Quick builds

moley

What was the standard of quick builds. Did they cut corners, ignore building regulations, were they unsafe

Alot of corner cutting and sometimes redoing work by unskilled workers. One thing I would say on those builds there was more chiefs and no Indians. One build I was on the "Brothers " where sitting around bullshitting and I came off a 10 hour shift to help their azz. I asked their help on something but they where too busy waiting for food and bullshitting. So, I packed my tools an went home. Never went to any builds after that.

road to nowhere

Arranged for a building inspector to stay on site here. This was after the weeekend wonders. Fair work all in all.

The, dirt, concrete a n d landscape took longer

dropoffyourkeylee

I can't say they were/are unsafe, though a number of problems came up. One I helped on, the sewage drain went under the area that was later concreted for the parking lot. Insufficient settling of the soil resulted in a later break in the pipe a few years later. Quickbuilds have been often plagued with mold, but that is more of a design issue. Slab construction with less than optimal circulation of air and dehumidification.

neat blue dog

Quick builds ended in the 90s right? If so I'm wondering if there are actually any left that haven't been remodeled or rebuilt after 30 years.

Smiles

200 eager volunteers at a construction site doing whatever they're told by tradesmen managers will raise a structure in remarkable time.

Amish communities also have a history of performing quick builds with volunteer labor from membership.

There has been a substantial population of Amish in northeastern USA within close proximity of WT facilities in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, so it is a real possibility that ambitious WT eyes borrowed the quick build method after observing Amish barn raisings... then of course portrayed the quick build idea as further proof WT is the one true religion with the exclusive blessing of god almighty upon WT construction projects.

WT did not invent the quick build method, and even if it had such would not prove true religion.

ThomasMore

The quality often depended on the RBC for the region. Some were known for building quality and others not so much. The local cong support also helped or hindered depending on the maturity/responsiveness of the local BOE. All things considered, most passed inspection because inspectors were amazed that so much could get done in such a short time by so many unskilled workers. They allowed some to move forward when they probably should have been stopped and corrected. Doors that swung the wrong way, HVAC that did not provide adequate airflow through the building, electrical that was insufficient for the practical needs of the building, parking lots that did not drain properly, crooked walls and more.

However, most have bee remodeled and many sold. The idea was to get them done quickly to free the local cong for preaching instead of building, but they turned into PR endeavors and the problems grew exponentially. Many Brothers who were used extensively were discarded when they were unable to have high field service hours AND be at builds every other weekend.Some spent so much time away from their families that their marriages and children suffered from spiritual neglect. The fallout can still be seen now many years later.

Present day, WTC is in the selling mode, not the building mode. They can barely get the rank n' file to attend so why build more?

In retrospect, they were exciting and a trainwreck all at the same time.

TonusOH

I helped with one a long time ago (just guarding overnight, I was a teenager in a fairly dangerous part of the Bronx... what the hell did I think I was doing???), for a KH that we attended for ~20 years and that was used for longer than that (no idea if it's in use anymore). I don't recall any issues with it until many years later, when they had to tinker with the HVAC.

But it didn't seem like an ambitious project, either. Just a large box with a handful of interior walls and two small restrooms. As long as they didn't skimp on the electrical and plumbing, it was likely to be useful for a very long time.

silentbuddha

I use to have an large commercial Insurance and mortgage inspection business in the south, prior to selling it (this was after I left the org) I completed a few inspections on kingdom halls from that Era.

Two were turned into banks, one a daycare, and one that I can remember a pharmacy. They all obviously passed the local inspection, which honestly does t require much but that didn't mean they quality of work and materials were the best.

As I remember, they all had mold problems in the exact same area in the men's restrooms around the urinals.

Water intrusion from piss poor roofing, and cheap roofing materials. The landscaping practicing led to termite issues due to packing mulch directly up against the building and moisture problems from putting shrubs directly up against the building.

Cheap materials are generally used for obvious reasons. The older halls however tended to be the exact opposite. You would see that alot of care was put into the construction of those older buildings

punkofnice

NBD - Quick builds ended in the 90s right? If so I'm wondering if there are actually any left that haven't been remodeled or rebuilt after 30 years.

The one nearest to me, which I helped on, is now a Mosque.

Makes you wonder about the dedication to true worship ritual the Jobots initiated just after it was built..............

Bleedin' idiots.