TheSamba.com :: View topic - Query about unfinished drywall in garages in US

Fri Jun 13, 2025 3:51 pm

jinx758 wrote: It is a cost thing.

"Builder quality" should be included with jumbo shrimp & small crowd.
And Legislative Ethics. To

jinx

Fri Jun 13, 2025 5:50 pm

Thanks everyone.

We too are not immune from poor tradespeople who cut corners, but when I see so many "unfinished" garages it just is interesting.

No new houses here are ever allowed to be half-finished like this. I realise it is a cost issue. I guess that is why we have some of the highest cost houses in the world due to our high cost of trades.

Sat Jun 14, 2025 9:18 am

I was amazed & impressed with the drone shots of neighborhoods on the show "Love On The Spectrum".
The design & craftsmanship is/was VERY high quality.
I think that was filmed in Australia.

Houses require maintenance.
Hire the best quality you can.
Research before you commit your money.

There's too many Chuck-in-a-truck or Stan-with-a-van out there doing shoddy work.
The good ones stay booked up due to word of mouth.

In the HVAC trade feet go thru ceilings.
Some customers go "OH MY GOSH, WHAT THE HECK " !
Others go "eh, fix it".
We fixed what we broke, that's only fair.

Skilled workers ain't cheap & cheap workers ain't skilled.

Huge difference between ProMar200 and Cashmere interior paint from Sherwin Williams.
A good painter can put a straight line with a Harbor Freight brush but Purdy is more durable.

You can always make more money but never more time.

Gentle blessings ... stay safe

jinx

Sun Jun 15, 2025 6:13 pm

KTPhil wrote: With the popularity of wall shelves and racks, leaving the stud locations evident is also an advantage.

But it's to be cheap.

a magnet can find the studs with nails or screws in it. once one is located, one can measure for the next stud as the studs are standard spacing apart, 16 inch being the most common spacing center to center.
or a stud finder can be used that will locate each stud

of course all the chicks call me stud. :roll:

Wed Jun 18, 2025 9:09 am

Back before the common practice of attached garages insurance companies would jack up your rate of the garage was attached to your home. I am not sure if you can ask for and get a reduction today if the garage is separate. It seems to me you should be able to.

Another thing I found out recently is that a garage is in the insurance company's eyes "a place where your car is parked". If you have tools and a work bench it is no longer a garage. It is now a "workshop" and comes at a higher premium! Seems they frown on people doing things in their "garage".

Wed Jun 18, 2025 10:11 am

oprn wrote: Back before the common practice of attached garages insurance companies would jack up your rate of the garage was attached to your home. I am not sure if you can ask for and get a reduction today if the garage is separate. It seems to me you should be able to.

Another thing I found out recently is that a garage is in the insurance company's eyes "a place where your car is parked". If you have tools and a work bench it is no longer a garage. It is now a "workshop" and comes at a higher premium! Seems they frown on people doing things in their "garage".

Rates for detached garage or structures versus an attached garage may or may not affect the cost of a policy in the United States. Many variables are considered underwriting policies. In the US insurance regulations/laws may vary from state to state.

Looks like insurance policies and regulations are different in Canada.

Wed Jun 18, 2025 11:03 am

In the USA, I've never had a home insurance company ask me if I do stuff in my garage or even ask for photos or come look at the house in person to decide on anything.

Wed Jun 18, 2025 2:02 pm

EverettB wrote: In the USA, I've never had a home insurance company ask me if I do stuff in my garage or even ask for photos or come look at the house in person to decide on anything.

I have, twice. By two different insurance companies. But I live in a neighborhood over a hundred years old in Oregon. Both insurance companies sent a person, similar to an appraiser

Wed Jun 18, 2025 2:33 pm

EverettB wrote: In the USA, I've never had a home insurance company ask me if I do stuff in my garage or even ask for photos or come look at the house in person to decide on anything.
The way it will likely work is that when you make a claim the insurance investigator will start kicking up tools in the ashes then... they are done. Your insurance is null and void due to you being untruthful about the use of the premises.

They don't have the time or the staff to police all their customers. If you tell them what you are doing in there they will make a note of it and up your rates. If you do not tell them and make a claim then there is no payout. Either way it's a win-win for them and a lose-lose for you.

Wed Jun 18, 2025 3:17 pm

oprn wrote: EverettB wrote: In the USA, I've never had a home insurance company ask me if I do stuff in my garage or even ask for photos or come look at the house in person to decide on anything.
The way it will likely work is that when you make a claim the insurance investigator will start kicking up tools in the ashes then... they are done. Your insurance is null and void due to you being untruthful about the use of the premises.

They don't have the time or the staff to police all their customers. If you tell them what you are doing in there they will make a note of it and up your rates. If you do not tell them and make a claim then there is no payout. Either was it's a win-win for them and a lose-lose for you.

No oprn. That’s not how it works in the US, in all states. Depends on the policy of the insurance company and state rules and regulations. Xatie used to investigate home claims in Oregon. For example, I can do or keep whatever I want in my detached or attached garage. I might not be able to use my garage as a place of doing business though. Again a lot of variables. If I have a fancy kick ass finshed garage I might want to spend more to cover the loss because it raises the value of my home. You being in Canada things are probably different.

Wed Jun 18, 2025 4:04 pm

About 10 years back we had a plow wind go through and did a lot of damage. It destroyed the kid's play house, flattened the sides on my utility/garbage trailer, flattened the corral fences, damaged the roof and one side of the holiday trailer, ripped a lot of shingles off the garage and took the roof off our "barn" (a 14'X 16' building).

The insurance adjuster showed up...

"Your policy does not cover fences."
"Anything with wheels is not covered, you need a separate policy for trailers."
"What is in this barn?"

"25 chickens."

"That is a commercial enterprise and not covered under a home owner's policy."

Fortunately it was -25* and he was in street shoes and a suit jacket so I gave him the grand tour. He was so cold by the time we got to the garage that he did not look in it or ask what was in there so in the end I got away with it being my workshop. I was not expecting to!

In the end he paid $1200 for the kid's play house and covered the cost of the shingles but not the labor. "Depreciation" he called it.

That is the way insurance works here!