Swamplot Archives by Category: Construction Problems

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Brick on the Inside

October 14, 2009 – 2:39 pm
   

Before his dog Teddy runs off with it, new Norhill resident John Whiteside finds a convenient doorstop solution: “None of the doors in my house close. Well, the closets do. But the actual doors into rooms – no. . . . It is a little more crooked than most Heights houses (which are always a little crooked, unless they’re new, in which case they will be crooked soon as the shitty modern constructions settles in). I would like it if the doors latched, but I’m not going to deal with that until I am sure there are no additional foundation repairs in the offing. This is normally fine because it doesn’t really bother me if I’m peeing and suddenly the door comes in and Teddy strolls in. ‘Hey, whatcha doin’?’ However, on Saturday I had people over for a little housewarming open house, and I realized on Saturday afternoon that guests might not enjoy Teddy visits during personal moments quite as much. What to do? Why, a doorstop seemed like the ideal answer. I looked around the house for a suitable heavy object. Then I had a great idea; there’s been a pile of red bricks sitting outside next to the air conditioning unit since I moved in. Solid, compact, easy to slide over in front of the door, and kind of rustic – the perfect doorstop!” [By the Bayou]

2:39 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Construction Problems, Home Decor, Interiors, Neighborhoods: Norhill Historic District, Quicklink
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Thursday, May 7, 2009

Withering Townhouses of the First Ward

May 7, 2009 – 10:25 am

A First Ward resident wants the scoop on a nearby development that’s “really going to pasture” on the 1500 block of Bingham, just west of Houston Ave. and across from Brock Elementary.

It is a townhouse project that got started 1-2 years ago, was never finished, and is now becoming a huge eyesore (broken doors, windows, garage doors…they got as far as putting mesh siding but stopped short of actually getting the stucko on there).

I have lived in the first ward for about 2 years in a renovated bungalow. it makes me sick to see all these properties built on spec to make a quick buck that are becoming abandoned, and only after demolishing what was there in the first place.

A few more photos our reader sent in:

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10:25 am | 19 Comments | Read more about Construction Problems, Neighborhoods: First Ward, New Construction: Residential, Redevelopment, Townhomes
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

And How’s Our House Doing This Week?

April 29, 2009 – 8:51 am

Swamplot reader Scott Broschart sends in a photo he took last Monday from the roof of the Herrin Lofts in East Downtown, looking west toward the GRB Convention Center. “Take a look in the windows of the yellow town houses across the street,” he says.

Okay . . .

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8:51 am | 11 Comments | Read more about Construction Problems, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Real Estate Marketing, Townhomes
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A “Deep Renovation” Gone Wrong

April 14, 2009 – 10:15 pm
   

A building collapse this afternoon killed at least one worker and seriously injured 2 others at Brays Crossing, a 6-building, low-cost apartment project being fashioned from the former HouTex Inn on I-45 just north of Griggs Road, near Forest Park Cemetery. “The two-story building collapsed as construction workers were replacing joists and the structure began to shift, said Richard Cole, chief of the fire department’s rescue team. The original building was a wooden frame building and had no steel beams for the support needed, he said. . . . New Hope Housing, the city’s partner on the 149-room apartment complex, bought the inn and hired Camden Builders to rehab it beginning in January. When it’s finished, small, single room occupancy apartments will be rented to the newly homeless, said Richard Celli, the city’s director of housing and community development.” [Houston Chronicle; schematic diagram (PDF)]

10:15 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Construction Problems, Hazards, Neighborhoods: Idylwood, Quicklink, Renovations
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Friday, February 20, 2009

Allen Stanford’s Downtown Houston Loft Legacy: Tell it to the Arbitrator

February 20, 2009 – 1:36 pm

Allen Stanford’s international “banking” empire is falling apart. How’s his work as a Houston real estate developer holding up?

Stanford Development Corporation still owns a couple of units on the top floor of the Stanford Lofts, the 5-story East Downtown condo building topped with a starred tiara that the company completed in 2002, just a few blocks east of Minute Maid Park. But owning the condos didn’t prevent the condo owners association from filing a construction-defect lawsuit against the Stanford Lofts developers and builders in 2007, charging Stanford Development with “breach of contract, Deceptive Trade Practices, breach of warranty, fraud, and negligent design, construction, and supervision.”

The summary of problems with the building included in the original complaint is 9 pages long, and includes failure to meet building codes, wall cracks and leaks, structural movement, and a series of defects causing continuing problems with water infiltration. The repair estimate: more than $2 million.

The case has dragged on for some time. Attorneys for the Stanford Condo Owners Association complained that Stanford Development was dragging its feet, arguing last year in response to a stay request:

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1:36 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Buying and Selling, Condos, Construction Problems, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: East Downtown
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