You’ve put a lot of money into your home, and you can’t say you’re happy with the results. Your contractor says that everything is done, but you think the work leaves a lot to be desired.
Does that equate to a construction defect? Maybe. It’s one thing if you aren’t happy with what you ordered once you get it, but it’s quite another if the work is just plain wrong.
Construction defects tend to fall into 3 categories
Construction defects can show up right away (if they’re visible to the naked eye) or may not appear for years. When they do crop up, they tend to fall into these three categories:
- Workmanship defects: These can be relatively mild problems that are purely cosmetic — or they can actually affect part of a building’s structural integrity. For example, maybe the stairs to your new game room weren’t all installed at the same height, or the gutters and downspouts weren’t properly placed.
- Material defects: These defects are seldom immediately apparent because they usually arise from substandard building materials. The contractors installing the materials likely had no idea there was a problem if they looked and felt okay when they came from the manufacturer. For example, tile that wasn’t properly fired can end up cracking with little use.
- Design defects: This means something important was left out of the plans, like building a locker room without leaving room for the plumbing. These are probably the most easily detected problems — but they can still be hard to fix.
If you believe that you’ve been left with an expensive mess because of a construction defect, you need to take action to protect your interests — and your wallet.