Written by: carmstrong
This holiday season, SBSA’s staff constructed defective gingerbread houses for clients. The defects in these gingerbread houses included structural issues, civil grading problems, building envelope issues, and some electrical problems. SBSA has posted a gallery of the gingerbread houses.
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- Penetrations through roof not sealed, and mint candy porch flat or negatively-sloped.
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- Grading flat adjacent to structure, and landscaping placed in backfill zone.
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- Penetrations in facade not sealed, windows and doors are racked, demonstrating signs of structural movement.
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- Excessive icing used to seal gaps in structure, racked windows and doors.
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- Logs not chinked, discontinuous across home, and chocolate is delaminating, exposing cherry-flavored jelly below.
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- No water table flashing at interfaces of dissimilar materials; ice accumulation on roof.
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- Gingerbread Mesa neighborhood development, phase IIX, inconsistent use of candy materials across site.
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- Graham crumb stucco does not meet manufacturer thickness and installed without control joints. Graham shake shingles not rated for high-wind areas.
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- Construction photo; note lack of weather-resistive barrier on all gingerhomes.
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- Fondant leaf debris accumulates moisture, causing accelerated deterioration of the roofing material.
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- Cold roof correctly installed, but dead loads did not consider weight of Santa, sleigh, and camel cookies, causing deflection of roof trusses and moisture intrusion.
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- Lack of weather-resistive barrier and flashings across all elevations of home.
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- Marshmallow roofing material not rated to get wet, licorice arch experiencing differential settlement.
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- Construction photos: stone and lap siding veneer, gummy roof vents being assembled.
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- Construction photos of Gingerbread Mesa neighborhood development.
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- Chocolate solar panels not rated for high temperatures and melt in the sun. Concrete walk backsloped towards structure.
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- Penetrations in facade not sealed, ice accumulation causing tripping hazard, gummy penguins running amok on facade.
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- Fondant electrical box experiences ponding, and there is a lack of flashings at windows and doors in icing siding.
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- Construction photo; stone veneer installed without weather-resistive barrier.
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- Stucco exhibiting cracking in the field of the wall, landscaping planted within backfill zone, and wreath penetration through facade not sealed.
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- Excessive ice damming and landscaping placed within the backfill zone.
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- Electrical wiring installed incorrectly causing snow and ice accumulation at edges of the roof. Gummy Scottie dog not very tasty.
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- Mint roofing singles not rated for high wind areas and stick to the roof of your mouth when eaten. Cookie camels placed within the backfill zone.
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- Landscaping placed within backfill zone, no flashing used in all facade types.
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- Siding, manufactured by Icing, adhered to Oriented Strand Gingerbread (OSG) instead of mechanically attached.
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- Construction photo, east side, Gingerbread Mesa neighborhood development.
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- Ice damming and snow accumulation next to the facade; height of vent exceeds manufacturer recommendations.
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- Gingerbread Mesa neighborhood development Phase IIVMM. Haphazard placement of homes throughout development, demonstrating sugar overload/crash.
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- Gingerbread Mesa neighborhood development, Phase II. Closeness of homes prevents 10-percent slope away from buildings.
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- Landscaping placed within backfill zone. Non-compliant placement of snowmen; when they melt, water will saturate the gingerbread in the backfill zone causing differential settlement.
