From a 2001 newsletter, still relevant today though...
Most Residential Construction Defect cases start as a result of actual leaks in roofs, walls, decks, doors or windows. Some cases get started as a result of a clever attorney convincing a homeowners’ association that they might have leaks later on. Regardless, if you did any exterior sheet metal work, they want you. Short of not doing that work, your best protection is to do it right and to document your work with photos and written correspondence concerning flashing details, including any and all suggestions you might make as to improving flashing, especially those buried in deck or hot-mop roof assemblies. If you see a bad detail in the plans, discuss it, document it, suggest your improvement and price it. Any documented rejections of this type of proposed improvement could be your ticket out of a lawsuit if that flashing is questioned later on. Also document with photos and correspondence any problems with the work of related trades that touch your work, i.e., roofing, siding, stucco, deck coating, windows and doors.
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Friday, December 21, 2007
Rumor-Dex-O-Tex coming out with metal lath decking system to compete with Mer-Kote's Shur Deck
Heard today that there's samples of a metal lath decking system from Dex-O-Tex around...
Hmm, is the deck coating market about to get more competitive as new construction slows?
More to follow when we hear more-got any tips?
Hmm, is the deck coating market about to get more competitive as new construction slows?
More to follow when we hear more-got any tips?
From www.contractorsfromhell.com comes this story about deck leaks and more
From a great website, named appropriately, contractors from hell comes this not so funny story...beware the idiots out there and do your homework first.
Late February, we got the scratch and brown coat. Shortly thereafter, it rained. We leaked just as before but now it was spreading itself out. We told this new supervisor that we needed to address this now - he says he'll talk to the contractor. He called back, and the contractor had just left out of town for the weekend and when he got back, he’d speak with him. He gets back in town and says he'll send the Pro Deck guy out. Deck guy doesn't show up-says it's not the deck, probably the drains. We ask the contractor to open a section of the wall/ceiling so we can do a water test to determine the source-he says we have to wait until drywall. We argue....
It’s now April and this started New Years Eve-actually, in mid-October when it first rained. With camera in hand to document, we cut out a 4 x 4 opening in the ceiling, exposing the drains and immediately see some mold. Then we performed the water test on the deck, expecting the drains to fail-nothing.
Ten-fifteen seconds pass and suddenly the ceiling begins to leak-we see it coming from the deck. So it was the deck that had failed. Yet we endured so much unnecessary water damage and stress because of his refusal to open the ceiling and do a simple water test.
The substrate put down was incompatible with the decking material that was applied over it. Now the Pro Deck guy knew it, but still went ahead with it. The contractor should have ordered plywood for the flooring system, not OSB, which is flake board and basically much more porous.
So we lost carpeting, ceilings and walls damaged as a result of both their negligence and shoddy workmanship. The workers report back to the contractor and now he and the ProDeck guy go at it.
We call the contractor and tell him that he needs to get over to the house today-no more putting us off. We demanded that he gets one of his workers over to open the ceiling to do a water test and get those damn French doors installed...
We were overwhelmed-how many more screw-ups does it take before it's over? I felt like I was smack in the middle of a Three Stooges movie. A worker showed up the next day to open the ceiling.
A few days go by, the Pro Deck guy shows up and inspects the deck and says, "I told him not to use that OSB board, it's cheap and not right for this application.. .there goes my reputation." Your reputation! What about all the damage we've sustained?? I asked him why he went ahead and put the material down even though he could clearly see it was the incorrect substrate? Just shakes his head and says something about contractors' insurance paying for the damages and gets on the phone. This is around the 12th of April 2000.
I talked to the contractor and he stated that the Pro Deck guy would be coming back when there was a break in the rains for at least several days. But he needed to get his workers over to the house first to tear out the floor and replace it with the correct substrate He promised that the plans for the exterior stairs were being done by the engineer as well as the footing issue (still from the previous year and unresolved) but will be ready for his supervisor to pick up at the City the following day.
Oh, and by the way, he's talking to me on his way to the airport for yet another vacation-two weeks. Gee, I'd like to take even a week's vacation but I have to run this project while the contractor either screws up, does a no-show or takes a vacation.
I drilled him on what he has and has not done-promises (yeah right) that he's given his supervisor very specific instructions on handling the engineer and getting the plans over to the City. How many times have I heard this now?
It had been nearly a month that any work has been performed with the exception of taking care of leaks. The contractor was lying on a sunny beach in Cabo and we were mopping up water in the house-and freezing...
READ THE WHOLE STORY AND FIND OUT HOW IT ALL ENDS AT
WWW.CONTRACTORSFROMHELL.COM
Late February, we got the scratch and brown coat. Shortly thereafter, it rained. We leaked just as before but now it was spreading itself out. We told this new supervisor that we needed to address this now - he says he'll talk to the contractor. He called back, and the contractor had just left out of town for the weekend and when he got back, he’d speak with him. He gets back in town and says he'll send the Pro Deck guy out. Deck guy doesn't show up-says it's not the deck, probably the drains. We ask the contractor to open a section of the wall/ceiling so we can do a water test to determine the source-he says we have to wait until drywall. We argue....
It’s now April and this started New Years Eve-actually, in mid-October when it first rained. With camera in hand to document, we cut out a 4 x 4 opening in the ceiling, exposing the drains and immediately see some mold. Then we performed the water test on the deck, expecting the drains to fail-nothing.
Ten-fifteen seconds pass and suddenly the ceiling begins to leak-we see it coming from the deck. So it was the deck that had failed. Yet we endured so much unnecessary water damage and stress because of his refusal to open the ceiling and do a simple water test.
The substrate put down was incompatible with the decking material that was applied over it. Now the Pro Deck guy knew it, but still went ahead with it. The contractor should have ordered plywood for the flooring system, not OSB, which is flake board and basically much more porous.
So we lost carpeting, ceilings and walls damaged as a result of both their negligence and shoddy workmanship. The workers report back to the contractor and now he and the ProDeck guy go at it.
We call the contractor and tell him that he needs to get over to the house today-no more putting us off. We demanded that he gets one of his workers over to open the ceiling to do a water test and get those damn French doors installed...
We were overwhelmed-how many more screw-ups does it take before it's over? I felt like I was smack in the middle of a Three Stooges movie. A worker showed up the next day to open the ceiling.
A few days go by, the Pro Deck guy shows up and inspects the deck and says, "I told him not to use that OSB board, it's cheap and not right for this application.. .there goes my reputation." Your reputation! What about all the damage we've sustained?? I asked him why he went ahead and put the material down even though he could clearly see it was the incorrect substrate? Just shakes his head and says something about contractors' insurance paying for the damages and gets on the phone. This is around the 12th of April 2000.
I talked to the contractor and he stated that the Pro Deck guy would be coming back when there was a break in the rains for at least several days. But he needed to get his workers over to the house first to tear out the floor and replace it with the correct substrate He promised that the plans for the exterior stairs were being done by the engineer as well as the footing issue (still from the previous year and unresolved) but will be ready for his supervisor to pick up at the City the following day.
Oh, and by the way, he's talking to me on his way to the airport for yet another vacation-two weeks. Gee, I'd like to take even a week's vacation but I have to run this project while the contractor either screws up, does a no-show or takes a vacation.
I drilled him on what he has and has not done-promises (yeah right) that he's given his supervisor very specific instructions on handling the engineer and getting the plans over to the City. How many times have I heard this now?
It had been nearly a month that any work has been performed with the exception of taking care of leaks. The contractor was lying on a sunny beach in Cabo and we were mopping up water in the house-and freezing...
READ THE WHOLE STORY AND FIND OUT HOW IT ALL ENDS AT
WWW.CONTRACTORSFROMHELL.COM
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Winner of Sikkens 2006 Ugly Deck Contest
One Ugly Deck. This Kentwood, Mich., deck may not look like your typical award-winner, but in the 2006 Ugliest Deck in America contest, it was a shoo-in for first place. Dale and Julie Owsinski, owners of the dilapidated example of 1970s backyard architecture, won a $10,000 makeover from Sikkens Decorative Coatings.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
New Pocket Guide available for construction jobsite codes
New Guide Helps Builders Navigate Residential Code
Printer Friendly VersionPrinter Friendly
December 12, 2007 - A new pocket guide co-published by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) provides critical answers to the most frequently asked residential construction jobsite code questions.
Available through BuilderBooks, NAHB’s publishing arm, Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes: A Pocket Guide to the 2006 International Residential Code, is a portable guide for home builders, contractors, inspectors, architects, engineers, and other construction professionals. The convenient field guide is a quick reference to the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC), and provides easy-to-read code requirements for every aspect of residential construction.
“The latest edition for Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes is an excellent resource for builders to navigate the 2006 International Residential Code,” said NAHB President Brian Catalde, a builder from Southern California. “With its compact size, it is an ideal reference tool that builders can consult easily while on the jobsite.”
The user-friendly guide helps building professionals better understand elements of the 2006 IRC including:
- Provisions addressing all aspects of conventional construction of dwellings and their accessory buildings.
- Safety requirements such as egress, emergency escape, fall protection, safe design criteria, fire protection and sage and healthy living environments.
- Code provisions for foundations, floors, walls, roofs, chimneys and fireplaces, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing and electrical systems.
Written by Stephen A. Van Note, the guide features illustrations, tables and figures to help the reader understand specific code requirements, as well as a glossary that provides definitions of construction-related terms. A certified building official and plans examiner, Van Note has 15 years of experience in code administration and enforcement and more than 20 years of experience in the construction field, including project planning and management for residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes is meant to be of practical use on the jobsite, not as a substitute for the complete codes.
To purchase the new Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes: A Pocket Guide to the 2006 International Residential Code, please visit www.BuilderBooks.com or call 1-800-223-2665. (ISBN 978-0-86718-625-3; Retail $26.95/NAHB Member $24.95). The Guide is also available from the International Code Council.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Editors who are interested in receiving a complimentary copy of Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes to review for their publications should contact Patricia Potts at 202-266-8224 or ppotts@nahb.com.]
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL: The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the International Code Council.
Printer Friendly VersionPrinter Friendly
December 12, 2007 - A new pocket guide co-published by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) provides critical answers to the most frequently asked residential construction jobsite code questions.
Available through BuilderBooks, NAHB’s publishing arm, Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes: A Pocket Guide to the 2006 International Residential Code, is a portable guide for home builders, contractors, inspectors, architects, engineers, and other construction professionals. The convenient field guide is a quick reference to the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC), and provides easy-to-read code requirements for every aspect of residential construction.
“The latest edition for Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes is an excellent resource for builders to navigate the 2006 International Residential Code,” said NAHB President Brian Catalde, a builder from Southern California. “With its compact size, it is an ideal reference tool that builders can consult easily while on the jobsite.”
The user-friendly guide helps building professionals better understand elements of the 2006 IRC including:
- Provisions addressing all aspects of conventional construction of dwellings and their accessory buildings.
- Safety requirements such as egress, emergency escape, fall protection, safe design criteria, fire protection and sage and healthy living environments.
- Code provisions for foundations, floors, walls, roofs, chimneys and fireplaces, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing and electrical systems.
Written by Stephen A. Van Note, the guide features illustrations, tables and figures to help the reader understand specific code requirements, as well as a glossary that provides definitions of construction-related terms. A certified building official and plans examiner, Van Note has 15 years of experience in code administration and enforcement and more than 20 years of experience in the construction field, including project planning and management for residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes is meant to be of practical use on the jobsite, not as a substitute for the complete codes.
To purchase the new Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes: A Pocket Guide to the 2006 International Residential Code, please visit www.BuilderBooks.com or call 1-800-223-2665. (ISBN 978-0-86718-625-3; Retail $26.95/NAHB Member $24.95). The Guide is also available from the International Code Council.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Editors who are interested in receiving a complimentary copy of Home Builders’ Jobsite Codes to review for their publications should contact Patricia Potts at 202-266-8224 or ppotts@nahb.com.]
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL: The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the International Code Council.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
From ICC News, the ICC Code Question of the Week
Here's agood question in the latest ICC newsletter; this would pertain to decks too.
Q: Section 1507.12 of the 2006 International Building Code requires a flat roof to have at least a 1/4":12" slope in order to have sufficient rain water run off. Is it the intent of this section that the 1/4":12" (2%) slope be measured at the valleys created by roof surfaces that are angled and adjacent to each other? Click here for the answer.
Q: Section 1507.12 of the 2006 International Building Code requires a flat roof to have at least a 1/4":12" slope in order to have sufficient rain water run off. Is it the intent of this section that the 1/4":12" (2%) slope be measured at the valleys created by roof surfaces that are angled and adjacent to each other? Click here for the answer.
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