When you hire professionals to expand your first floor, remodel your kitchen or build an entirely new home, you expect professional work. Most people who hire contractors and building professionals to upgrade, repair or construct a home will be more than satisfied with the project results.
However, occasionally there are issues with the project or property that owners cannot ignore. When professionals do a substandard job, or there are issues with the property after completing a construction project, owners might have grounds for a construction defect claim.
What situations might justify such claims against contractors and construction companies?
Poor workmanship
You may think that you will receive professional work, but many contractors outsource most of their projects to subcontractors. The people performing the labor might receive a fraction of what you pay per hour for that work.
When companies hire inexperienced workers for low pay, the drywall or tiling work they do might not hold up over time or even meet current professional standards.
Subpar materials
Perhaps you paid for natural hardwood flooring, but your builder substituted cut-rate vinyl in the hopes that you wouldn’t notice. Maybe what you thought was one-half-inch sheetrock board on the walls turned out to be paperboard less than a quarter-inch thick.
Especially when you have a contract discussing your preference for specific materials, work done using cheap or alternative materials may give rise to successful construction defect claims.
Serious design mistakes
If you need to remove and rebuild a tree-damaged roof, you trust that the contractor knows exactly what to do. However, mistakes in the design stage of a project can lead to ongoing issues for property owners, like a corner of the roof that always leaks. If you can show that the design has caused problems with the property, then the professionals tasked with creating the plans for the project may ultimately be at fault for its failure.
A successful construction defect claim could result in financial compensation directly from a company or possibly from their insurance provider. In some cases, judges could also order specific performance requiring the contractor or company involved to repair the property. Learning more about construction defect claims can help you stand up for yourself when the project you paid for doesn’t turn out quite right.
