soopa

by older, i was meaning pre-90's developments.

90s + i consider new as weve seen pretty much the same style building/architecture and neighborhood planning since then.

zeroday

Sidewalks are a pain in the ass. To replace mine this past summer it cost me several thousand dollars. If I hadn't replaced it, and some idiot tripped on it and hurt themselves, i could be sued. Same goes for when it snows; if i dont shovel my sidewalk and someone nosedives face first into the sidewalk it's my problem.

I'd be happier having people walk in the street.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Oh and just to comment on the workers.... all of the builders down here use the Latinos to build the homes. Honestly... it's not really the builders themselves.... but it's the sub-contractors that they hire.

The houses around here are pretty well built. I've seen these guys in action, and they are usually on the ball. Some of the subs use really shitty labor.... and I've ripped into the builder for that... but it's usually minor stuff (example, had some floor boards replaced and they damaged the shoe molding below the base molding... but it was fixed in 5 minutes).

Whenever you build a new home, you'll have problems. Most are minor... some are large. Example, we're having our hardwood floors replaced for the 3rd time. First time we weren't in yet, second time they did about 75 planks... but now they have to come in and redo the whole thing. That's the whole first floor.... about 2300 square feet that will have to be replaced. So it's a big job as they'll have to move furniture, etc... but they've done it before... so it doesn't bother me. Sure, it sucks to have to go through that... but one of the advantages of buying a new home is that when you have problems like this... you have a warranty. Try buying a 25 year old home with some floor problems and having the old owner replace the entire floor for free. Never happen. So stuff like this is what you'll face whenever you buy a new home... regardless of how good the builder is supposed to be....

soopa

??

How often do you replace a damn sidewalk? Those little concrete squares are pretty durable.

Besides, at least here, the city/town is responsibile for fixing the sidewalk. Your responsibility is to simply shovel it.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

haha. When I say older and 5 years ago it's only b/c 5 years ago there was hardly any construction in this area. This suburban sprawl thing is only about 2-3 years old down here... at least at this level.

But, there are neighborhoods that were built 5-15 years ago... and they also all have sidewalks. Seems like there's sidewalks everywhere... which is nice, b/c as you guys said... streets are for cars....

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Same here. The town is responsible to replace any cracked or damaged sidewalks. Even inside the neighborhoods.....

soopa

C'mon, you've been in the south for like a month. You know what I'm talking about in NY.

Newer developments are all modern style colonials, etc.

"Older" are all the pre-90's raised ranches, split levels, etc.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Well, almost 8.5 months to be exact

But yeah, I know what you're talking about. Around the old neighborhood we actually didn't have sidewalks. Just fairly wide roads. Those houses were built in the 50's and 60's though... and even to this day we're off the main road... but the only traffic are the people who live there... so even before I got married and moved out of the parents house we used to play ball in the road no problem. The main roads all have sidewalks though.

And yes, all of the developments that were built during or after the 90's all have sidewalks. There was actually one up the street from my old area that was started in 1990... and they have sidwalks throughout the entire community.

doopstr

The sidewalk in front of my house is original to the house. The house was built in 1968. The sidewalk is still in very good condition. There are a few minor cracks and a few places where it is slightly heaved from trees getting under it. Other than that its good.

In my town the home owner is responsible for the sidewalk and the cost to replace unless the township has a reason to rip it up.

BTW I like the older style concrete. The stuff at my house has stones in it that you can see. The new stuff doesn't have that and is too white. The older stuff seem more durable to.

I've been in towns where they don't have sidewalks. People walk on the grass where the sidewalk is supposed to be. So the lawn doesn't stand a chance there and looks like hell.

vtec_types

My brother actually has a Ryan Home. He lives upstate in Syracuse. It's a beautiful house. I know there were a couple of issues, one being with the roof, but the community was able to fight it and they paid for what needed to be replaced, specifically they didn't build the roof with that partial hangover. Second, there was an issue with water in the basement. Weep holes needed to be installed.

All in all though, I believe he is pleased with the home so far.

If you have any other questions, let me know and I'll ask him

Oh, and he doesn't have a sidewalk *lol*

soopa

If I remember correctly, the concrete outside my house is stamped from the 60's too. (It's a 1920's house).

Scrib

I'm not following.

Maybe things are done differently around here, but from the sidewalk to the street are owned by the town. That's where the front easement is...

Perhaps it's different out there, but I haven't ever heard of a homeowner having the responsibility of replacing a sidewalk.

Stupid east coast.

soopa

Like I said, here, it is the same as where you are.

The sidewalk is NOT on your property so I don't see how you can be responsible for fixing it unless you damaged it no matter where you are.

I've never heard of sidewalks being on someones property. Usualy the grassline is the start of your property.

In a city, for instance, if sidewalk space was on your property... you'd be paying taxes on it... and in a city like this... that could be several hundred bucks.

zeroday

Seriously? That's the norm out here. I own everything until up to the curb including the sidewalk. It's why the sidewalks in my neighborhood are all different colors and condition:

soopa

But yes, almost everywhere, town ordinance makes "clearing" the sidewalk adjacent to your property your responsibility.

soopa

Stupid delaware.

zeroday

^^trust me Soop- i wish it wasn't mine. cost me an arm and a leg to replace.

soopa

Heres a funny delaware townhall meeting on this issue...

http://www.newcastlecity.net/city_go...-ph051402.html

soopa

This is fucked up...

"Sidewalks

It is the responsibility of the property owner to repair sidewalks or curbing in the event such walks or curbing shall be in any way damaged or broken. "

http://www.cityofrehoboth.com/faq.htm

But it says the City is responsible for planting/maintaining trees in-between the sidewalk and the curb.

So, if the cities trees fuck up your sidewalk you have to fix it?

TBone2004

I have found that regardless of builder and cost of house - there will still be plenty of issues that you will be saying - I cannot believe all this stuff with a new home...etc...etc sounds like a lot of people with "this is a 30k luxury car complaint..."

- Visit site frequently, daily if possible.
- Go with another set of eyes - best if it is someone who is not buying the house - a buddy, not just the wife/spouse /GF etc
- If you see a problem - demand it get fixed sooner than later - cause the fix will be easier and less time consuming. The less crap they have to fix after you have already moved in - the better
- like others said - every conversation/Change Request - must be in writing.
- talk to some existing neighbors - ask what they liked about home and dislikes, experience with builder, warranty service is key
- is water in the finished basement gonna be a problem - drains outside the foundation
- they hated me cause I am a detail freak and I did not have a lot of money - so I made them make everything right. Do not settle for them to patch a carpet stain or pull - nope - pull out the whole room fellas
- try to be there during framing days or speak to them ahead of time - my next house I will be insisting on more support in the floors - code lets them space stuff far apart and you will end up with bounce in the floor. Reinforce anything you can - insulate everything
- they will do it to just barely code - push for better. Some places put particle board for roof - or thin plywood. It wasn't until I had my addition on that my contractor is like do you know that your roof is barely code - he would not put the same thickness plywood on the addition. Too thin he said.


Stay on them. Daily.

TBone2004

p.s. on the race thing....

in my new Addition, never before in any home have I seen the sheetrock/taping come out better than these guys did. No one spoke English either - absolutely the very best tapers/spacklers you have ever seen - no pops, no speedbumps or any defects, and no cracks. Truly amazing job. Had some American painters come in - f'd the room up - ended up painting it myself in the end. So leave race out of it guys - there are good and bad in every color. Some care about their work, some don't. Some are skilled some are not. It is not a race thing.

zeroday

yeah that's messed up.

That's not the way it is in the county where I live (newcastle-same as the other link you posted) I don't own the curb in front of my house; that's up to the county to maintain. It's up to me to plant trees, but nothing that says I have to.

Scrib

That has got to be teh gayest thing ever...

zeroday

In a funny coincidence, Rehobeth DE, from the link soopa posted is the gayest town ever. Literally.

zeroday

I'm not gonna defend my state. It pretty much sucks. Buncha rednecks. I live here only because it's a convenient location for me. taxes are almost nothing too (which might help explain the sidewalk thing ).

Scrib

TXXXX

We are responsible for our sidewalk, $400 a 4'x4' square if replacement is needed, goes down if you are doing at least 4 of them. We own the land, all the way to the curb. Curb cutting has to be done by a city bonded contractor.

zeroday

^^ ya know, if people like you would just enter the state you live into your profiles rather than having cute little one liners for your location it would make things so much easier.

so....what state do you live in triple x?

Scrib

fixed

zeroday

lol i did that on purpose...just razzing him for something he posted in another thread about people always using 3 x's instead of 4 when referring to him.

TXXXX

In Iowa, next to the Mississippi River.

zeroday

so much for the east coast theory

SpeedyV6

Council Bluffs?

soopa

I guess for the nearly $4000/yr in property tax on what is a relatively inexpensive property on a rather small lot... keeping the sidewalks paved is the least they can do for me

TXXXX

No. next to the Mississippi River.
Not Missouri River.

Do some search, see if you can guess, the 3rd largest city in IA.

GreenMonster

No sidewalks in my neighborhood, but I wish they did have 'em...

I think my property starts about 4 feet from the street (or at least that's where the rebar marker and fence between me and my neighbor start)...

Depends on the community/state I guess...

soopa

Scratch that.

I forgot that they replaced the sidewalk (as well as a gas line) in front of my house shortly after I bought the place this summer.

Just noticed after I was spreading some salt so the mailman doesn't sue me