Doug Miller wrote:
I'm just finishing the demolition phase of a minor remodeling project
in my basement, removing about 8 feet of wall installed by a previous
homeowner. This project teaches a lesson:

How NOT to Build a Wall, in Ten Easy Steps

1. Install the studs at random intervals.
2. Don't bother securing the bottom plate to the floor. If you cut a
few of the studs just a bit long, and force-fit them, friction will
keep the bottom plate in place.
3. Don't bother nailing those studs in place. Friction, remember?
4. Attach remaining studs to plates with six-penny box nails.
5. Use eight at each end because they're so small.
6. It's OK to use untreated lumber for the bottom plate. Water
seepage won't harm fir, will it?
7. Use regular sheetrock for the entire wall. Water seepage won't
harm that either, will it?
8. The doorpost doesn't need to be attached to the bottom plate. The
sheetrock will keep it from moving.
9. Nail the sheetrock every 3 inches along each vertical edge.
10. That gives you enough nails that you don't need to nail it
anywhere else.

And don't _even_ get me started on the electrical code violations I
found inside that wall...

Why, oh why, do people with no knowledge or experience of the
building trades imagine that they are competent to do their own
construction?

I guess if he thought it merely "looked" good enough, someone would buy it.