Botched work in the attic - are the wooden beams assembled crookedly?

Hello everyone,

my family bought a used prefabricated house (built in 2018) two months ago and now we have noticed in the attic that quite a few things were assembled very unprofessionally. At least, that is how it looks to us (unfortunately, we don’t know much about construction).

I am attaching a few pictures here.

What do you think, is the impression that this is quite crooked misleading? Is this disadvantageous for the long-term structural stability? And if so, is this considered a defect for which the builder has five years to report to the construction company and request remediation?

Thank you very much in advance.

Best regards, Martin

This beam is crooked, that is not an illusion. Whether it is poorly installed or a poor timber framing, or whether the wood has warped due to too much time between delivery and construction – who knows, all of that is possible. With just one beam, I would have no structural concerns. Of course, it is not exactly beautiful. Are you sure that the prefabricated house was assembled by a company?

Was possibly the same "alleged premium provider" active here as with in ?

Hello everyone, my family bought a used prefabricated house (built in 2018) two months ago ... .... And if so, is this considered a defect for which the builder has five years to report it to the construction company and demand rectification?

From whom did you buy the house? From the company that assembled the house? Probably not, right? You can only successfully claim defects based on legal claims if they fall within the warranty period, and you can only enforce them against your contractual partner. Note: a warranty is not a guarantee! If your contractual partner (seller) is a private person (the builder who had the house assembled in 2018), the contract with them and how warranty claims are regulated there are decisive. Without knowing the exact situation, it is like blind man's bluff or fishing in murky waters. Is it a structural or an aesthetic defect? I very much doubt that anything can still be enforced...

I took a closer look at the pictures (an additional picture from a greater distance would be better). The ridge purlin seems to be scarf jointed (the two pieces of laminated wood), for whatever reason?? Was there no suitable piece of KVH? Extremely long roof truss. Who joints purlins?? No no no :rolleyes: A metal bracket does not belong up there in a properly tied roof truss in my opinion. As a solution, if you have doubts about the structural effect of the opposing rafters, a subsequently attachable, sufficiently stable (thick) clamp could serve. That might help to "straighten" the rafters. But a carpenter (master) can certainly answer that better. But if I show this to someone (e.g. the one who (helped) built our house), they always start cursing with this kind of shoddy work :p