America experienced a residential building boom from 1997 to 2007, with an average of 1.72 million new homes going up each year during that period. This far outpaced the suburban building boom after World War 2, which peaked in 1977 with an average of 1.4 million new homes built.

But we’re learning that there is one key difference between the two new housing booms – the quality of the construction.

The December 2011 issue of Angie’s List members’ magazine featured a piece by the company’s founder, Angie Hicks, wherein she wrote:

“There are more problems with homes built during the 1997 to 2007 housing boom than during any other time period, according to a recent Angie’s List survey of highly rated home inspectors. The sheer volume of houses being built during that time made it difficult for local housing code authorities to enforce proper building methods. Many of those homes today have problems related to hasty construction, poor quality of materials and failure to meet minimum housing code standards.

A recent online poll of members reveal more than half who built a home during the boom discovered their homes were fraught with problems after a contractor completed the job. Poor drywall and carpentry work, structural troubles and plumbing problems were the three most widespread issues reported on the poll. Bad roofing jobs, insufficient insulation, dangerous electrical wiring, and improperly sized heating and cooling systems were other common complaints.”

Why the Quality Suffered

Factors that influence the poorer quality of homes built between 1997 – 2007 include a sharp rise in the cost of buying new land, and the materials and labor to build them. This created a need for home builders to erect the homes to minimum building code standards at the lowest cost per square foot in order to recoup their cost and make a profit.

The need for speedy home building was inspired by consumer access to easier home loans with record-low interest rates. The American public felt this new housing bubble pop during the October 2008 financial crises, though the home builders’ felt the sting in 2007 when the sub-prime mortgage crises greatly reduced the new housing starts. By 2009, new home building slowed to a crawl.

Common shortcuts taken by some new home builders during the boom years included using wood of debatable quality for framing, insufficient drying times for concrete foundations and skimping on insulation. These are issues that typically do not show on the surface of a pretty new home, but rather reveal themselves over the years as bowing walls, cracked foundations and high energy bills to heat and cool the home.

In the Metro St. Louis area, homes built during this time period have a propensity for water leaks around windows, a problem caused by flashing installed incorrectly (also known as reverse flashing – which actually pushes the water into the house), or no flashing at all.

How to Solve the Problem

As too often happens, the problems hidden behind the walls of some new homes reveal themselves long after the contractor has moved on, which makes it difficult to get any help from that contractor, even when it can be proven they were responsible for the issue. Unfortunately, this can leave the solutions in the hands of the homeowner, who too often face regular repair bills atop the monthly payments on a new home.

If you are considering buying a home built from 1997 – 2007, it is wise to invest in a full inspection or evaluation of the home’s construction. Be sure that these are by companies independent of a real estate agent or builder so you receive honest answers.

If you own a home of this vintage and are experiencing problems beyond regular, required maintenance, have the Home Consultants at Mosby Building Arts analyze and solve the problems. Mosby specializes in home evaluations and water management, and because they have worked on correcting issues with homes built during the boom years, have all the resources you need to finally have the home you want. Call the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact them here.

The tornadoes that raged through Metro St. Louis on New Year’s Eve have left behind a tragic trail of damage. Following in its wake is a trail of unscrupulous “handymen” looking to make quick cash from distraught homeowners.

When standing in the aftermath of tornado damage, you want to act quickly to remove obstructions and protect what remains. It’s this sense of urgency that con- artists, disguised as repairmen, take advantage of.

Professional, reputable contractors will not go door-to-door offering to help in unmarked trucks with flyers and business cards still warm from the copy machine. They also do not demand full payment upfront before they begin, especially if the work will most likely be an insurance claim.

Also be sure to first check with your home insurance company about emergency claims procedures, and if there are preferred companies they want you to use in order to be reimbursed.

Even though you have an urgent need, please protect yourself by making sure you are having work done by experienced, professional companies. Have answers to these questions before you let someone work on your storm damaged home:

• Is it a company name you recognize?

• Do they check out with the Better Business Bureau?

• Have they shown you credentials?

• Will they provide referrals or references so you can check their reputation?

• Will they write and sign a contract with scope of work?

• Will they work with your insurance company for repairs and reimbursement?

Look for Damage Known & Unknown

Some of the damage to your home is painfully obvious. There can also be more subtle damage not immediately apparent.

As soon as possible, take photos of the existing conditions of your home – you can’t take too many and every detail is significant. These “after” photos can be compared to older photos of your home, and may uncover things initially overlooked. For instance, an older photo may show 4 exhaust vents on your roof where now there’s only 3.

The bent exhaust screen in the above photo may seem like minor damage, but the major uplift of air pressure that caused it to blow out affected the entire attic and roof system. In essence, tornado winds momentarily lifted up the entire house.

In the weeks and months to come, these homeowners may start to notice that doors and windows no longer work properly, or see cracks in plaster and drywall around window and door frames. The logical first thought is that it’s foundation damage, and they call a foundation specialist. But because of the high pressure damage, it’s more likely going to be internal structural damage rather than a foundation problem.

Loose shingles and fascia board may seem like minor damage that is relatively easy to repair, but may be a sign of more significant issues. For your safety and peace of mind, you should have the entire internal structure of your home inspected to make sure that all problems are identified.

The professional Home Consultants at Mosby Building Arts are uniquely qualified and experienced in inspecting your home from top to bottom and uncovering the hidden damage from storm damage. Mosby is also a respected and experienced contractor that can repair any type of damage to your home.

For a complete home inspection and thorough repair done right the first time, call the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact them here.

Columns on a front porch look wonderful but they also serve an important purpose – holding up the porch roof! There are many types of vertical wood support columns around a home, from porches to wood decks, and it’s important to keep them in good shape because they do bear weight.

The greatest enemy of wood support posts is water, and they should never be in direct contact with concrete, stone or soil because they will soak up moisture and result in them rotting.

Wood columns are typically separated from horizontal surfaces with a thin metal plate (as with a wood deck column) or suspended above the surface and the gap is disguised with a trim piece. This is enough to keep the wood from absorbing too much water.

On a regular basis, check all wood posts and columns around your home for water rot. Look at the bottom 12” for failing or flaking paint, which is a sure sign of moisture issues. Use your finger or screwdriver to poke at finish blemishes, and if it feels soft or penetrates the surface, you’ve got wood rot.

Sometimes the damaged section can be repaired, but if you find yourself patching and repairing it repeatedly, there’s a much larger water problem that needs to be corrected.

Other times the entire wood column will have to be replaced, and it is necessary to fix the moisture problem before installing the new post or you will face the same issue again in the future.

Why would a wood column that has performed perfectly for so long suddenly develop a moisture problem? Keep in mind that rot does not happen overnight; it can take several years for a problem to show up because wood rots from the inside out.

There are several environmental factors that can alter the performance of a support post:

● Plants and shrubs that have grown large enough to block sunlight and airflow

● Landscape mulch depth increases which brings the post into regular contact with water

● Gutters malfunction, causing water to splash or drench the area

● Paints and coatings eventually wear off and expose wood to the elements

● Foundation settlement or weakness opens up new channels for water penetration

Because you are most likely dealing with structural supports, it is preferred that you stay safe and let a professional take care of this type of problem. A Mosby Home Consultant can evaluate problem areas on any of your wood support columns and advise you on the proper way to repair or replace them, while the Mosby construction crew can resolve the issue by fixing it right the first time.

If you detect rot on your wood posts or columns, take care of the problem immediately by calling the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact them here.

Open floor plans are highly-desired in today’s homes because they can increase opportunities for connection and interaction between people.  One way to achieve and increase these together times for friends and family is by removing obstacles that limit visual connection and impair access.

For instance, a popular remodeling project to achieve a bigger kitchen is to remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room which visually connects the spaces and effectively increase the feel of both rooms. Another is to remove the wall between the family room and an under-used living room.  This has the benefit of making more space without adding on.

But can that wall be removed without causing major damage to the structure of the home?  Does the wall hold anything up, which is to say is the wall load-bearing?  What is inside that wall and can it be moved to allow wall removal?  How can I find out?

Load-bearing walls must be positively identified before starting any home improvement that includes removing or altering a wall, door or window opening.  Identifying load points and structural walls in a house requires an accurate assessment of the structure, building materials, and an awareness of the local building practices.  This structural assessment is best done by a licensed Architecture firm, or Professional Engineer. Do not attempt this yourself. This information is intended to help you stay safe while dreaming about changing your house and moving walls.  Please contact Mosby Building Arts, Ltd. for consulting assistance with load-bearing walls.

A load-bearing wall is one that bears the weight and force of a structure, and transfers that weight to the ground.  Grounding points – like foundations, footings, columns and piers – are what bear the weight of the home.  Some structures that span between these grounding points are known as load-bearing walls, beams, headers, trusses or lintels.

Probable Load-Bearing Walls

An example of load-bearing walls found in this particular home.

The roof structure and second floor structure defines largely where load-bearing points are located.  Most exterior walls bear some load of a house, while interior load-bearing walls can typically be parallel to the roof ridge of the home, and tend to run perpendicular to the floor joists.

Structural walls on two story homes with gable roofs are commonly the center wall running parallel with the length of the house and the front and rear walls on the exterior.  However a house with a hip roof structure suggests that all the exterior walls are bearing walls.  Any wall, on all floors, directly above or parallel to a basement beam, typically wood, steel I-beam or a basement wall must be considered by a layman as directly load bearing.  Stair well openings are also typically load-bearing points.

These are very general rules of thumb, and one must understand how the house was originally constructed to prioritize structure points in a home.  Local building practices are also considered to identify load bearing points such as the use of floor or roof trusses, conventional framing lumber, manufactured members, or a combination of these.  There may be other load-bearing walls that are not so obvious to the layman, which is why an on-site assessment by a building professional is crucial before beginning this type of remodeling project.

When In Doubt, Don’t Cut It Out

It is best to be safe and stay on the side of caution and consider every wall as load-bearing until it has been confirmed by a professional.

A load bearing wall can be removed, but a new system for transferring the weight has to be built.  The most common way to solve this is by building a new header and post structure to go in place of the wall.  Here is an example of this procedure from a Mosby Building Arts kitchen project:

In this before picture, the wall between the dining room and kitchen was load-bearing, but to achieve a more spacious kitchen, plans called for the removal of this barrier.

Mosby carpenters were able to remove the wall by installing a new load-bearing point, artfully disguised as a column, and transfer the load of the weight-bearing header, artfully disguised as a soffit with crown-molding, to a new grounding point.  This column location was chosen by home owners so that a column in the basement was not required to be added.  Moving or removing this column also affected the budget, so remain apprised of potential costs in these decisions.  See more photos from this project.

So, a load-bearing wall can be reconfigured to accommodate a new interior design, as long as the identification and construction is done by building professionals with a deep understanding and the experience to change important structural elements.

Mosby Building Arts provides a consultation service to accurately identify load-bearing walls in a home and help map out the best way to proceed on a remodeling project that may require their alteration or removal.  Be cautious and be safe by calling the office at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.

We have just begun work on a complete renovation of a 2-story farmhouse in Southern Illinois. The home was built by a great-grandfather approximately 140 years ago and has served 5 generations of family.

The house was built with balloon framing, which is not unusual for a house of this vintage. But finding the wells between the studs lined with non-structural bricks was quite the surprise. Interior plaster was applied directly to the bricks, while wood clapboards nailed into the wood studs covered the exterior brick. This curious find led to a collective, “Why?”

One of our carpenters, recalling old building practices of his native Ireland, said they used to fill framing with bricks to keep out rodents and insects. The most logical guess was that the bricks were a crude form of insulation. A little research into this phenomenon offers up several answers.

This practice of brick wall lining is known as “brick nogging,” and can be found in wood frame buildings built from 1810 – 1900. Bricks were found to be a better material for thwarting pest infestation than the straw and corncob insulation used in earlier days, and that solid wall helped block wind.

Brick nogging also served as a form of fire blocking, and provided a bit of soundproofing. A fascinating detail on all aspects of brick nogging can be read here.

It’s said that brick nogging was done only on exterior walls, and that highlights another curious aspect of our client’s farmhouse: even the interior walls are “nogged.” Seeing as how this home is (still) in a sparsely-populated rural area, the fire protection aspects of brick lining could have been an incentive for the 19^th century builder.

In the 21^st century, a brick lined wall provides an R-value of only R1 while modern homes strive for R11 – 20. Bricks retain moisture, so applying any new materials on or near it increases the risk of damp and mold issues. So, in adherence to responsible remodeling practices, we are carefully removing the brick lining, and proper insulation will then go into the spaces between the still-sturdy wood framing.

As we move through the old house, we’re learning how best building practices both change and remain the same over the centuries, and that great grandfather and Mosby have something important in common: We build it to last.

You can now see the completed project.

The owner of this ranch house in Warson Woods called us about a ceiling crack. Rich – the Total Home Solutions manager – was called to come and evaluate the situation, wherein he discovered the ceiling was a visible reaction to the real culprit: a cracking foundation.

Mosby Building Arts recommends Helitech for foundation problems, and they will fix the home with the Helical Pier Foundation System. The owner wants to avoid damaging the lawn, so most of the piering work will be done from inside the basement, and this is where the challenge introduces itself.

Mosby is coming back to this job to remove all items from the walls and sections of the basement where the piers will be inserted. The challenge is carefully removing paneling, flooring, plumbing and a water heater, because every single item touched has to then be put back in place when Helitech is done. A challenge like this requires a plan before starting, patience during the process and strict attention to detail.

Shown above (left to right: Rory, Tyler & Tim) is the Mosby production crew who will meet the challenge of this remodeling puzzle. Project manager Tim put it very succinctly: When we’re done, this basement needs to look exactly as it does at this minute.

To that end, today we took plenty of “before” photos. When the job is done, there should be no visible difference between the “before” and “after” photos. Stay tuned to see how we do!