[DAVES]

Our previous home was up north and was built in 1948. Not only do they not build them like they used to, you simply cannot build them like they used to. We speak about 2x4 construction lumber.
First of all what you buy that has been processed. planed, is actually smaller than it used to be. Today it is grown on farms.
Due to the faster growth rate the same wood type is actually softer and weaker.
In our older home the roof underpayment was all tongue and grooved fir. Fir is more termite resistant unlike the glued together scraps they they now use there is no glue to fail.
As to brass valves. I had a summer job making faucets. Translation, I knew nothing about being a machinist, I was cheap labor. That summer I made about a million valve stems out of monel-expensive, tough on tools, stainless steel. I asked why people would spend so much on water valves. The reply was the water down south is so bad it destroys brass valves.
Our waste lines were cast iron. Our modern steel making does not make any real cast iron. When you read about cast iron pipe failing, it is not usually cast iron, which is virtually rust proof, it is mild steel which does rust.
To the point-our old home was, most of it 71 years old. Will your modern home last that long? Your plastic plumbing etc-NOPE.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Our previous home was up north and was built in 1948. Not only do they not build them like they used to, you simply cannot build them like they used to. We speak about 2x4 construction lumber.
First of all what you buy that has been processed. planed, is actually smaller than it used to be. Today it is grown on farms.
Due to the faster growth rate the same wood type is actually softer and weaker.
In our older home the roof underpayment was all tongue and grooved fir. Fir is more termite resistant unlike the glued together scraps they they now use there is no glue to fail.
As to brass valves. I had a summer job making faucets. Translation, I knew nothing about being a machinist, I was cheap labor. That summer I made about a million valve stems out of monel-expensive, tough on tools, stainless steel. I asked why people would spend so much on water valves. The reply was the water down south is so bad it destroys brass valves.
Our waste lines were cast iron. Our modern steel making does not make any real cast iron. When you read about cast iron pipe failing, it is not usually cast iron, which is virtually rust proof, it is mild steel which does rust.
To the point-our old home was, most of it 71 years old. Will your modern home last that long? Your plastic plumbing etc-NOPE.

Like most things today, the construction industry is driven by the market and competition. Most people are very naive about what materials are good or bad to have in their house. They are mostly looking at cosmetic features and the cost per square footage. To me, the steel studs are fine, but the most obvious deficiencies in new house construction is cheap windows and doors, and those plastic push-pull shut off valves at the plumbing fixtures. The builder should upgrade the valves.