No primer? Gas leak?

[Pandaman]

Washington

Question 1:
Our house was purchased NEW 16 months ago. Last spring we had 25% of our trim, and porch, repainted due to massive peeling. Well, it's happening again. Turns out the initial painter neglected to put any primer? Living in the Seattle area that's not good. They've offered to patch, not fix ie. prime the trim and porch this spring? Thinking this is going to be a yearly thing. Do I have any rights here? I should also say that the builder is a highly respected builder in the area.


Question 2:
We noticed a gas smell coming from the floor valve by the fireplace but also noticed when the fireplace was off, no smell. So, we never used it. Well, it turns out when we had our YEARLY fix up by contractor, the gas was filling the crawlspace! They said they fixed it and left. Also said we could've blown up our neighborhood. 2 days later we use the fireplace again and, surprise, gas. They have the nerve to tell us that it'll go away if you leave it on after a week or so. Told them NO and to get over here and fix it. They came back again and have now fixed it. By the way, we were billed?!? Do I have anything I can do for them putting my family in danger? Are they negligent?

So, are these complaints legit? What path do I need to take?
What would you do?

[Edited by Pandaman on 12-29-2000 at 12:56 AM]

 

[HomeGuru]

These are valid complaints and I would send a certified letter to them requesting that they resolve the issues. It is clear that the plans and specs were not followed.

You should hire an architect/engineer or home inspector to inspect the entire home. Then send a copy of the inspection report to the builder and request that the additional items also be fixed. I am pretty sure that there will be other items.

So what if the Builder is highly respected. Respect, size, number of homes built and awards won means nothing to me if the home has construction defects. Yes your home.
There are many top builders in the nation that have numerous complaints against them because these builders built homes with defects. And in documented cases, when the defects are pointed out to the builders, the builders deny that there is a problem, say that something will be done but do nothing or just tell the homeowner to sue them.
Don't just take my word on this. Listen to the many homebuyers complaints by visiting http://www.hadd.com and http://www.hobb.org