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I recently received a call from someone requesting that I bid on replacing their vinyl siding with wood siding. I asked how old the house was and they told me 8 months. When I asked why she wanted it replaced she told me that the builder had installed it over plywood without housewrap (which is a code violation here in this part of Montana). I said I would take a look, and when I got there, that wasn’t the only problem. A deck had been installed without handrails (12 feet off the ground, family with small children, etc), the stairs were on stringers which didn’t have enough meat left after the notches were cut (they were as bouncy as trampolines, so was the interior stairs), a deck ledger had been cut into the siding without flashing against the house (and now leaks down the interior walls of the daylight basement), the ledger hadn’t been lagged or bolted to the house either (nailed insufficiently as well), the exterior posts of the deck (logs) were attached with nails only, the bottom tread of three sets of exterior stairs were 14″ above grade, vinyl windows were installed right on the subsill (they don’t even open in the summer time), and there was no soil compaction (big sinkholes in 3 spots on the drain field).
The homeowners said they have approached the builder numerous times and his response is always “I’m done.” They don’t want to go to court, but they want the many problems fixed. Here in Montana, we do NOT have a “buyer beware” law, as they passed a law three years ago giving owners of new construction a one year warranty (whether the builder tells the homeowner or not). They wanted me to bid on replacing the siding, but I told them that the builder may have some liability here, and that they should address that first.
So, I called the building inspector, and he is meeting me and the homeowner there tommorrow. I am, in essence, reporting the other builder (I do not know him). Comments?
Al Steiner
Replies
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I recently received a call from someone requesting that I bid on replacing their vinyl siding with wood siding. I asked how old the house was and they told me 8 months. When I asked why she wanted it replaced she told me that the builder had installed it over plywood without housewrap (which is a code violation here in this part of Montana). I said I would take a look, and when I got there, that wasn't the only problem. A deck had been installed without handrails (12 feet off the ground, family with small children, etc), the stairs were on stringers which didn't have enough meat left after the notches were cut (they were as bouncy as trampolines, so was the interior stairs), a deck ledger had been cut into the siding without flashing against the house (and now leaks down the interior walls of the daylight basement), the ledger hadn't been lagged or bolted to the house either (nailed insufficiently as well), the exterior posts of the deck (logs) were attached with nails only, the bottom tread of three sets of exterior stairs were 14" above grade, vinyl windows were installed right on the subsill (they don't even open in the summer time), and there was no soil compaction (big sinkholes in 3 spots on the drain field).
The homeowners said they have approached the builder numerous times and his response is always "I'm done." They don't want to go to court, but they want the many problems fixed. Here in Montana, we do NOT have a "buyer beware" law, as they passed a law three years ago giving owners of new construction a one year warranty (whether the builder tells the homeowner or not). They wanted me to bid on replacing the siding, but I told them that the builder may have some liability here, and that they should address that first.
So, I called the building inspector, and he is meeting me and the homeowner there tommorrow. I am, in essence, reporting the other builder (I do not know him). Comments?
Al Steiner