vacant lots, half finished houses, leaky basements, poor workmanship and construction waste

[NNN0LHI]

http://daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=422877

Web exclusive: Struggling home builder has Bourbonnais residents fuming
06/25/2008, 6:45 am

Dozens of angry homeowners Tuesday jammed a meeting room at the Bourbonnais Public Library to join forces in opposition to struggling South Barrington-based Kennedy Homes, the firm they blame for neglecting their new subdivision and failing to live up to promises made when it sold new homes in Eagle Creek, among other area developments.

Kennedy is in financial trouble, according to published reports, a circumstance that seems consistent with the comments of residents here, who said they've been unable to talk to someone from the builder about vacant lots, half finished houses, leaky basements, poor workmanship and construction waste found dumped in their neighborhoods.

Kennedy is known for its ubiquitous advertisements touting "big houses, low prices."

[knitter4democracy]

1. I'm not surprised.

Spec homes are often the projects contractors cut corners on (gives them more profit and no owners to sue until after the fact). If a contractor's pulling this kind of crap, shouldn't they go for his license?

[L0oniX]

2. I'm a contractors kid and I grew up on the job site. The contractors these days are hiring....

yep you guess it ...illegals ...and they are doing very poor quality work. I've been looking at some apartments being built and see uneven block walls, un-square windows and door jams, shoddy stuckle work and the gang of illegals working there on Saturdays and Sundays. I say they are illegal because most legit Americans would not be working on the weekends. I had a contractor who moved in next store to me and had illegals living in a shed in his back yard. He built a 2 stall garage without a permit and the city came and made him tear it down which I thought was a fitting reward. The water police came by and cited him for watering his new lawn during the daytime and on the wrong days. This guy is typical of the illegal workers and contractors. My dad won't even come down here and work because he says "they don't care if one corner of the building is 4 inches lower than the others".

[sdfernando]

3. Yes, lets blame it all on the "illegals"

...because everyone knows that a LEGAL construction worker never do shoddy work!

[L0oniX]

7. Geeze ...another board nazi. I only spoke of what I have observed. DOH

[sdfernando]

8. Blanket statements don't work....

You used a blanket statement: "The contractors these days are hiring....yep you guess it ...illegals ...and they are doing very poor quality work." As another poster pointed out, your logic is flawed...and the statement is patently offensive. Try replacing "illegal" with "Mexican" or "Black" and you will see just how badly you communicated your observation.

[L0oniX]

10. Guess what ...I will say what ever I want and if you want to stop free speech and opinion...

you can just put me on ignore. Who made you the over lord here?

[sdfernando]

11. And I have just as much right to point out

my observations about you and your statements....and no one, not even you can make me stop pointing out calling people out regarding them. You're welcome to ignore me all you like.

[L0oniX]

14. In that case ...welcome to my ignore dungeon

[ThePowerofWill]

23. It's true.

No knock on Hispanics really, but theres been an almost 20yr trend of hiring the cheapest you could get away with. You go for the cheapest you get the cheapest work.

One example i can give is in brick and block laying. When i did this you made sure every course was level and plum, and on perfect bond. Now they only make sure every 3rd, to 5th course is checked.

I no longer do masons work because the wages have actually fallen! In 1989 i was making $18hr. Now i might get $12-14.

[Raksha]

15. I don't blame the illegals. I blame cheap contractors

who refuse to pay qualified construction workers of whatever nationality a living wage. They'd probably pay less than the minumum wage if they could get away with it--and I bet many of them do.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. Illegal = Incompetence

Can you prove your math is correct? That's an algebraic equation I would challenge.

[L0oniX]

6. I didn't say that and you know it. I pointed out what I have observed and heard and that's all.

[Carnea]

16. Illegal = Non-licensed and non-union worker.

[conscious evolution]

9. I made a living repairing the illegals fuck ups.

When I was a temp probably half of my assignments was to go onto jobsites and repair and/or bring up to code the shoddy work done by illegal immigrants.
One contractor told me it was cheaper to do it like this.Hire unqualified immigrants who could not read prints to do the rough-in phase then hire locals to get it to work without burning down the building.
Of course,after he told me this we and my workmates made damned sure he lost money on the project.And I mean a LOT of money.When we finished they pretty much had to replace all of the sheet rock,insulation,repaint the walls,siding and repair lots brickwork,etc etc....

What really sucks is that most of the illegals are really nice guys who are just trying to support their families.And I totally understand why they come here due to the fact that our corporations have made it impossble for them to make a living in their home countrys.
However,when it comes to choosing sides between my fellow citizens and pawns of the pukes who bring them here in their quest to destroy the American middle class I will stand with my fellow citizens every time.
Anyone who doesn't like that can kiss my ass.

[madokie]

27. You got it, I'll stand up tall for my fellow American citizen workers in their quest

to remain gainfully employed. Due to the fact some come here from south of the border in the middle of the night, so to say, and have no citizenship they are forced to work sometimes for dimes on the dollar. Jobs. that. we. were. doing. before. they. got. here. The onus is on the employer and thats who we are targeting here in our state now, finally. There for a while, starting shortly after the crowning of king george in January 2001, on almost all construction job sites around here all you seen were what appeared to be south of the border folks where as during the same time period you could go down to the employment office and all you would find were the construction workers from around here who just lost their jobs, yes you guessed it if you said because of the folks who will work so cheaply. I stand with my brothers on this. I'm all for someone wanting and striving to better themselves but stand around and do nothing while they are making it rough on me is not something I'm likely to do, sorry. And I can say this for fact. There is legal ways to enter this country and I will help any legal immigrant in any way I can and have. I'm no longer in the work pool but I'm still just as passionate as I ever was about honest wages for honest work.


I spent the last 15 plus of my work years finishing concrete so I see concrete when I go anywhere, I don't just drive over it or walk on it I see it and I can tell you in a second which is placed and finished by my fellow citizens and which isn't. To a concrete finisher bad shotty work jumps out at us like a say, black eye does to others.

[Carnea]

17. You can't say illegal.

Try a code word like non-union or Day labor. :evilgrin:

[yardwork]

18. That's interesting. Around here, the Latinos are better skilled than many other workers.

In any case, "illegals" wouldn't be building houses if the contractors weren't hiring them. Who is at fault?

[L0oniX]

21. Some of my best friends are Latino and a few girl friends too. I worked for a Latino

housing investor when I was in my early 20's refurbishing houses. That being said, as I said before, the guy next store to me obviously had illegals working for him and living in his back yard in a shed. The contractor was a scoff law and is taking advantage of his illegal alien workers. I blame the contractors more than those who break the law and enter the USA illegally. It's the contractors who cut corners with the help and materials. They are employing illegal aliens because they can get them to work for much less money because they are here illegally. I think most people already know that. The 2 stall garage that the city made my next door neighbor contractor scoff law tear down was built very good.

[yardwork]

22. That is the important point - immigrants are being exploited by U.S. employers.

Why do U.S. companies hire people without documentation? Because people who are terrified of being rounded up by ICE will work for substandard wages in unsafe conditions. Think of the money saved by unscrupulous employers who don't have to pay minimum wage, don't have to pay social security, don't have to file paperwork, don't have to worry about OSHA regulations, etc.

This is a worker's rights issues. The rights of workers vs. the rights of employers who openly break the law and are protected by the Bush administration.

[DailyGrind51]

19. What about building materials?

I have an older home and when I go to the lumber yard to purchase precise replacements for joists, posts, etc., I find that what is being sold now is slightly smaller. A 2"x4" is not really 2"x4" any more, but closer to 1 3/4"x 3 3/4". To make the newer pieces fit into where the older piece was removed, I have to use shims. I notice that a lot of "garden grade" lumber is being passed off as "construction grade" also. What are you finding available to contractors and how is this impacting the quality of new construction today?

[dawgman]

26. I work on an all union high rise project and we work every weekend,

We are all legal as well.

:shrug:

[dysfunctional press]

5. there are at least 5 half-finished developments within 10 minutes of our house...

a couple of them are almost like small cities in size.
it will probably be decades before some of them are finished- if ever.

[Gabi Hayes]

12. they tore down a small shopping center behind me a year ago.

they haven't done ANY work on it for about six months, because they can't sell ANYthing

meanwhile the property swings back and forth from a dustbowl, so I can't keep my windows open, to a mosquito swamp whenever it rains

I called the town, but they can't/won't do anything, like force them, say, too plant some grass over their trash heaps

[Gabi Hayes]

13. btw, my experience working with latinos was that they did better work than

the americanos on the job, worked harder, and faster. I worked my ass off trying to keep up with them

my favorite phrase learned from them: vieras aqui!

[dysfunctional press]

24. i'm having a garage built by danley at this very moment- the crew is mostly eastern european...

judging by the way they speak.

the concrete guys who did the foundation last week were latino though.

the garage guys seem to be kicking ass at getting this thing built.

[BigDaddy44]

25. Same thing where I live

It boggles the mind. Tons of developments underway with $400K+ homes. This in Ohio.

[Carnea]

20. Fuckin Irish are Worthless. nt