VII
POOR METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYED
BY UNSCRUPULOUS BUILDERS

It would be an endless task to list and describe all of the possible faults of construction which an unscrupulous builder might use in the erection of a small house, and, indeed, it would result largely in rehearsing all of the details of good construction, and then reversing them, showing that instead of doing the correct thing it was done quite the opposite way. But there are certain obvious and glaring faults of construction which are employed by speculative builders with one purpose in mind, namely, to reduce the cost but maintain a good appearance.

An intentional and clever disguise of poor construction is, at heart, the dishonest thing against which this is written. The defects of construction which are either the result of ignorance or unskilled labor, while they are bad enough, are not malicious, but those defects which are intentionally planned are simply systems of stealing, and they are usually found in the so-called speculative house, which the unwary public buys in preference to securing an honest house, designed by an architect. And it is this system of dishonest construction that makes the speculative house seem, on the face, cheaper than the honest house.

Indeed, it is the whole intention of such dishonest methods of building to make the house seem, on the face of it, substantial, good-looking, and honest, but to hide, beneath the glamour of its exterior, weaknesses of structure which will cause all kinds of failures after a few years of standing. So long as the house stands together until the builder has sold it to some unsuspecting buyer, that is all that interests him.

In observing some of these dishonest methods of construction it is well to keep in mind that they will appear on the exterior well done, but that their faults are hidden, and intentionally planned to reduce the cost for the builder.

In order to systematize our observations along these lines let us imagine a house which we will inspect in an orderly fashion. We will begin with the cellar and proceed upward to the roof. This house is an ordinary frame dwelling upon a stone foundation.

The Fake Leader The Poorly Made Floor