They Just Don't Make Em' Like They Used To!

[Daisy Buchanan]

I know that there have been quite a few discussions here on the difference of quality between then and now.
It seems to me that all things man made used to be built to last. It even can be said that the new focus is no longer on quality. I look at some of my vintage suits and dresses, and sometimes I can't believe the great condition they are in. Many are nicer than the new JCrew suits that I have, and I'm sure will outlast most of the modern clothes that I have. Everything from clothes to dishes, pots and pans, and houses/buildings, seem to last longer when they were made in the golden era. Which brings me to my point. I own a condo here in Boston. I love it, it's spacious and hard to find an apartment around here that has two stories, and I've got a great roofdeck over looking the city. But, it seems that the problems are never ending. The building was built in 1988, and it has more problems than the surrounding buildings that were built over 100 years ago. Just to name a few, 2 days after closing on the condo, my floors raised. A year after moving in we were slapped with a 1.9 million dollar assessment, which means that this has to be paid by the unit owners. Repairs in the common areas, such as re-painting, tearing out old and rotted tile, oh yeah and the fact that the entire building's outsides need to be re-waterproofed! The roof needs replacing, the list is long.

So, last night I was in Rhode Island visiting the folks, and my phone rings at 1:30 in the morning. It's my roommate Hemingway Jones calling to tell me the heat is out. ARGH! It's never ending. I spend hours on the phone trying to contact the management company, the company I pay a nice chunk of change to to help me when such problems arrive. Finally after nearly 2 hours of calling an answering service picks up. I get a phone call back a few minutes later from the guy in charge who tells me that I'm on my own. They are not responsible for helping with problems that aren't in the common areas. He was kind enough to give me the name of an HVAC company. OK, long story shorter, I drove back to Boston this morning to meet this HVAC guy. Lucky for me, the problem isn't as bad as it could have been. You see, I live on the top two floors of an 8 story building, and my heating system is on the roof. So, getting a new heat pump involves renting a crane, and having the street blocked of by the Boston police. It's a nightmare, and can break the bank. Lucky for me, it's only a problem with the fan. The guy helping me out is on his way to buy one right now and it should be fixed later today.

Well, why on earth does modern technology have to be so darn shoddy. I've been told that within the next year I'm gonna have to replace the entire system. At least it won't come as a surprise. But, I'm finding myself wishing for a nice little house with a wood burning stove, or maybe I could convert to coal!

OK, so they sure don't make them like they used to! Anyone else noticing this. Whether it be a car or a house, or any other modern day supposed marvel that constantly gives you problems, let it out!!

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I'm going to go with clothes on this one! All my "new" clothes from the mall last 2 years, maybe 3, before I start seeing little pulls and snags. I've got dresses from the 30s, 50s, and 60s that are made so well they almost look new! And they are completely wearable (I got married in my dress from 1938!) No tugs, snags, holes, or loose strings. The material seems to be thicker, sewn together more sturdily. It's like they didn't skimp on anything! When I buy clothes today the material is always so thin, loose strings appear after 2 or 3 wearings, and fabric is always skimped on -- I don't think I own a top or sweater from today that properly goes all the way down to my wrists!!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Modern major appliances are notoriously shoddy, at least from what I've seen. In the nineteen years I've owned my 1945 Kelvinator refrigerator -- with no service calls -- my mother has owned *three* modern fridges. It's a racket, that's what it is.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Oh, I certainly notice this, with many so different things. Our society is so disposable on the whole as it is, so it’s not surprising how so many items are designed to be replaced in such a short amount of time.

In regards to housing, I like to tell a story about a house my sister owned in Nebraska. It was a fairly basic tri-level, built in the late 1960s. When she went to replace the carpet, beautiful hardwood floors were revealed. Her neighbors, who owned a similar house that had been built a year later, were excited by her findings and ripped up their carpeting. Unfortunately, the building code had been changed that year, so all they found was concrete.

I've had problems with the places I've lived in as well, all of which were built in the 1980s-90s. For example, when I moved into my current apartment, my air conditioner broke with in a few days and leaked copious amounts of water on my bathroom floor. It took two tries to fix it, and I spent a few days wondering if the water was going to ruin the brand new flooring, or anything else.

In my last place, a very shoddily-built guest house, the heat went out in the middle of winter, and it took my landlord a few weeks to fix it. Needless to say, I was not amused. Then there was the time that an exterior pipe sprang a leak, and then somehow managed to slip back into the wall, leaking unnoticed until I stepped in a huge spot of water on the carpet, which almost ruined the dresser that was placed against that wall. And of course, none of the doors lined up, and for a while I had a wonderful bug problem (and I’m petty sure there were a few mice too, got to love that) as they could just walk right in using the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. Oh well, what can I say--the rent was cheap and the place was there when I needed it, but I hightailed it out of there as soon as I could!

As for clothes, well that’s an easy one! The fit is superior and the overall quality is amazing. As Amy Jeanne noted, the materials used were much thicker—they drape better and last much longer; they are simply a pleasure to wear. I highly doubt that the modern clothing I have left will last half as long as my vintage pieces, but in most instances I won't be too sad to see their demise.

 

[Paul]

Oh that simple, things these days are designed to break down, or wear out fast , that way you go and buy a new one and make the company shareholders even more profit.
Not a very green policy these days. Because we cannot go on for ever using oil for plastic , or iron ore for steel etc.

 

[Amelie]

yeah this is made by purpose so we buy more, they could easily make things that will last years and years, but then, they wouldn't sell as much as they do now

 

[Hemingway Jones]

And let me add the image of a half-asleep Hemingway Jones climbing up a railing to get to the roof above the roof-deck. I had to jump from one section over to another with no railings to get to the heating unit. It's around 15 degrees and windy and I am wearing a sweater. I am doing all this while speaking to Daisy on the telephone. I am happy to be here this morning and to not be a spot on Commonwealth Avenue.

As for quality, in Italy, my cotton J Crew suit, the one in the photos I bored you all with , started to come apart at the seams. I had to do some field fixes. The other day, I ripped through a J Crew shirt. These clothes are disposable. :eusa_doh:

The difference is that in the past things were over engineered.

 

[Haversack]

Planned obselecense is a concept that is alive and well. However, what vintage goods we commonly experience whether clothing, appliances, or housing tend to be what was well made in the first place. The shoddy goods from 80 years ago have largely long since worn out, broke, and went on the rubbish heap. This can skew our perception of the quality of goods from the past.

Haversack.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

And let me add the image of a half-asleep Hemingway Jones climbing up a railing to get to the roof above the roof-deck. I had to jump from one section over to another with no railings to get to the heating unit. It's around 15 degrees and windy and I am wearing a sweater. I am doing all this while speaking to Daisy on the telephone. I am happy to be here this morning and to not be a spot on Commonwealth Avenue.

As for quality, in Italy, my cotton J Crew suit, the one in the photos I bored you all with , started to come apart at the seams. I had to do some field fixes. The other day, I ripped through a J Crew shirt. These clothes are disposable. :eusa_doh:

The difference is that in the past things were over engineered.

Yes, you're so right.

By the way, a public thank you to you Mr. Jones for your help. Who else would made such a treacherous climb in the middle of a freezing cold night!

 

[jamespowers]

And let me add the image of a half-asleep Hemingway Jones climbing up a railing to get to the roof above the roof-deck. I had to jump from one section over to another with no railings to get to the heating unit. It's around 15 degrees and windy and I am wearing a sweater. I am doing all this while speaking to Daisy on the telephone. I am happy to be here this morning and to not be a spot on Commonwealth Avenue.

As for quality, in Italy, my cotton J Crew suit, the one in the photos I bored you all with , started to come apart at the seams. I had to do some field fixes. The other day, I ripped through a J Crew shirt. These clothes are disposable. :eusa_doh:

The difference is that in the past things were over engineered.

Oh geez! Be careful out there.
At least the sweater (or even worse the pants) you were wearing didn't come apart as you were jumping from section to section.
Things were over engineered because nearly 100% of the things were made here. Now they are made in another country with little direct quality control. I see it every day here at the business I work for. Defects are the rule not the exception. If something comes out perfect, its a miracle.

Regards,

J

 

[Tommy Fedora]

Planned obsolesence, maybe. Its the old pre-war vs post-war argument.
Before the war, things were built to a standard. There was pride and quality in production and products had to be good enough to be offered for sale. Post-war, products are built to a price and the price is a low one that usually gets lower. The result is well known.

 

[Grace]

Ugh, I absolutely abhor the mall for new clothes shopping!! I deal with vintage all day long, most of which is extremely well made.

When I go to the mall (shudder) I have this habit (from vintage) of checking the inner seams. I am shocked at what they are selling! From the poorly sewn seams, to the shoddy fabric, and half-assed sewn trim, I can't put it down fast enough. Never mind a $39 price tag for a simple, cheap blouse.

 

[GOK]

I've noticed it with houses. All the modern (post 1960s) houses and flats I've lived in had problems with damp. In fact, it's probably true to say that the newer the house, the worse the damp has been. The last two houses I lived in were respectively, late and mid-Victorian; neither of them had any damp at all. My new house is a Victorian factory and once again - no damp. I've also found that due to thicker walls, insulation is much better too, therefore the houses keep warm much better than any of the newer places I've lived.

I can't say much about appliances because I don't own any vintage ones but I can tell you that when my family was young, I generally had to buy a new washing machine every two years (it was cheaper to buy new than repair, which is madness). I've just bought another new one - it will be interesting to see how long this one lasts. Considering it cost close to $1000, I hope it's a long time!! lol

As for clothing - just don't go there. All I can say is that I shall always be grateful I am an accomplished sempstress!

 

[52Styleline]

Well, not perhaps all things are worse than "they used to make". I have a 1952 Chevrolet. Regular maintenance (every 2000 miles) includes changing the oil, adjusting the valves, lubricating the distributor, adjusting the brakes, and lubricating assorted fittings, hinges, etc. Engine valves require grinding every 20 -30k miles and it was expected that at about 60k miles, the engine would need to have new rings installed and the babbit bearings reworked. Rust is the enemy of vintage cars and without care, you will ultimately just own a pile of iron oxide. This car has power nothing, and driving it involves real physical work.

My 2004 pickup specifies oil changes at 6k intervals and minimal service at 30k intervals. The engine will easily last 200k miles with regular care. Rust is largely not a problem unless you regularly drive on salted roads. This vehicle has power everything and can be driven coast to coast with one finger.

At least with automobiles, it's true they don't make 'em like they used to...thank goodness.

 

[Haversack]

There have been ups and downs in the quality of housing construction over the past few decades. A couple which had quality problems were 1946 to about 1952, and from about 1973 to about 1982. Both involved a lot of innovation and the introduction of new building materials and techniques. Not all worked. In particular, the late 1940s had a nation-wide housing shortage so a lot of construction short-cuts were taken. Regionally you can find quality variations as well. Wherever you find an economic and construction boom, you tend to find a slip in construction quality.

Mind you, the above applies to the States. GOK, are all the buildings you mentioned masonry? If so, it is possible that cavity wall construction is no longer being used because it takes more time, material and space to build than do newer single wall and liner construction. The air space in cavity walls prevents almost all exterior moisture from reaching the interior. Liners tend to fail eventually.

Haversack.

 

[Dapper Dan]

I'm with everyone else here on this issue. Today, it's all about the bottom line and how to keep people purchasing new consumer goods. Everything's designed to wear out, from appliances to clothing to Microsoft products (especially Microsoft products). I'd rather own fewer, higher-quality products, myself. Just the other day I ripped a seam in one of my favorite sweaters, which was only around a year old. And bear in mind that I live in Texas, where sweaters really don't get too much wear and tear.

Speaking of planned obsolescence and shoddy workmanship, who here remembers fix-it shops? I don't, because they stopped being standard long before I was born. But I know my parents and grandparents mention them on occasion, and in movies and TV shows (Emmit, for example, in "The Andy Griffith Show") they seem awfully common. Now days, though, they make it cheaper to just keep consuming new stuff than to repair the old stuff. Depressing, no? What's that say about us as a culture?

Also, jitterbugdoll's story reminded me of a story. Shortly after my parents married (this would have been in the early '80s), they were living in a little town in California called Santa Maria, which, if it has no other claim to fame, can proudly boast of being the birthplace of Dapper Dan. Santa Maria, at the time, was a pretty small, semi-rural community (as much as a community can be rural in California these days), and a lot of the houses had been built at the turn of the century in the California Spanish-style. My parents' first house was one of these things, and it had this really ugly vent system in the kitchen, painted a sort of matte bone. My parents, being young and energetic, decided to repaint it a nicer color, less likely to show age. So they started applying paint thinner, and underneath was another coat. And under that one, was another coat. Started looking something like Russian tea dolls. Finally, after four or five coats, they found something gleaming underneath. Turns out that the thing was a beautiful copper fixture with ornate filligrees that had been there since the house was built in 1905 or so. Just goes to show what people forget.

 

[Elaina]

At least I'm not the only one to look at the seams on clothing. I'm hard on clothes for a variety of reasons, and I'd rather make my own and know they're going to last then to spend $$ on them that won't.

I have 2 dresses. Almost exactly the same. Both are chinese dresses, both are brocade, the one I made is 6 years old, the store bought one is 2. The homemade dress is silk brocade, isn't stretched out, pilled, or lined and the storebought one is actually a better quality fabric (it's a synthetic brocade, but thicker, and supposed to hold up better. Everything I've made in the rayon/poly brocade always did.) Needless to say, I'm debating on tossing it. The seams are coming apart, it's not shaped any longer...heck the darts have a bubble at the end. :rage:

 

[GOK]

GOK, are all the buildings you mentioned masonry? If so, it is possible that cavity wall construction is no longer being used because it takes more time, material and space to build than do newer single wall and liner construction. The air space in cavity walls prevents almost all exterior moisture from reaching the interior. Liners tend to fail eventually.

Haversack.

Actually, yes thinking about it - the modern buildings were all built with breeze blocks, whilst the older ones are proper bricks. And given that the walls appear to be rather thick, I'd say that yes they do have cavities.

Dapper Dan - may I just say how much I've been enjoying your posts? You come across as a very thoughtful, intelligent and eloquent young man. Do keep up the good work!

 

[Haversack]

Dapper Dan wrote: "My parents' first house was one of these things, and it had this really ugly vent system in the kitchen, painted a sort of matte bone. My parents, being young and energetic, decided to repaint it a nicer color, less likely to show age. So they started applying paint thinner, and underneath was another coat. And under that one, was another coat. Started looking something like Russian tea dolls. Finally, after four or five coats, they found something gleaming underneath. Turns out that the thing was a beautiful copper fixture with ornate filligrees that had been there since the house was built in 1905 or so. Just goes to show what people forget."

Layers of paint. My first dorm room had concrete walls and at least 23 layers of paint going back to the late 1940s. we tried to calculate how much square footage had been lost.

About that copper grill... tastes change. Back when I was working on the California Governors' Mansion in Sacramento, I discovered that the main floor mouldings and 10' high panelling were all solid rosewood. They had been painted a light grey in 1912 as part of the redoration that the governor's wife had brought Gumps in to do. By that time, dark, rich Victorian decor was out and light, simple Colonial Revival was in. The've remained light grey ever since.

Haversack.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I think the problems with poor quality began when many American companies moved their manufacturing operations to China.