Understanding the Home Construction Industry: A Resource Text for the Builder, Buyer, Seller, and Financier

By Vernanne Bryan

Fifteen highlights covered with this book to maintain and repair your home: (1) what to do before buying a home; (2) how can you yourself inspect the prospective residence–both new and previously owned; (3) troubleshooting the electrical; (4) liability, i.e., construction defects; (5) handling disputes with the builder; (6) top litigated construction defects; (7) industry standards; (8) mold; (9) radon gas; (10) emergency procedures; (11) termites and pests; (12) home safety and environmental issues; (13) basic construction terminology; (14) basic construction procedures; (15) new home punch list, and much, much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vernanne Bryan
• Release date: Oct 31, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311851482

Vernanne Bryan

Dr. Vernanne Bryan, Ph.D. is an author that sets history on fire! Like a well educated detective seeking the answers to mystery. Bryan pulls from gut instinct and documented research to create stories that amaze and tease out old creaky myths. Bryan is driven to expose the best of human nature in the very midst of the darker side. One discovers breathtaking adventures under highly dangerous circumstances dwelling in the degradation and destruction of the human light. The author dives headlong into diversified and colorful pasts in order to tell exceptional stories, retrieving not just the villains, but a heritage of death defying heroic retaliations. Vernanne's technique revives history as literature. Like a well-balanced tennis match, this novelist plays both sides found in the courts of intrigue. In the intricate blending of this approach,one is embraced in the entire human dynamic of the past.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

BEFORE THE PURCHASE

INVESTIGATE: One of the most important steps you will take to insure your compatibility with the house under consideration for purchase will be to investigate not only the neighborhood, but the policies of the governing body of the community, i.e., the city, and the association, if any. Visit the Civic Center and talk with those in Community Development about their plans for the future. This is especially important when you are considering moving to a newly incorporated city. New cities do not always have all of their policies secured and established. This can be a positive if you wish to actively join in that process, but you could also easily become part of their learning curve to your detriment. Check out the local schools and libraries. How important has it been in the community to maintain high standards of education and integrity for their libraries. Get the latest on traffic patterns and visit the law enforcement agency to learn about the statistics and content on police reports for your neighborhood. Most offices have up to thirty (30) days listings of calls. In context with this initial investigation, check out the enforcement of Megan’ s Law. If you are availed of a computer, go on-line to www.meganslaw.org. Locate the proximity of hospitals and reputable medical institutions of healthcare providers. Are there family entertainment areas and centers?

HOME INSURANCE ISSUES (liability time bombs): Most insurance companies are becoming more restrictive as to what they will accept in a house before insuring it. In the past, the insurance inspector simply took a photo of the address mounted on the house, but more recently your inspector will proceed into the back yard to view several areas that could decline their coverage: swimming pools with diving boards (if no diving board, then the bolts that will or could be used must be removed); trampolines found on the property; mold; house pets; history of water damage to the house can be a yellow flag to policy carriers.

MAKE A LIST OF YOUR FUTURE NEEDS: For example, do you have an electric dryer and the builder only installs gas hook-ups? If you put a swimming pool in the backyard, will it require upgrading the electricity, i.e., does the main electrical panel have areas for future expansion and how easy is it to set up a sub-panel if there is not enough room in the main panel? If you have three cars and you’re buying a three car garage, will all of them fit easily inside the garage? Make a list of all of your present furniture, sketch the new floor plan, will it all fit? If you have someone with special needs, what kind of floor plan will be compatible? What are the parking needs and the association regulations that you can live with? If you intend to install security into your home, will you need pre-wiring? What kind of phone lines will be installed into the house and when? Are you going to have an office in the home, and if so, what kind of hookups will be necessary. What kind of sewer hookup will you have, city or other? Is the city recently incorporated, if so, how open is the city to remodeling, issuing permits, and providing helpful aid? Visit some of the city council meetings and meet with council members–ask questions like, what is the five year plan for the district of your prospective home, what plans are for the community as a whole, what kinds of growth are they projecting?

CHAPTER TWO

AUTHOR’S OVERVIEW

In this chapter we will hit the highlights of the overall knowledge to be gained within this text necessary for purchase of a brand new house, but you will discover that many of these same issues will also apply to the previously owned home.

A home inspection can take a short time and save you future delays and problems. Learn to conduct your own inspection before you invest. A new home is a GOOD investment. Start out KNOWING what you are buying. This resource text was developed to assist not only the previously owned home buyer, but also the new home buyer as they determine the quality of workmanship that went into the house. The text can also be utilized in a manner that will assist the new home builder in doing the pick-up work prior to move-in that is extremely important to every buyer. Trade information is also provided to the novice, for there are thousand of parts that make up a house, and there is no such thing as a perfectly constructed home.

There will always be areas that require some reworking within a house that will bring it up to the industry standards. Industry standards take into consideration the human element as well as the current product lines that must be utilized to accomplish a specific project. Mostly industry standards pertain to what the city and/or county building and safety department want to see and should not be issues between worker and the homeowner. At all times, however, work should be performed at or above all standards. Industry standards are a means to determine quality. In some sectors, this is the only composite that can be utilized to test quality. If a tradesman performs a labor that fits within his trade’s standards, the builder, as well as the buying public, must accept the outcome of the work that was performed. If a tradesman does not perform within these construction standards, than the builder, as well as the buyer, has a right to request that the tradesman perform the work over again.

The term Industry Standards does not mean minimum standards. They are high standards that must be adhered to by the industry.

THE GOAL OF EVERY GOOD DEVELOPER: To minimize the frustrations that may occur between the builder and their buyer. Sometimes the greatest expectations of a buyer are not obtainable because of the type of product that is being used to accomplish a given task, i.e., natural marble has built-in imperfections created by nature that are not within the control of the tradesman. To minimize product imperfections, the buyer must be involved in the quality selection and sign-off stating that they have accepted the product as-is.

It is the author’s intent when discussing newly built homes to enlighten the buyer on the complex issues of building a new home in order that the new home buyer can align their expectations realistically to coincide with the construction industry standards. It is also the intent to provide the new home buyer with a special view of the industry that constructs houses by viewing the builder through more educated and trained eyes, thus being able to determine if the builder is a shortsighted builder or one that is very prudent in the scope of their work.

The definition of a shortsighted builder is any builder willing to skip or overlook important steps while building houses and is one that is in the industry for a short period of time for financial gain. A very prudent builder adheres to the industry standards, has a past record in longevity and excellence, and is willing to inform the buyer of their product and industry so that the buying public will be able to comprehend the techniques which are required in the building of a well constructed house.

WHY TRACK HOUSING (multiple structures): The construction of track housing and the building of large housing developments require the building of multiple family dwellings. The industry has grown so rapidly in the last thirty (30) years the demand for the product has far surpassed the supply.

PROBLEMS DEALING WITH MULTIPLE STRUCTURES: The multiple structure building and its demand has caused the builder some direct intrinsic problems pertaining to quality control issues. In most cases the builder is under time constraints to build multiple structures and often does not have crews large enough and trained in every trade to quickly accomplish the building of multiple structures.

In order to produce such a large project, a builder must hire subcontractors via a contract to accomplish a specific function. In utilizing the talents of outside contractors to do the work, the builder is openly exposed to quality workmanship issues created by others. It is essential at this juncture that a builder have in place a policy of procedural steps to aggressively insure quality control. Even then, quality control programs can miss the issues of construction defect until the homeowner moves into the new home. It is at this time when the new home buyer is actually living in the house that these defects come to the forefront in the daily course of living. After the builder is informed by the new home buyer of such difficulties, the specific tradesman can be contacted and sent to the home to repair the discovered defect.

BASIC LIMITATIONS ON THE QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP: It is important to continually stress that quality of workmanship exists under the constraints of a subjective opinion and both the builder as well as the buyer must take into consideration that there are certain limitations in standards that a tradesman must work within. For instance, a subcontractor has real limitations that come with hiring employees and the knowledge they bring to their work. This is a common concern since there are a limited number of skilled professionals in comparison to the large demand for their talent. Additionally, language skills are quite often a communication barrier between worker and contractor. Without being able to clearly ascertain adequate training and knowledge, until a hands-on exhibition of skilled building techniques is exhibited, inclusive of proof of knowledge of the proper trade standards maintained within the business of the subcontractor’s chosen trade, the likelihood of a defect in workmanship for both the builder and subcontractor is very possible.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAUSING CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS: There are other concerns that a builder must look at along with the actual workmanship issues. There are environmental factors that often occur causing what are referred to as construction defects. These environmental factors can be the type of soil, soil expansion, and water intrusion possibilities. Environmental issues also include the things a new homeowner will do to the home that will affect the neighboring properties. For an example, the new home buyer may change the grade of their lot causing future water runoff problems to others; an issue that should be discussed with the new homeowner prior to their landscaping efforts. It is very important that the buyer realizes that their participation in future upkeep and design of their lot can affect other neighbors as well as themselves. The new home buyer could cause extensive financial impact on themselves, and others, if they do not look at the surrounding grades prior to the landscaping of their property. (How to handle disputes with the new home builder can be found within the text in the following chapters. There are specific advantages in knowing what to ask for and how you can proceed in successfully obtaining service from your builder.)

CALIFORNIA SENATE BILL NO. 800: Within this text you will find information on Senate Bill No. 800. This bill was passed in California during the last portion of 2002. It became effective on January 1, 2003 and has stipulated to the builder and the buyer certain steps that must be taken during the buying process of newly constructed houses.

In the pre-litigation process, a builder must acknowledge receipt of a written complaint and complete any desired inspection and testing within fourteen (14) days of receipt of that complaint.

Within thirty (30) days from that fourteenth (14th), a second inspection and testing can be done. All inspections and testing must be completed no later than forty (40) days after the initial inspection and testing.

Under this law, a builder may offer to make repairs within thirty (30) days of the inspection. The homeowner can refuse the