Building Disaster - Any more?

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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Let me start by first saying, this is a problem in a new modern luxury building. The apartments are I guess US$250K to buy, the building is well maintained and maintenance is not cheap.

Fortunately I got a great deal on renting and glad I don't own, especially after what I have seen today :)

For a while now I have had a filtration problem in one of the rooms in my apartment. It first appeared as some spots on the "Plycem" sheet used for the false ceiling and in the past 2-3 months has gotten much worse.

Today the owner and his engineer started work on resolving the problem.
They had a bit of a shock when they started ripping down the ceiling.

I wonder how many more buildings have this level of quality work?

The signs that something needs looking at.
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I guess they run out of tube?
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Installation tape, Dominican style. Yes, they used a plastic bag.
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Holes stuffed with newspaper and other crap.
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This is the main problem, a big hole leading to the patio upstairs.
It was stuffed with news paper, twigs and other stuff to plug the hole.
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Make sure if you are buying, you take a very good look at what your getting.
You might even want to look beyond the false ceilings in some cases!
 
May 12, 2005
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Either they aren't using properly trained tradesmen or more likely they are cutting corners to increase profit. Definitely conduct a thorough home inspection prior to buying. Hope the concrtete wasn't substandard. What was the name of the constructor?
 

Gerritt_From_Canada

New member
Nov 2, 2010
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Scary... not to mention the mold remediation that will follow. make sure that mold is properly removed/disinfected (NO bleach will not kill mold) or it will just grow back again, and the long term health effects can be very bad for you're respiratory system. Look in to a product called Benefect, for proper mold cleaning, and never ever place a fan on mold as you are then making it airborne.

I am a general contractor for large insurance firms here in Canada, and deal with these situations alot.

Let us know how you make out.

G
 

Anastacio

Banned
Feb 22, 2010
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I have had this myself. The plumbing running from the kitchen sink through the wall was packed by a plastic bag and alot of silicone. After ripping the sink out to find the smell and trying to sort it myself I found that the 2" pipes were not connected, they were about 2" short of connecting and so they had literally bridged the gap with a plastic bag. All the drained water had been running into a cavity in the wall for as long as it had been standing, and I was wondering where the smell was coming from and the ants were coming from. On further inspection I found the foundations to have desolved into mush.

I fixed the pipes at a cost of 40pesos for a 2" sleave. The foundations were another thing altogether, serious stuff but didnt seem to worry the landlord, what you cant see, etc etc.

After finding this I found all drainage pipes were sealed with plastic bags and all surrounding holes packed with plastic bags and silicone.
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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Scary... not to mention the mold remediation that will follow. make sure that mold is properly removed/disinfected (NO bleach will not kill mold) or it will just grow back again, and the long term health effects can be very bad for you're respiratory system. Look in to a product called Benefect, for proper mold cleaning, and never ever place a fan on mold as you are then making it airborne.

I am a general contractor for large insurance firms here in Canada, and deal with these situations alot.

Let us know how you make out.

G

I guess you have never lived in the DR :)

Many, many buildings suffer from mold and filtration problems.

They are clueless about "killing" mold (hongos) and the negative effects on health etc. Most will wash the walls with bleach or diesel, yes, the stuff you put in your car, then paint over it. Out of sight, out of mind.

They are here now removing all the old wood and ceiling.
I'm not looking forward to the next few days, as I know how things work here and it will be a disaster zone.
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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Either they aren't using properly trained tradesmen or more likely they are cutting corners to increase profit. Definitely conduct a thorough home inspection prior to buying. Hope the concrtete wasn't substandard. What was the name of the constructor?

Dude, this is the DR not the USA!

Tell me a building trade that has a training program?
It's all on the job and passdown the bad practices.
Anyone can be a builder, plumber, mechanic, carpenter, electrician, roofer etc.

I have no idea who the constructor was. Not that it matters, because it wasn't his fault and he will swear on his kids lives. No es mi culpa... blah blah blah :)
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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This is COMMON building technique here!

I saw much worse during costruction at the "Plaza de la Salud!
It is partly due to "Greed" on the part of the contractor,and partly due to lack of supervision,and partly due to NO skilled Haitians,who actually do the work.
They use "string" to measure how long to cut the pvc pipes.They use "torches" of rolled-up newspapers to see in unlighted areas,they often improvise "tools".
They "bury" pipes in the cement.When they leak,you have to break the cement.
I can't wait to see all the "former" highrise buildings after a "Quake"!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCcc
 

Anastacio

Banned
Feb 22, 2010
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I see no problems at all with improvising using string to measure PVC etc but I do wish they would stop with the concreting of pipes where not need be, and always on the joints, Concreting manhole covers on traps rather than simply setting a removable cover, that is plain lazy. But it is part and parce, fun and games:cheeky::bunny:l.
 

Gerritt_From_Canada

New member
Nov 2, 2010
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I guess you have never lived in the DR :)

Many, many buildings suffer from mold and filtration problems.

They are clueless about "killing" mold (hongos) and the negative effects on health etc. Most will wash the walls with bleach or diesel, yes, the stuff you put in your car, then paint over it. Out of sight, out of mind.

They are here now removing all the old wood and ceiling.
I'm not looking forward to the next few days, as I know how things work here and it will be a disaster zone.


Sad to say I have never lived there.. someday though.. :) Diesel? Wow that is a new one!

Well I suppose you can only hope there is a quick end to this mess.

Best of Luck!

G
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
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Not surprising the PVC plumbing came loose. It sure looks like they don't use a cleaning solvent before gluing the pieces together.
 

RacerX

Banned
Nov 22, 2009
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That missing plumbing conduit is a frequent occurrence is Dominican plumbing. I have a friend who has this "set-up" in her laundry room. Which is stupid just as well as their inability to think creatively for a solution. So when the water runs down the basin it drains onto the floor which means someone has to mop it up because it misses the drain tube by about the 6" from the Y. So I m sitting there and my shoes keep getting wet and I take a look at this. God awful.
The fix: I cut the base off a 1-liter soda bottle and cut the top off the bottle below the cap and wrapped a worm clamp around the opening on the bottom the sink and angle it to empty into the Y.

And if you are upset with respect to the plumbing and construction lets not even get started on the electrical wiring. Scary stuff.
 

Chip

Platinum
Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
This is a simple case of greed, nothing more and nothing less. Yes, Haitians do most of the work but on projects done correctly they are closely supervised by Dominican maestros. The engineer/owner is at 100% fault here. Believe it or not there are competent engineers, contractors and maestros that actually give a schit as I have seen it with my own eyes but apparently the owner/engineer decided profit was more important than paying to have work properly executed. For anybody that thinks this only happens in the DR think of the Chinese sheetrock scandal in Florida and not only that my brother's law firm makes hundreds of thousands of dollars every year working in suing and defending construction lawsuits in Hilton Head, SC of all places.
 

ssarkas

Member
Oct 9, 2007
120
2
18
when building one has to be there to see all is done correctly. even if you dont know anything about . many things are so obvious a baby can see it. if you cant be there than rent
 

Jerry Albers

New member
Dec 12, 2010
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Keep in mind the dominican construction workers didnt have the opportunity to go to the electrical college I went to In Canada. I hire Dominicans to help me put ceiling fans in and hang lights.. I find it best just work with them if you want to insure your standards.. If you want Merretts for your electrical joints - better by some yourself.. or your getting electrical tape. After all. Someone showed me the right way along time ago..
 

RacerX

Banned
Nov 22, 2009
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Yea, well soldered joints is not what they go. Just wrapped it up and cover it in tape(if you have it). And use scrap wire to secure the wires to the wall of the house. Not brackets or braces.
 

Robert

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Jan 2, 1999
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Update:

They found the cause of the water leaks and are fixing it now.
The downside, they needed to dig out big chunks of the ceiling. That's what happens when you cement pipes into the floor etc.

The upside. The engineer that's on the job is pretty smart and appears to know his stuff.
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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Update:

Let me take back what I said about the engineer.
Some people are ignorant, others are truly stupid!

After telling them they need to resolve the cause of the problem first, then they can fix up the ceiling, they went away and did the complete opposite.

They cemented up the pipes and the holes in the ceiling, without first fixing the problem above in the floor that was causing the water leakage in the first place.

They thought they could do pretty easy first, then fix the problem second and that it wouldn't rain. If you live in Santo Domingo, you know last night it hammered down with rain.

You can see the water indicated by the arrows.

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Today is going to be interesting!
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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Update:

Let me take back what I said about the engineer.
Some people are ignorant, others are truly stupid!

After telling them they need to resolve the cause of the problem first, then they can fix up the ceiling, they went away and did the complete opposite.

They cemented up the pipes and the holes in the ceiling, without first fixing the problem above in the floor that was causing the water leakage in the first place.

They thought they could do pretty easy first, then fix the problem second and that it wouldn't rain. If you live in Santo Domingo, you know last night it hammered down with rain.

You can see the water indicated by the arrows.

6.jpg


Today is going to be interesting!
:tired: Jeez...

I hope you've made it clear the "fix" is unacceptable...
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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:tired: Jeez...

I hope you've made it clear the "fix" is unacceptable...

Of course. They will be digging out cement today and fixing the cause.

I guess now I have to stand their and not only watch what the workers do, but also try and interpret what the engineer is thinking.