New Build Home Nightmares That CAN be Avoided

[@parsnips800]

I've no idea why I'm watching a video about joists, but it was genuinely interesting.

[@theweasel6720]

For sure , this guy knows his stuff , I now watch all his videos 😂

[@SteveE293]

I know I was fascinated by it all. It concerns me though about the quality of trades working on new builds and the corners they could potentially cut as most work is hidden away

[@frankmckie2992]

We're lucky to have shows like skill builder, buying a house is probably going to be the biggest expensive thing you do. so here you've got a knowledge builder giving you honest advice what to watch for the tools if you like and why good builders aren't cheap and cheap builders aren't good. Keep it up Rodger and team 👍

[@lenny2137]

Roger is a legend proper traditional tradesman. Reminds me of the gent I served my time under.

[@tomtresco2952]

Totally agree Lenny

[@isaaccowan5316]

Great explanation. "Punch out" is always a pain, but I guess it could be done right in the first place. I am an old guy who stopped building houses right before the "OSB craze" (no , I didn't stop working, just on to cabinets and furniture). They wrapped everything in OSB, floored and decked everything in OSB, built joists and rafters with OSB, but no one seemed to pay attention to what happens to OSB when the glue ages and it gets wet (like roof leaks, condensation, plumbing leaks). I'd hate to be a roofer in about five more years. This new rafter and joist system looks much better (yes, there are some extra steps, but back when I built, there were extra steps (admittedly not always done) for a quality build. Yes, screws over nails, but I am a cabinet maker. Also, from experience with cabinet building, glues do age, and sometimes promise more than they deliver.

[@habsom1406]

Fascinating, I could listen to this guy all day! Didn't even know these new approaches and systems existed. Don't think a lot of these modern houses are going to last more than 50 years without regular remedial intervention.

[@robertcorradi8573]

If that !

[@ChoppingtonOtter]

Building my own house I studied the subject for 3 years first. I was pretty horrified by what I now understand about the mass house builders. If you can build your own you get twice the house for less money and far better quality.

[@jhutfre4855]

@@ChoppingtonOtter Couldn't agree more.👍👍👍

[@manayconstruction5861]

Snagged a new build town house for a friend of mine, there is a 20mm bow in the first floor hallway, between the front bedroom door, and the rear bedroom door, a distance of only 1900mm. The 2 floor airing cupboard prior to floor coverings, had a gap under the door big enough to get my hand under on the handle side of the door, but not large enough to get my fingers under on the hinge side of the door. The skirting on the whole of the ground floor is partially buried in self levelling screed, that was done at least 3 times before the lvt could be installed. Give me a 1930's or a victorian house to work on any day, walls that you can usually drill a hole in, install a wallplug and fix items to....ahhh bliss.

[@lloydus85]

Bloody hell I work for Cura Homcare and I'm in my way to fix some sqeeky floors. Love the videos. 👍

[@fus149hammer5]

I remember some years ago when Barratts got slaughtered because their highly expensive new builds were rotting from the inside out. It was found that they were storing timber and other materials outside for months at a time then installing it when it was still wet through. That got them a real bad reputation at the time but of course most of these property development companies around now are just cowboys. Build it cheap and charge a fortune.

[@christinedavis5813]

Yes I have had four new builds in my life, and never ever will Have a new build again I nearly had a breakdown

[@fus149hammer5]

@christinedavis5813 That I can understand. My next door neighbour makes a good living going into new houses and making them livable. Damp and mould are the main problem but badly fitted doors and windows are common too. To make them "environmentally efficient" they use hand held meters to check skirting boards and plug sockets for even the slightest draught. New builds are basically sealed boxes. No airbricks, no ventilation, it's no wonder they have so many faults. My house is a 1930's semi. The previous owner had the outside coated, the upper airvents covered and cavity wall insulation installed. The condensation was horrible. I drilled the vents back in, got rid of the dishwasher in favour of a tumble dryer and bought a substantial dehumidifier. It's made a big difference. If I hadn't we would have had serious mould and damp problems. All buildings need a constant flow through of fresh air. You just can't avoid it. The current legislation is stupid.

[@mattmanning9267]

Great video, you need to do one on architects drawings and how bad they are on small builds.

[@ZicoTheMysticalWarrior]

This could explain why the en-suite & bedroom in a show home (what are the others like!) we looked at had a floor that made us feel like we were at sea. Bodgit and scarper springs to mind!

[@craigfourie3485]

Another interesting and quality gaggle of info. Roger, you should have been a professor!

[@davidbrewer7937]

Interesting development, kind of like engineered roof trusses as we use here in Canada, these do not flex in the vertical direction even under significant snow load which must be built in by code here because we might get several tons of snow on a fairly small roof. I like LVLs but you have to add PL Premium adhesive along the top as you lay the T&G floor deck on them along with lots of screws. Code here tells you that you cannot make a bunch of holes in the web too close together. For example, the sewer line must hang from below, not through the web. As a rule, the biggest hole is 1" & they must be at least 12" apart to maintain the integrity of the web. They work, we used them at 12" spacing with PL premium & screws through the deck to rebuild my home after a fire in 2017 & the floor is rock solid...no bounce. Another thing which should be done is X braces between joists every 8 feet. These braces transfer the load from the top to the adjacent bottom of the LVL in a cross formation.

[@hdj81Vlimited]

in europe we use concrete for this.

[@d.beaumont9157]

Great video Rodger, I've being looking at these joists for my 18ft square garage build. You answered a lot of my concerns in one video. I just need to cut some really long furing strips.

[@tomtresco2952]

I`m 70 and have been out the game for quite a few tears now, cant imagine the cuts these "carpenters" make to get home early, and in the grand scheme of things its not a lot of extra time, I was taught by a Master Joiner, if I made a Sliding box frame or similar and it was a 16th of an inch (1.5) mm out of square he went Ape shit, Omg how self Pride has diminished, that is why new builds have so many problems

[@garyevans718]

Here in Canada this problem was solved with engineered I joist over 20 years ago. If you want to have really tight floors....wait till after the heat has been on and the gyproc board applied with all that weight..... then screw the T&G plywood down to the joist

[@jonnyhifi]

Terrific ! Resonates with robin clevets video about laying t&g flooring in his outside garden room project.

[@tomsmith9048]

He's very lucky with the work he's able to get 🔨

[@jasonantigua6825]

@@tomsmith9048 Wouldn’t call it luck! Richard is a very competent builder!!!

[@tomsmith9048]

@@jasonantigua6825 I've never said anything about his quality but it's hard to get them type of jobs where he's helping design it and build it 🔨

[@ricos1497]

@@tomsmith9048 that's interesting, I'd have thought it'd be the other way round. Do you mean that people get a company to design something and then bring it to you, or do you just mean that you get contracted to do a small part of an existing job?

[@tomsmith9048]

@@ricos1497 the architect would deal with the client then it goes to tender and we put a price in for it I've only ever been involved in friends builds from the design process otherwise we don't get a say 🔨

[@Crushwokery]

G'day Roger, I love your rants because they are informative and stuffed full of that rare commodity COMMON SENSE. However, if I have a leaky pipe or I need an extra socket or light fitting I'm used to lifting a floor board or two so I can get the job done. With all this glue fortified chipboard how the hell is anyone supposed to do any maintenance❓Seems to me you have two choices, cut large holes in chippy panels and then have to brace boards with noggins and screw back in the bit you just hacked out or if it's a bigger job then pull the ceiling down 🤪😭😡🤬 which frankly pisses me off. Seems to me the price people are having to pay for these toy town houses equates to the national debt of some small countries and aren't getting value for money at the cost of keeping shareholders happy. As a cranky 61 year old I really enjoy your rants and relate to them wholeheartedly 😉 Anyhoo, keep well and stay happy kiddo 👍👌

[@SkillBuilder]

Alec There are lots of purpose made access panels for chipboard floors. You just cur the hole to suit the panel. I usually cut to half way on the joist and then put in a couple of noggings. It really is quite easy and part of a plumber's job.

[@rossmcleod7983]

The Bob Ross of building trades! Love yer work Roger, learning heaps for my forthcoming reno.

[@PatriceBoivin]

I own a home here in Canada built in 2000. Things to watch out for in new homes: Is there a sump pump in the basement? skip and move on. In 1990s and 2000s to "save the environment" for a while roof shingles were made using paper: Dumb, bad idea. Those shingles disintegrate 20 years later. Builders also only spend to sell the house, they don't care if it lasts. To save money they buy the cheapest materials they can: flake board instead of plywood, nails in flooring instead of screws, (I realize this is controversial because no roofers want to do this:) not removing the plastic strip on the back of shingles before installing them... My new neighbour spent about $450,000 on a new house next to mine and mentioned that he thinks every wall in his house is crooked. Also, I saw while they are building new houses next to mine, sometimes the roof isn't in place and it rains on the half-framed house, soaking all the wood and flake board. If it's cloudy for a week after that, I imagine it takes days and days for the wood to dry.

[@paulkelly2882]

When you talk your experience just shows, your very diplomatic in how you say certain words, lol

[@thegrandmuftiofwakanda]

This vids are more addictive than anything Netflix has to offer. Delightful chap.

[@markrhodes5474]

Brilliantly explained Roger

[@saintslad5399]

Great explanation and commentary, thanks for making this 👍

[@amazing451]

One of the biggest problems on all these new builds is tradesmen work on a pricework basis and just rush all the time, along with the fact developers and site agents wouldn't purchase certain materials that all these manufacturers say should be used.

[@krzysiekv12]

They are house factories, not meant for building good houses, only to make money

[@Trevor_Austin]

I agree to a point but think the real problem is the building companies still pay for the really crap work thrown up by the w@nkers who work on site.

[@amazing451]

@@Trevor_Austin Totally agree with you as well and all these so called warranties like the NHBC don't taken any action against the developers.

[@tomsmith9048]

@@Trevor_Austin I have to disagree the price is set you only get around 220 pounds to joists out a 3 bedroom semi set by bellway and that includes loading up setting out fixing and bringing and it takes 2 lads to do the job fast when I was younger I got 2 a day with my pal 🔨

[@TheChipmunk2008]

Basic upshot of all this: Do not buy a new build, Run a Mile...

[@ricos1497]

From a large developer. I bought a new build from a small developer who I dealt with directly. He had five houses in my development and maybe twenty others going up at a similar time in other locations. The five here have had zero issues and I've spoken to a couple of people from the other development who were extremely happy with theirs. The builder has a comfortable life and makes a healthy profit generally speaking. It's completely possible to build new houses affordably and to a good standard. The issue is scale. It simply isn't possible for a house builder to get to the size of Barratt or persimmon or whoever and still provide adequate housing. Their business model is built on greed, PR, land banking and donations to the current government (regardless of colour). We could, and should, reject this model as a society but most people don't see through the advertising. It's sad to see a human need such as a house being treated as someone else's economic game.

[@antonyporter5045]

UNLESS Robin + Roger build it !!

[@simost2566]

@@ricos1497 agree there - I looked at a new build when I bought my current house. I could tell on the walk around it wasn’t well finished and thrown together at minimum care for maximum return. Many big name home builder also won’t let the buyer inspect the property before completion of contract when buying (something you’d have a right to do when buying from a usual private seller). They back heel it to ‘aftercare’ which is actually ‘we don’t care’. Buyers have Incorrectly assumed (and builders have let them) that NHBC provides them some cover against defects when in fact it’s run more like an assurance scheme. Home builders pay a fee for it so it’s in the interests of NHBC to keep them happy. Hence they send assessors/lost adjusters to inspect defect claims and often side with the builder, meaning issues aren’t corrected (NHBC certs are in fact next to worthless). The help to buy scheme inflated the prices of new builds, builder typically made 15% and now it’s 25%, up to 30% in some locations. The sale price is topped up by the help to buy loan (goes in the builders pocket) and the buyer shoulders the extra cost when the loan matures - then being stuck with an assets that they have effectively over paid for in order to increase the revenues for home builders. I’m effect it’s been a method for the government to provide a return to political donors by conjuring up an extra 10-15% margin for them.

[@sally6457]

New builds come with some kind of warranty or defect period, where as older houses are sold as seen. Vigilance is the key. And don't ever expect to get more than you pay for!

[@STRmw2]

speak for yourself, im saving up for an aircraft hangar immediately...

[@mateuszsobanski203]

Excellent explanation, Sir 👍 People with such knowledge should be building inspectors. UK is lacking in this area. Inspectors pass poor jobs because it's too much hassle.

[@lerouretan1937]

An interesting analysis Roger, but the real problem in England boils down to quality (lack of) and price. I am a building surveyor in France, where even the cheapest houses have block and beam floors: end of.. Why do the English put up with low grade, yet expensive to buy, houses?

[@simonyellop9894]

An excellent and informative video Rodger 👍👌 Being in trade myself, It seems most problems are 90% install issues and 10% product issues. I say always that extra 1/2 hour jus to be more dillergent, pays off more in long run and actually saves and makes that difference. Keep up the good work 👍👍

[@skiathosmobi]

Another excellent presentation Roger 👍👍

[@johndavenport7281]

The problem of builders/frame erectors ignoring plans and construction details on site is difficult to overstate. When a national housebuilding company shifted largely to timberframe many site staff were opposed to changing from traditional build and actively worked against it. For instance house designs with bedrooms over carports between plots needed floor support beams to be supported in precut pockets in the external panels; site management introduced staggers plot foundations to ensure that the pockets didn't line up. Strongbacks were very largely ignored and LVL or Glulam beams were left in the rain to swell and cause fitting problems. When older house designs were redrawn to timberframe many existing errors were revealed and when site staff were queried about what remedial actions had been taken it became obvious that the old drawings hadn't been closely followed and things had been "made to work". I am no longer employed in the construction industry and was relieved to be free from the widespread poor attitude to workmanship I had encountered. It was so disappointing to see well made timberframe panels and components in dry factory conditions being so badly used and abused on site.

[@Settez123]

Always generous with your knowledge, thanks very much!

[@charlescoulson]

Hi Roger , I love your rants. I gave up on the building trade up here a long time ago. Put it like this , if you are warm and can walk the oil industry will employ you. The remainder go into building. I prefer to do it myself and have built several extensions to my own home. Your video on squeaky floors struck a chord and I have a problem in one room with precisely what you were discussing. In my case however I suspect the problem may be sub standard fasteners where screwing down 22 mm chipboard with glued faces to the tongue and groove interfaces and I still get noises. My problem I think, is poor quality screws as during fixing with a belt fed screwdriver resulted in quite a few screw failures( the heads spinning off before the fastener had fully fixed.) I thought I had done enough replacements but I still get some noise from the floor. The plaster board in the room below does not seem to be cracking so I guess from your video I just will have to vacate the room and lift the chipboard again and glue and screw the whole floor again. Any thoughts?

[@cameronhayes113]

Awesome, I really enjoyed this - learnt a lot, all clearly explained. The diagrams, pictures and enthusiasm really helped make it fun. Thank you for making the video

[@anthonyselby8337]

Great video thanks for the great content. keep up the fab work

[@normanboyes4983]

Good stuff Roger - a good rant and perfectly on point.👍 Keep ‘em coming.

[@therabman_5606]

Great information as always

[@merkox7857]

We had done that metal web solution when we changed rotten timber from flooring. Most quickest way to change some beam,

[@stephenadams9767]

we did customer care for a big big developer, went to a new build women in tears, she said all the walls squeak, got the plans out and the floors was designed to have a 11mm live weight flex, that was the problem, so we stiffen all the floors up no more squeak, im no builder, but can sort most things out maybe not a builders way but my way, i dont rush it takes as long as it takes, builders want to rush so they cut corners, its all about price work for new builds, and thats a problem,

[@giovannip.1433]

Thanks for the education.

[@toggyuel]

Great video, my bungalow chalet conversion upstairs floor has this problem ,we bought as is so don’t know what going on up in the ceiling,anyone walking in the large bedroom room upstairs sounds like they are walking across a crunchy bags of crisps downstairs !

[@canalboating]

Great Information your drawing of James standing on the floor was a bit poor though :)

[@ricos1497]

James actually stands behind the white board most days waiting to be called on stage for the "where's James" feature. Nobody has ever seen James off camera and I've heard rumours that Roger actually keeps him in a basement and takes 70% of all his earnings in return.

[@Neutron66]

Best Engineer advice ever

[@fionamckelvie1526]

My house built 1903 has separate floor joists and ceiling joists so no problems and also helps with sound transmission between floors. The solution is stop building cheaply, build to perform properly and to last.

[@Youtube_deleted_my_favourites]

I love this guy - he's a natural

[@christastic100]

Iv seen the wood rail and OSB joists ten years after installation with the glue residue showing many many micro cracks like very old porcelain plates . I think they are going to be a big problem in 50 years time which isn’t long enough in a buildings life . I like the metal joists but still like traditional wood joists. Would love to hear your options on plastic chimney facades and tiles .

[@memyself7413]

Never a disappointment when watching Roger. There is much to know and too much to learn. If we buy a 'new build,' we can only hope that the site inspector turns up and does his job properly. Or, better still, hire Roger to keep these tradespeople on their toes and make sure that no corners are cut. I look forward to seeing Roger's videos, so here's to the next one. "Thanks, Roger."

[@davros1283]

I was taught well. First lesson "Quality not quantity!" Crazy modern building practices maybe quicker to erect, but they sure won't last. Can't better old school carpentry with 9"x2" joists, solid noggings or even herringbone strutting. Oh, sod trimming with joist hangers when a tusked tenon will do. One thing to mention. Timber buildings are safer than metal ones during a fire. True!! When steel heats up it distorts before losing all strength. The Trade Towers collapsed because the steel work was as strong as a chocolate flake during the ensuing fire.

[@georgepppp533]

One small disadvantage is the sharpness of the edge of the steel component. so get used to carrying them like a solid beam when installing them.

[@stuartmitchell8736]

My take on new build squeaking floors-60 yrs in the trade. Engineered joist are a wonderful thing but the application of decking them on the first lift course below makes it so the subsequent course of block is laid butt up to the deck where there should be a 2 mm per Linmtr expansion gap the deck then expands and cross ways to the decking board rolls the joist springs the screws through the deck board game over. We have tested this by making holes in the ceiling below and putting a bubble level on the joist to find it 5mm out of plumb flange to flange. The floor above sounds like walking on Ice. This should be pulled at pre plaster stage but hey ho.😡

[@andrzejgajdardziew2885]

In Austria, all these building techniques and issues relate to garden houses. Nearly all homes from the last decades have 10cm reinforced concrete floors, 10cm insulation, 5cm concrete on top. UK lags a century in the building standards, joists and plywood OMG and this costs 500k pounds probably.

[@JohnnyMotel99]

Concrete beams on the first floor?

[@andrzejgajdardziew2885]

@@JohnnyMotel99 Monolithic concrete reinforced plate 20cm at least on the ground floor.

[@JohnnyMotel99]

@@andrzejgajdardziew2885 ground floor, we would use reinforced concrete beams, above a ventilated void, then 100mm celotex then screed layer, then floor covering. First floor in a regular house is usually timber joists

[@oruz3]

So informative. Cheers

[@methhead3140]

What happens to this "new" wood when it gets wet or damp? My guess is it gets severely weakened after drying out causing all kinds of problems and expensive repairs.

[@peterwalton1502]

Excellent Roger👍👍

[@livingladolcevita7318]

good video Roger and timely for me as I am replacing my front room floor with 22mm tongue and groove flooring. However I'll be lucky if I can get the board edges to center over the joists as the house is about 100 years old and when I did my other room the joist centers were different on each one and some even had twists along the length. OHHH the swearing!! ha ha.

[@SkillBuilder]

The best thing is to put a couple of noggins on the edges of the board that join between joists. It is a legitimate way to do it.

[@livingladolcevita7318]

Thanks Roger, my thoughts also, this is what I did on my other floor. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more videos

[@johnf3326]

Great ideas trashed by CBA builders (couldn't be arsed) I'm not a builder but an enthusiastic amateur. I'm a great believer in solid 'noggins' between joists, properly cut to size, screwed and glued between joists securely. Greatly reduces flexing. Sorted my Sons bouncy 1937 bedroom floor that way and enabled 6" x 1.5" joists to be used flooring other Sons loft for storage only, stiffening the whole without using thicker deeper joists.

[@phykell]

Really enjoyed this video and it was perfectly timed for me. My house needed new floors throughout and the builder implemented Wolf System easi-joists. I'd never heard of such a thing though I'd seen I-joists before and wasn't impressed (due to ignorance though). When he then suggested 22mm moisture-resistant chipboard flooring over proper floorboards, I couldn't believe it but now it's done, I can see the benefits and there genuinely is no noise or movement (bounce) in the floor like there was before plus I'm looking forward to lower fitting costs for the utilities. :)

[@tamarinde]

Would be nice to see a video on noise insulation for floors(and walls) if you havent already. More and more people are getting fancy sound systems and as you know sound likes to travel

[@SkillBuilder]

We have one coming soon

[@SteS]

Look up the *White Book* from British gypsum. It's got all the details you would ever need for new build and retrofit. It has dB ratings for every possible situation with CAD drawings in the portal on BGs site . It's a 700+ page document. Check out partitions and floors and ceilings.

[@bigalsplumbs2]

I work on new build houses and a lot of our work is dealing with noisy floors. Quite often its joist hangers and sole plates that have been nailed down

[@SteS]

Great stuff Roger. Acoustic resilient joist tape is awesome stuff. No need to glue the sheets down, just the T&Gs. PS. Awesome drawing, just don't go cutting your ear off now please.

[@jodalry]

Hi Roger, love your videos. I’m not a tradesman but your videos I think are so helpful for the ordinary house buyer to help them understand what to look for or what to ask about. I’ll bet there’s a few trades people out there who are actually learning what they should be doing with products like this but aren’t because they’ve never been taught properly. Can you consider making a video like this discussing insulation? I watched you video recently about heat pumps where you mentioned the poor insulation characteristics of older stock in the UK. Personally, I would love some advice from a professional like yourself on how this can be addressed depending on the type of walls you have, I.e. cavity, stone, timber etc. Anyway thanks again for a great video. 👍🏻😀

[@smartbuildengineering]

The strongback is doing the same job as noggins - a combination of spreading point loads to adjacent joists, preventing excessive differential movement between adjacent joists, providing torsional stability and as you say connecting the entire mass of the floor together to helps control vibration.

[@SkillBuilder]

Yes you are right, I could have spent a lot more time talking about the Strongback. The name describes it perfectly.

[@smartbuildengineering]

@@SkillBuilder It does!

[@omfgishBenneh]

KZbin tells me the best way to avoid floor squeaking is by using adhesive on top of the joists under the flooring, and also use screws instead of nails - because it's the nails moving in and out of the timber that causes the squeak 😊

[@hdj81Vlimited]

use concrete floor, no squiking. this is why houses in europe last for long long time.

[@darrylbowler3606]

We installed these joists in a large house in Chelsea.We installed then to the book and they were perfectly level and at the spacinngs specified on the plans.Every room sagged and we had to use levelling compound.,was a nightmare.

[@bikerchrisukk]

Fun story, I recently went to a New Build, £1.2m, timber frame, brick cladding. Walking around there was so much flex in the floor it was a joke. I also checked the internal wall thicknesses at first floor level...2 inches over all (around 50mm), not good for privacy between bedrooms eh. I can't tell the owners that, it's bad enough when you've just bought a sarnie and after buying it, everyone says it's rubbish. Now that property has been such a money maker since late 90's, it hasn't been about creating an enjoyable space for people to live in, it's all about the dollar for the developer and about reaching targets for local authorities. Sad face.

[@james.telfer]

Perfect timing, just researching what to use for the roof of a new garage 👍

[@nobby4528]

hi R. i understand you perfect explanation..and i anit that clever! thanks.

[@gourdarchibald6588]

My tip for finding a good builder or any other skilled trade, make an alphabetical list of every relevant tradesman you can find in your area. Look for ad's on the "my trusted" type websites, Facebook, parish magazines, local paper etc etc and cross off the list any you find ad's for. Invite the remainder to tender and cross off any that are very late, don't turn up or the cab of their vehicle looks like a skip threw up in it. With a bit of luck you might end up with 3 or 4 left on your list, then you can book them in for September next year. The point is if they are not advertising it's most likely because they don't need to and will be booked well in advance. Of course you can avoid all this by just contracting Roger, Robin or James to do your work.

[@krakenwoodfloorservicemcma5975]

It’s true, my best buddy and I grew up framing custom roofs. We were always laughed at by elite type customers because we were young, kinda wild and our work truck always had beer cans falling out.. Contractors that knew our work had no problems, but what the public sees as a successful “look” is an absolute joke..

[@raythomason3]

Could we have a piece on boarding out lofts for storage?

[@rexeady4325]

I learnt so much from this vid, so thanks Roger and keep ‘em coming!

[@UberAlphaSirus]

All this stuff being glued up pisses me off. Fixing a 10year old new build bathroom floor after it has rotted out ain't no fun just on slab. Let alone this stuff. I done one shithole on slab. Polysafe flooring direct to 18mm TG chip sub, not even skined. Everything glued to everything. 2 layers of plasterboard under that, 2 layers of white polystyrene with more joist/battens. The platic pipes and mice made a nice cave system under there. Took 2 days, 2 men just to rip it out and lay battens back down. Wet room too!

[@lazycalm41]

My father was a builder all of his life and he used to say 'new builds are slung together by a Monkey with a Hammer in one hand and a mobile phone in the other'

[@Trevor_Austin]

Great video but how about a video on how to find a company who can do a proper “snagging” job on a new build. I “snagged” my own house and found approx. 250 snags but I’m not trained to spot everything. I’m sure I missed several hundred others. House builders (I’d love to mention names) do close on to bugger all checking the short cuts, antics and bodges conjured up by the amateurs brick throwers, wire stuffers, wood butchers, monkeys and associated cretins that throw modern houses together.

[@tomsmith9048]

It's because the price is set by Big builder's so the level of quality drops but the house prices set by the Big builder's doesn't 🔨

[@antonyporter5045]

cracking video again ,, GO ON you name + shame the big boys ! +NHBC !!!

[@tomsmith9048]

Bellway persimmons barrett Taylor every one of them 😡🔨

[@simongreenidge6454]

Also please confiscate all hammers and nails from the builders and give them screws and screwdrivers! So much floor noise is caused by the use of nails in timber :(

[@SkillBuilder]

Too right, even the ring shanks pull out when the timber shrinks.

[@kendodd8734]

100% right loved everything in this vid and normally agree with roger but glueing the boards down and together is a complete no no in u ever need access to the floor void again uve created a nightmare by glueing it all up u just need to fully screw it down through piloted holes at close centres u should never get squeaking if u do this as for ceiling cracking on an old existing building the best and easiest answer is to put in an mf (if u have the head height) this can solve not just the cracking but I’ve created a void for services and foot traffic noise from above is greatly reduced ok more money and time but for the client it rearly ticks a lot of boxes

[@garyevans718]

If you tried to frame a house with screws the building inspector would quickly shut you down and make you take it apart. How many here know why ?

[@garyevans718]

@Lee Davies The structure of a building must withstand shear loads such as wind and earthquakes. Screws have to be made from very hard metal which makes them brittle and prone to breaking, nails are softer and flex instead of breaking. That's why they meet building code as a fastener for wood framing and wood screws do not.

[@kendodd8734]

@@garyevans718 I thought we were talking about the floor and it’s screws over nails all day long and no glue

[@samash1704]

"shrinkage" can be embarrassing. Just ask George Costanza!

[@googleuser6440]

U have to allow for shrinkage 😂

[@lemonylemonscent]

I was in the pool!

[@MrTurboSAAB1]

nothing beats concrete joists/Tbeams + clay block inserts

[@paul756uk2]

One of my son's mates works for a contractor whose job it is to snag problems in new builds. He reckons they allow £10k on each house. Doesn't fill you with confidence.

[@TurinTuramber]

So many new house buyers are completely clueless about the building game, they don't know what to look for.

[@tomsmith9048]

@@TurinTuramber the price is that bad if you did a proper job you'd be lucky to make a 100 pound a day before tax🔨

[@SkillBuilder]

Paul I reckon they allow that but aim not to spend it

[@mateuszsobanski203]

@Geralt, buyers shouldn't have to move in and look for faults if the builder did the job right. There will always be minor defects but it cannot be into dozens in EVERY new build. It's shocking that buyers know about such things going on and they still pay money for something they haven't even seen 😱

[@paul756uk2]

@@SkillBuilder yes, I don't doubt that. Their contract would soon be pulled if they were overspending. The housebuilder would have done the sums to come up with average and maximum figures.

[@maxterdak]

Roger's Drawing on point 👌👌👌

[@stevenwhitfield8540]

How do you do Mr Buzby, enjoyed your videos thanks

[@hi-tech55]

I like a Roger rant. Hardly ever wrong I beans are the way forward. I like the metal webbed joist. Never used them though. The trouble I come across is that contractors sub the job many times. By the time the tradesmen get the job it becomes bash and crash.

[@TrogdorBurnin8or]

Using a smaller joist depth with a camber is a terrible idea for floors that people will walk on. Camber can't deal with live loads, even when oriented properly. It's much easier to just make the joists twice as deep ("eight times as stiff") with zero camber. In a renovation situation a deeper floor may not be feasible... but in that case you should be looking at stiffer, more expensive materials like steel bar joists.

[@Bigelite094]

Wow metal webbed joists. I'm amazed there's still innovation in the construction industry. Chuck it in the skip, never heard that one before.

[@krakenwoodfloorservicemcma5975]

They have metal Webb studs too. They are awesome.

[@markanderson6969]

Are these joists likely to suffer from excessive leaks say from a shower or bath

[@julianthornton9076]

The only thing run at 600mm centers should be a garden shed! 400mm with 22mm flooring & 12.5 p/b negates all the noggins and is cheaper and a better job in the long run. time we had a rant Rog, we love a good Rog rant!

[@rockymount2393]

Same applies to Stud Walls. My son lives in a new build & all the wall studs are on 600mm centres. Makes putting up things like Heavy "Floating/Hovering" En-Suite Cupboards with 25mm thick Oak Worktops (something he wanted 😂), challenging, but i did managed it 👍 Bottom line is they do 600mm centres to save money and increase profits. Also your comment about 22mm Thick T&G Flooring is spot on 👍 I've just built a Cedar Clad Garden Office for my neighbour using 400mm Centres C24 Grade 4x2 Floor Joists (Joist Hanger'ed Inside a C24 4x3 Sub Base Supported on 25 off M24 Galvanised Studs with Locknuts & 100mm Steel "C" Chanel Steel Shoes) & laid 22mm Egger Protect Grey T&G Flooring (sealed together with 5 min Polyurethane & Screwed Down with 5 X 60mm Spax Screws) and absolutely NO vibration or squeaking whatsover 😉

[@tomsmith9048]

It depends on the section of timber and the span and BIG builder's always work on the edge of building regs 😡🔨

[@jbmaintenanceservices2699]

@@rockymount2393 sounds like a guy called Liam species it up 😁 did u buy a build pack? If so was it worth it?

[@rockymount2393]

@@jbmaintenanceservices2699 Hi James, U're spot on 👍 Didn't buy a build pack as Garden Office was an odd size to maximise available area. Mind U I did watch tons of Liam's vids over the Crimbo period & designed mine on PowerPoint of all things 😂 Also got "C" Chanel Steel Shoes made by local fab shop (about £5 each). Mind U I didn't use a Chainsaw to cut Joist/Rafter Tails 😂 M24 Studding worked a treat as ground had 12 inch drop front to back. Most expensive part was Cedar Cladding all round (£3.8k & 6 weeks lead time !!!!).

[@jbmaintenanceservices2699]

@@rockymount2393 nice!!! Cedar cladding looks good but fair few quid 💷 Only Liam would use a chainsaw!! Glad to see the piles work well…

[@SteveHit1]

I guess that herringbone struts in traditional timber floors were the equivalent of the strong back? I also assume that herringbone struts are no longer installed due to the labour requirement.

[@SkillBuilder]

I was going to talk about herringbone struts and forgot. You can use them and they are very effective but the method is slightly different.

[@steveunderwood3683]

If the flooring is glued in he way Roger describes, isn't doing any repair work, or adding things like additional wiring, a nightmare?

[@grantcook5376]

Unfortunately my house has this problem. David Wilson house. Going to make a claim on NHBC 🤔 But hear that they don’t or won’t do any thing about it . House is 8 years old , moved in 9 months ago 😒. Your good self and James can come and do it , and make a skill build video . Tea and cakes when ever you want.

[@geoffgeoff9835]

Very interesting and useful

[@billy4072]

Good points. Well made . Can’t fkn argue . Job done .

[@laci272]

ok, but what about if your second floor is made from reinforced concrete? Is concrete better or worse than like you have it in the video? Any costs advantages?

[@Rory241995]

Having bought our home in January an 07 build there are screws showing on the plasterboard ceiling and every single room upstairs squeaks. I don't want to rip up the entire floor and possibly remove lower sections of the walls but after watching your video it looks like to fix it properly it has to be taken right back to frame! Wondered why this house was cheap but no inspector picked it up!! 😭

[@SkillBuilder]

The surveryors hardly ever pick this problem up and it is so common that it seems like negligence.

[@sadiporter2966]

If the screws are showing without any scrim tape visible then the plaster didn't both putting scrim tape over the screws which is necessary to stop the plaster from falling out or cracking where the screws are.

[@handle1196]

Anyone tried green glue 3mm joist tape between board and joist instead of gluing the boards to the joists? I was thinking its a physical cusion barrier so no chance of squeeks in years to come if the glue separates. Obviously still gluing the t&g

[@krakenwoodfloorservicemcma5975]

Use PL Premium.. it’s 10x better than regular construction adhesive.. comes out of the tube painfully slow though.. no squeaking though, I promise.

[@jamesa6091]

"Some builders run a mile...." My money is on that applying to Persimmon/Charles Church.

[@PA3456]

Compared to previous generations of house builders at least they were solid. The legacy we are leaving behind are horrible houses. These house builders are all about financials no quality do it right first time. Great video Roger.

[@ZXspectrum..]

Roll your carpet up , put in a load of extra screws especially where you walk ...job done

[@colinmiles1052]

My take on anything like this that you are not familiar with is READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! Probably more than once. Great video Roger (as always) Thanks.

[@paulhinds8868]

We have a new (ish) built house, 20 years old & the noise from the floors is terrible. We also have floor’s that slop, strange thing is the ceilings all appear fine ( level and uncracked). Do you recommend any companies that deal with resolving such issues in the Manchester area?

[@fkwcfkwc]

Developers built new houses or apartments mainly concerned on the cosmetic or the aesthetic looks which will attract buyers. It’s understandable they are trying to make the most profit out of it, therefore in most cases, construction methods or materials are compromised.

[@paulhaggett3710]

Thanks Rog, just one question, I thought you don't glue T&G floor boards as you have to allow for expansion? Great video, learnt alot

[@hdj81Vlimited]

glue is flexibel

[@martyboywex]

Can webbed floor joists be propped from below, like proping 9x2 joists with acrow props and 6x3 when loading concrete blocks to upper floors?

[@SkillBuilder]

Yes if you lay a scaffold board across them and a couple of acrows it helps a lot.

[@neilmoran5549]

Propping with an acrow causes a `point` load to the floor joist and could buckle the web. If you have access to the web, fix a vertical noggin either side of the web and between the top and bottom chords of the joist. This will stabilise the joist web and prevent buckling. Alternatively, as roger says, spread the load of the acrow/acrows by using a scaffold board.