes, community roads, sidewalks, and neighborhood retaining walls are showing similar cracking/shifting due to known regional expansive clay.

The Builder's Stance: The builder wants to wait until after this year's summer monsoon season ends to reassess a community-wide gameplan, arguing they want to avoid a temporary fix that settles further.

The foundation company quoted us $41k for structural polymer void-filling and 6 helical piers to stabilize the perimeter.

For the engineers and geotech experts here:

How severe is a 2.5-inch drop on a 24-month-old post-tension slab?

Doesn't this significantly surpass standard performance thresholds like L/360 or a 1% tilt limit?

Does the precise correlation with the built-up sand layer indicate a failure in the original structural fill compaction?

Is the builder's strategy to wait out the monsoons technically sound for a slab this unstable, or should I be pushing for immediate structural intervention?

We’re building this in desert land. Plenty of space surrounding. We want to cater to guests, dirt/desert play, and lots of entertaining! Plan to build a shop with guest house in the near future.

Few changes I’m noting:

1. Two high windows on the outside wall of master
2. Patio cover isn’t that big. Meant we wanted a concrete pad that large. Still deciding size of patio cover
3. Might increase garage door to 18’
4. No sliding door in Den. Just windows

Any feedback would be great.

When I bought this house, the griddle on the stove is damaged and gross. I have never used it. It just sits there and I’m sick of looking at it to get a replacement is very difficult and expensive.

I want to cover it with a wood piece or a metal cover of some sort so I don’t have to look at it and maybe I can put a little candle on top of it or something, does anybody have any bright ideas? Thanks.

Had some vinyl windows installed a few years ago. It smells musty when it rains in the room and we have been chasing a leak for years. Should the corners of these windows have been welded? Some of them look like they have been welded, others don't.

We’re planning a future build and trying to figure out if our budget is realistic.

Location: North Carolina

We’re looking at building a 1,311 sq ft home and trying to stay under $200,000 total construction cost (not including land since we already own/purchase separately).

A few details:
- 1,311 sq ft single-story plan
- Simple, functional layout (not luxury finishes)
- We already own/purchased the land
- No major custom features planned (trying to keep it efficient)
- Would likely use a builder to get it in the dry and then do a lot of the rest myself. But of course not plumbing, electrical, well digging, septic.

For people who have built recently or work in construction:
- Is $200K realistic for this size right now?
- What would likely push us over budget?
- What should we watch out for when estimating cost per sq ft?
- Any advice on keeping costs down without sacrificing quality?

We’re trying to be realistic before moving forward so we don’t underbudget the project.

I have nothing else to add. Just wanted to show siding on my house and oh yeah, I have doors!

My son is building this arbor for a couple getting married. I used sketchup to lay this out, but I’m not sure the angles and lengths are going to work irl. This is a flat design with wood layered on wood. It’s a cool optical illusion. I’ve tried using a protractor, old school graph paper, even cut popsicle sticks, lol!

Trying not to waste expensive wood. Thank you for your help!

I had this house built 2 years ago and put factory painted LP SmartSide on most of the exterior. The siding contractors did a great job overall but there are a couple areas I’m concerned about. They put aluminum flashing at most areas that contact the ground such as the rear stoop and front porch, but the garage jambs and column wraps have no flashing and are showing signs of swelling. How should I maintain these areas? Should I cut 1/8” or 1/4” off the bottoms with a jamb saw?

The other concerning areas are these trim details below the window, which has a ripped horizontal strip. It’s a nice looking detail, but with just caulk/paint keeping water off the tops, you can see cracking and signs of it already failing. Should I just plan to scrape and repaint/caulk these every few years? Is there any other way to mitigate the water damage?

Seems like we are in the same boat as many others. We have always just bought a home from one of the standard national builders (e.g., Lennar) and have been very happy with our homes. We are now moving and this will be our forth house and we were thinking of building. This will be in Indianapolis and the builder has given us an allowances of approximately $500k (see split below) on a approx 3400 sq-ft home. With the cost of the land, the home is costing around $1.5 Mill. Are these allowances appropriate for a mid-market type home - not a luxury build. Any advice is appreciated. Specifically, my trusted AI companion tells me that all construction projects will be off by 10-15% … so this could jump a lot. So, wanting to understand where my exposure in these allowances.