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Damage to floor during construction, plumbing noise

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bdsumer13

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

I just finished construction of an expensive custom home with a lot of hardwood flooring. My GC had the flooring installed before the interior work was finished, against the advice of the flooring contractor who made it clear he wanted the wood floors to be last. The GC was confident the floor could be adequately protected by sheets of OSB over brown paper. There was lots of traffic through the house across the protected floor by finish carpenters, tilers, plumbers, granite fabricators, carpet layers, and the GC himself, who is also the cabinet maker and was installing cabinets up to the last minute. When the floor protection was removed, there were numerous gouges in the wood floor in the main traffic area through the living room (from the kitchen across the front of the stairs to the entry hall) and in several other areas, probably due to sand/gravel. Either it somehow got under the OSB and paper, or it was already there when the protection was laid down. I had the wood flooring contractor come back to see the damage and he gave me an estimate to fix it all, and it is a very expensive issue to resolve. He said he can't just sand away all the damage; he will have to replace some of the boards, sand a huge area of the room to keep the floor level, then replace the multiple layers of coatings.

I believe this constitutes a defect, which under my construction agreement the GC is responsible for remedying at his expense. The GC blames me for the damage, saying I caused a delay in completion of the tile work and it was the tiler who probably caused it. Blaming the tiler is a joke, because everyone who came to the house had to walk through the main area of damage. I paid a lot of money for the flooring and I feel I should not have to accept the damage, as the GC chose the timing of the floor installation and was in charge of the protection.

My other problem: the drop pipe from the second floor bathrooms runs through the wall of my study off the entry hallway. Although it is supposedly cast iron, it is incredibly loud when water is draining through it. I am distracted by the racket when someone is showering or flushing a toilet. When the insulation job was bid, I was given a choice of having the bathroom walls insulated to control noise. I chose to do this and did not expect noise to be an issue. However, the drop pipe was not wrapped, nor was the space in the wall around it insulated. I feel that this is a defect, as I had expressed a desire to address bathroom noise and the GC and/or the insulation contractor should have also thought to deal with the drop pipe before drywall. Now I have to have the wall opened up to wrap and insulate around the pipe and then pay to have the drywall repaired, textured, and painted. The GC had the insulation contractor send someone to check out the problem and give me an estimate; the guy said I should probably have insulation blown into the ceiling under the bathrooms too. The GC has not agreed to take on any of the expense involved. He claims that this is a design issue and that I should take it up with the architect.

I believe that a better, more experienced GC would have foreseen the potential for noise problems and discussed with me early in the project the many noise abatement options that are available. I have since learned that there are better ways to address noise than with just insulation, but of course it's too late after the house is finished. In addressing the noise issue now, I realize I will have to pay for the insulation, just as I would if it had been installed before drywall. However, I feel I should not have to pay for drywall repair and painting.

I have withheld a portion of the GC's final payment to partially offset the expense of remedying these problems. I also pointed out to the GC that the project went three months beyond the finish date and that I was being generous in not charging him the $50/day penalty provided for in the construction agreement, despite the extra rent I had to pay. He has threatened me with legal action, rather than accept responsibility for the defects and address them himself, as required under the construction agreement. And of course, he blamed me for the delay in finishing the house.

My questions are: Is it reasonable to consider these as defects and expect the General Contractor to remedy them? Since he does not take responsibility, is it fair and legal for me to withhold some of his final payment to cover a portion of my damages? Is there some better way I could resolve the dispute that would avoid a lien or lawsuit?
 
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LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

I just finished construction of an expensive custom home with a lot of hardwood flooring. My GC had the flooring installed before the interior work was finished, against the advice of the flooring contractor who made it clear he wanted the wood floors to be last. The GC was confident the floor could be adequately protected by sheets of OSB over brown paper. There was lots of traffic through the house across the protected floor by finish carpenters, tilers, plumbers, granite fabricators, carpet layers, and the GC himself, who is also the cabinet maker and was installing cabinets up to the last minute. When the floor protection was removed, there were numerous gouges in the wood floor in the main traffic area through the living room (from the kitchen across the front of the stairs to the entry hall) and in several other areas, probably due to sand/gravel. Either it somehow got under the OSB and paper, or it was already there when the protection was laid down. I had the wood flooring contractor come back to see the damage and he gave me an estimate to fix it all, and it is a very expensive issue to resolve. He said he can't just sand away all the damage; he will have to replace some of the boards, sand a huge area of the room to keep the floor level, then replace the multiple layers of coatings.

I believe this constitutes a defect, which under my construction agreement the GC is responsible for remedying at his expense. The GC blames me for the damage, saying I caused a delay in completion of the tile work and it was the tiler who probably caused it. Blaming the tiler is a joke, because everyone who came to the house had to walk through the main area of damage. I paid a lot of money for the flooring and I feel I should not have to accept the damage, as the GC chose the timing of the floor installation and was in charge of the protection.

My other problem: the drop pipe from the second floor bathrooms runs through the wall of my study off the entry hallway. Although it is supposedly cast iron, it is incredibly loud when water is draining through it. I am distracted by the racket when someone is showering or flushing a toilet. When the insulation job was bid, I was given a choice of having the bathroom walls insulated to control noise. I chose to do this and did not expect noise to be an issue. However, the drop pipe was not wrapped, nor was the space in the wall around it insulated. I feel that this is a defect, as I had expressed a desire to address bathroom noise and the GC and/or the insulation contractor should have also thought to deal with the drop pipe before drywall. Now I have to have the wall opened up to wrap and insulate around the pipe and then pay to have the drywall repaired, textured, and painted. The GC had the insulation contractor send someone to check out the problem and give me an estimate; the guy said I should probably have insulation blown into the ceiling under the bathrooms too. The GC has not agreed to take on any of the expense involved. He claims that this is a design issue and that I should take it up with the architect.

I believe that a better, more experienced GC would have foreseen the potential for noise problems and discussed with me early in the project the many noise abatement options that are available. I have since learned that there are better ways to address noise than with just insulation, but of course it's too late after the house is finished. In addressing the noise issue now, I realize I will have to pay for the insulation, just as I would if it had been installed before drywall. However, I feel I should not have to pay for drywall repair and painting.

I have withheld a portion of the GC's final payment to partially offset the expense of remedying these problems. I also pointed out to the GC that the project went three months beyond the finish date and that I was being generous in not charging him the $50/day penalty provided for in the construction agreement, despite the extra rent I had to pay. He has threatened me with legal action, rather than accept responsibility for the defects and address them himself, as required under the construction agreement. And of course, he blamed me for the delay in finishing the house.

My questions are: Is it reasonable to consider these as defects and expect the General Contractor to remedy them? Since he does not take responsibility, is it fair and legal for me to withhold some of his final payment to cover a portion of my damages? Is there some better way I could resolve the dispute that would avoid a lien or lawsuit?
You may be in the right about the wood flooring. However, that is going to depend on some of the details. Some finish work might need to be installed after the flooring was laid, but others absolutely would not have.

I don't think that you are right about the plumbing...not even remotely. Maybe an architect would have some responsibility to consider noise in the designing of a home, but its the GC's responsibility to build to the design and specs.

Whether or not you have any responsibility for any delays depends a lot on how many changes you made during the process. Its trickier than heck to schedule everything that goes into building a custom home, and its amazing sometimes how one little change that seems minor to the client can throw off the entire schedule.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
The flooring is not a defect per se but damage. Unless have already accepted the home the GC is liable to repair or replace the flooring at their expense.


The drop pipe is a design issue and something you need to address with the architect. I wouldn't hold my breath though since you have probably signed a contract relieving the architect from liability for issues such as thiis.

Regarding the delays. Unless the contract allows for an extension of guy finish. Date due the changes that were ordered it doesn't matter if you caused delays or not. In other words; the contract rules.
 
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LdiJ

Senior Member
The flooring is not a defect per se but damage. Unless have already accepted the home the GC is liable to repair or replace the flooring at their expense.


The drop pipe is a design issue and something you need to address with the architect. I wouldn't hold my breath though since you have probably signed a contract relieving the architect from liability for issues such as thiis.

Regarding the delays. Unless the contract allows for an extension of guy finish. Date due the changes that were ordered it doesn't matter if you caused delays or not. In other words; the contract rules.
No offense Zig, but could you rewrite the bolded in English?:D
 

justalayman

Senior Member
No offense Zig, but could you rewrite the bolded in English?:D

I take the mistaken name as a compliment but I'll rewrite it anyway:


first, blame Apple autocorrect.




Regarding the delays. Unless the contract allows for an extension of guy finish. Date due the changes that were ordered it doesn't matter if you caused delays or not. In other words; the contract rules.

Unless the contract allows for an extension of the completion date for the reasons claimed, there was no extension of the completion date.

In other words; the contract rules. Read it, understand it, and if to your benefit, enforce it. If to the GC's benefit, keep mouth closed and figure out the least expensive way out of the situation.
 

bdsumer13

Junior Member
I don't think that you are right about the plumbing...not even remotely. Maybe an architect would have some responsibility to consider noise in the designing of a home, but its the GC's responsibility to build to the design and specs.
Are you saying the GC is wrong about the plumbing noise being the architect's responsibility?
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Are you saying the GC is wrong about the plumbing noise being the architect's responsibility?
No, I am saying that if anyone has any responsibility it would be the architect. However, as someone else already pointed out, its likely that the contract with the architect would absolve him or her.
 

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