Construction Defects Lead to Austin Home Repairs

Posted on November 14, 2009 by admin

Construction Defects Lead to Austin Home Repairs

Construction Defects Lead to Home Repairs
By Greg Vandenberge

Most of the construction workers that work on brand-new homes, don’t realize the problems that they could be creating later for homeowners and even the home builders that they’re working for.

Construction defects eventually lead to home repairs and the biggest problem with this is the inexperienced workforce that is building homes today. The new home building process has become mechanized and workers are like robots going through the process.

Most of the labor is skilled at one specific task and if they run into a problem that they’re not familiar with, they often cover it up or leave it for another trade to deal with, only to find out that the problem was never dealt with by anyone.

Today’s homes are being built faster than ever and it seems like they can build a home twice as fast as they could 20 years ago. I don’t really know if the speed that they’re building these homes with is going to create more home repairs in the future or less, but I do know one thing, it’s never good to cover up construction defects that could eventually lead to home repairs.

Home repairs of course eventually lead to financial problems and sometimes these financial burdens turn into lawsuits. Today’s home builders have different methods of dealing with construction defects and sometimes their solutions are simple Band-Aids and don’t really fix the problem correctly.

It’s never a good idea to hire a home builder who uses inexperienced and cheap labor. Find a home builder who only uses qualified construction labor to build your house. This will prevent a lot of frustration in the future.

If You’re Looking for a Great Contractor, Click on This Link Home Remodeling Contractors

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Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books.

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Austin Finding Construction Defects

Posted on November 14, 2009 by admin

Finding Construction Defects- Austin

Finding Construction Defects in Your Home

By Colin Scott

Building defects in homes in Kingston Jamaica may be considered to be a failing or shortcoming in the function, performance, statutory or user requirements of a building and might manifest itself within the structure, fabric, services or other facilities of the affected building.

Defects Classification

1. Defects affecting habitability – broadly any defect that diminishes the performance of the structure.

2. Defects affecting appearance – any defect of a superficial largely aesthetic nature.

3. Defects affecting safety – any defect that involves or may involve hazard to life.

Causes of defects

1. Faulty design: failure to follow established criteria, for example, Building Regulations,

Codes of Practices, Building Standards and other criteria that is generally acceptable building practices.

2. Faulty execution construction: failure on the part of the builder to effectively carry out a design which was satisfactory in itself and properly specified.

3. Faulty materials, components or proprietary systems: failure of these elements to meet their advertised or otherwise accepted performance levels.

4. Unexpected user requirements: defects caused by the user expecting more from the design than the designer anticipated.

One major problem is that homes in Kingston Jamaica were subject to scrutiny by the KSAC or Kingston and St. Andrew Council. They are constantly overburdened and realistically cannot and could not reach everyone as quickly as possible.

Wall finish defects

External Rendering Defectt:

Surface crazing: This is caused by mixture too rich; sand used in mix is too fine and structural movement.

Spalling: This is caused from poor workmanship, sulfate attack and steel corrosion.

Lack of adhesion: This is caused when the background is too smooth.

Shrinkage cracks: This is caused from too strong a mix.

Building defects

Rot in roof fascia: This is caused from roof sarking cut short of gutter.

Horizontal cracks to eaves of flat concrete roof: Caused by thermal movement.

Concrete lintel sags: Caused from faulty shuttering or formwork.

Fracture in wall: This is caused when there is moisture movement and soil heave.

Crack in wall wider at bottom than top: This is caused from differential settlement of building.

Excessive deflection at centre of beam: This is caused when the beam ends are not adequately supported and the depth not adequate.

Painting problems and their remedy

Blistering

Identification: When raised circular bubbles or blisters is on the painted surface.

Causes: From painting over surfaces that contains moisture with an impervious coating.

Remedy: Eliminate the source of moisture, scrape off the blisters, rub down and repaint.

Chalking

Identification: The presence of pigment particles on a piece of black cloth used to rub the painted surface.

Causes: Destruction of oil paint by chemical or physical changes, for example, exposure to ultra violet light.

Remedy: Repaint with an appropriate paint.

Flaking

Identification: Loosening of small piece of paint from the substitute.

Causes: Loss of adhesion to its substrate usually the result of painting over unprepared surfaces with emulsion paint.

Remedy: Thoroughly clean and rub down surface and repaint.

Peeling

Identification: A severe lifting and loosening of large pieces of paint several square inches in area.

Causes: Loss of adhesion to its substrate usually the result of painting over unprepared surfaces with emulsion paint.

Remedy: Thoroughly clean and rub down surface and repaint.

Wrinkling

Identification: Furrows and ridges in the surface of the paint film.

Causes: Application of too thick a paint film or rapid surface drying of the paint film resulting in the underlying layer remaining soft and the normal drying function being retarded.

Remedy: Allow surface to thoroughly harden, rub down, preferably with a waterproof abrasive paper and repaint with the appropriate material.

Water stains

Identification: Discolored patches appearing on the emulsion and oil painted surfaces.

Causes: Soluble matter from the substrate carried through the paint film by moisture resulting from building defect, for example, leaks from open joints.

Remedy: Repair leak, touch up stained area with one or two coats of sealer and repaint with emulsion or oil paints.

Rust stains

Identification: Brown or red stains appearing on or under any painted surface.

Causes: Corrosion of steel reinforcement or other ferrous metal.

Remedy: Scrape off paint over stained area, remove rust by sandblasting or wire brushing and then treat the surface with a rust remover. Apply one or two coats metal primer and when dry, finish with the appropriate paint.

While not all these defects can be found in homes in Kingston Jamaica, there are times when one must look for the common things; this will help in bargaining the sale price by the vendor.

Colin Scott is a real estate marketing expert. For more great tips on homes in Kingston Jamaica and affordable Jamaican real estate visit any one of the links in this Author Bio.

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TRCC-Dead on Arrival?

Posted on November 14, 2009 by admin
TRCC-Dead on Arrival?

By Jennifer Hiller – Express-News

The often-criticized agency that oversees home building in Texas will be dismantled.

As the legislative session wound down this week, lawmakers did not act to save the beleaguered Texas Residential Construction Commission from the state’s Sunset process.

Now the decision — which many say is unlikely to be reversed in a special session — has consumer advocates, builders’ groups, attorneys and even agency officials themselves scratching their heads over how the agency’s death will occur.

No one quite seems to know how the TRCC, created in 2003, will close its doors or what happens to the homeowners and builders who are in the middle of the agency’s inspection process.

“We’ve been an experiment since our creation, and we’ll be an experiment in our demise,” TRCC Executive Director Duane Waddill said.

The 5-year-old commission long has been accused of offering more protections for builders than it does for homeowners.

Now the laws that push homeowners and builders into the TRCC’s dispute resolution process and regulate home building will end Sept. 1. The agency has another year to wind down its operations.

The Sunset Advisory Commission staff last year recommended abolishing the agency, in part because of the inability of the agency to force builders to repair shoddy construction work. Homeowners were forced to go through the agency before going to court, but didn’t trust it, the staff report said.

“No other regulatory agency has a program with such a potentially devastating effect on consumers’ ability to seek their own remedies,” it said. And in 2006, an audit from the Texas comptroller’s office branded the agency a “paper tiger” and said the agency shields builders from responsibility.

This session, lawmakers appeared ready to clearly outline the terms of the agency’s demise and the applicable laws to guide consumers and builders in the future.

But Joey Longley, the Sunset Commission’s executive director, noted that the bill died in conference committee.

The House had approved the legislation, but the Senate voted 17-11 to adjourn without passing it. The continued operation of the agencies that oversee transportation and insurance also were part of the so-called “safety net” bill and likely will be the topic of a special session.“Usually the statutes provide a little more detail,” Longley said. “In this case, we don’t have that.”

Waddill said the TRCC’s board will meet Wednesday to adopt a plan. Possible options include making the inspection and resolution process an optional one for consumers in the last year of the agency’s existence or simply finishing out the 200 pending cases it has now.

“We’re here and committed to getting them done and inspected as best we can,” Waddill said.

In September, Texas reverts to the pre-TRCC law, the Residential Construction Liability Act, which limited damages homeowners could seek and gave builders the right to repair poor construction.

Previous case law had established an implied warranty of workmanlike construction and habitability in home building, San Antonio attorney Gary Javore said.

But Javore said there was never a standard definition of what “workmanlike construction” meant.

“Whoever had the more personable expert would win the case. Standards would change from case to case,” Javore said.

Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, advocated eliminating the agency, but also said the previous RCLA law offered inadequate consumer protection. He expects the Legislature will address the home building industry again.

“We got the agency out of the way and now can start with a fresh slate in the next session,” he said. “We can create a process or agency so that builders are held accountable and homes are built right the first time. The TRCC never really served those goals,” he said.

In the short term, though, things are murky.

“We’re already hearing from homeowners and consumers,” Winslow said. “They’re confused.”

Ned Muñoz, vice president of regulatory affairs and general counsel for the Texas Association of Builders, said many consumers benefited from the agency

“I think it’s unfortunate that a lot of the consumer groups who were clamoring for the TRCC’s demise will have nowhere to turn for these disputes,” Muñoz said. “Now all they’ll have is costly legislation.”

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