Construction Defects Attorneys – Construction Law
Site Selection and Planning
The developer usually performs site selection and planning. This is a crucial decision since there are areas of land that are better to build on than others. A developer has to know to consider the potential risks in any given area. Is there a mountain nearby that could cause a potential landslide, mudslide? Are there geological hazards or slope instabilities that exist in the area? The developer needs to have answers to these questions.
Civil and Structural Engineering
Once the developer has completed the site selection and planning, civil and structural engineering comes into play. Decisions made during the civil and structural engineering phase can also impact the fate of each housing unit. The civil and structural engineering phase of a development project includes acquiring permits that need to be obtained, identifying codes that need to be adhered to and planning design phases that will be implemented. There is room for errors in any of these steps, as any of them cause construction defects.
Improper soil analysis and preparations or other errors of a builder and/or developer can be the cause of construction defects. Do not try to tackle these issues alone. Contact an attorney today.
Defective Building Materials (Material Deficiencies)
Defective building materials can be a root cause of many building issues or construction defects. If a highly-skilled contractor builds a roof with defective building materials, it doesn’t matter how good his workmanship is. The roof will be a construction defect. The roof may leak, allow for moisture to seep in, cause dry rot to occur, allow for mold or mildew to grow and cause other problems. A builder should inspect all products for material deficiencies. He needs to ensure that everything is up to code, high in quality, and has gone through a proper quality control process. This will help decrease the chance of getting defective building materials (material deficiencies).
Negligent Construction
Negligent construction is an unfortunately common occurrence. A builder has to be very careful when choosing a contractor or subcontractor. A builder will sometimes use one contractor for various projects. A contractor may have skills to install plumbing but not the know-how to build a roof. The responsibility can fall on several parties when there is a defect, and that’s up to your attorney to determine.
Design Deficiencies
Architects sometimes have a role in the cause or prevention of construction defects. An architect can create a design that may be aesthetically pleasing but weak functionally. This is where the other building professionals need to evaluate a structure for any design deficiencies. Some design deficiencies can be easily discovered while others will not be evident until implementation. This means that testing should be a required step. All of these checks and balances do not always happen.
There are a lot of building issues that can happen because of the actual material of your home. They can be defective building materials, negligent construction, design deficiencies, or material deficiencies. Any of these construction defects are hard to investigate since there are so many professionals involved. If you suspect that any of these could be issues in your home, you need to contact an attorney. An attorney can help you take the right steps to determine what caused your construction defects and what you need to do to take care of it. If you are not sure you even have a construction defect, contact an attorney today to get the answers you deserve.
Construction Deficiencies
Construction defects in a home or condo can be caused by a variety of issues. Determining if an issue is actually a construction defect is sometimes the biggest challenge you face. However, once you have determined that you have a construction defect, then you are ready to not only develop a strategy to perform the repair but also to determine who is responsible to repair the issue(s).
One cause of your construction defect could be construction deficiencies (poor quality or substandard workmanship). Builders today work fast. They have a timeline and a budget. Their goal is to complete a housing development on time while saving where possible. Where can they save? They can cut corners by hiring contractors who may not be the most qualified and do not have the skills to get the job done right. This is what it means to have an issue like construction deficiencies (poor quality or substandard workmanship).
Construction deficiencies (poor quality or substandard workmanship) can cause some of the most serious construction defects. If a roof is not built correctly, the result could mean mold or mildew. If windows are not installed properly, your home could have inefficient insulation or moisture buildup. With moisture comes mold. The construction defects could be numerous.
This would also be the case for subsurface/geotechnical problems. The burden is on the builder to choose a land to build on and then more importantly analyze the soil properly. If the analysis is performed properly the builder and/or developer are able to select the construction strategy that will consider potential subsurface/geotechnical problems. Expansive soil and collapsing soil are both examples of subsurface problems that can impact a house and cause rather serious building issues.
A builder and/or developer needs to know the land they are building on inside and out, or above and underground is more accurate. Besides soil analysis they should have a land survey that will consider other types of potential subsurface/geotechnical problems such as slope instabilities, landslides, mudslides, erosion, and so on.
These causes of construction defects, that is, construction deficiencies (poor quality or substandard workmanship) and subsurface/geotechnical problems can be difficult to detect and difficult to fix. The priority is to get your house back to a livable, safe condition. This can be an arduous task if you are not familiar with land development and all that goes in to it. Homeowners usually do not have knowledge in this area so choose to have an advocate that does. You need to contact an attorney that has the experience with construction defect issues and knowledge of construction law. Contact an attorney in our office today to be your advocate.