Construction Defects
Construction Defect Attorneys in Colorado
Defects in new construction or remodels can cost property owners or homeowners' associations a great deal of money and create multiple legal difficulties. Construction defects can substantially reduce the value of the home. A construction defect is a condition in a home that fails to perform its intended function or does not conform to applicable building codes.
Common types of construction defects include:
- Mold
- Faulty drainage
- Basement flooding
- Window leaks
- Cracks in the foundation or floors
- Settling or rising foundations
- Improperly installed electrical systems
- Stucco moisture
- Roof leaks
We Have Solid Construction Defect Experience
Construction laws can be very complex and generally involve several different parties. Our Colorado construction defect attorneys at Jorgensen, Brownell & Pepin, P.C. have substantial experience both prosecuting for and defending clients against claims for construction and housing defects. Usually the matter will involve compliance with the mandatory procedures of the CDARA, Construction Defect Action Reform Act, various Statutes of Limitations, and possibly the Colorado Trust Fund Statute. Often the matter will involve actions against insurers in one capacity or another.
Poor Contractor Performance
Hold your general contractor and their subcontractors and materialmen responsible for their substandard or unfinished work through effective coercive techniques including anticipatory breach, coverage and delay damages. Use the Power of CDARA (Construction Defect Action Reform Act) to put the contractor on statutory notice of your claim and start the ticker on the litigation process.
Mechanic's liens are over blown as an effective means of collection. Let us show you how to press on regardless and simply wait out the short limitations period. Where immediate interference with financial transactions arises from a mechanics lien, our experienced attorneys can show you how quick and easy it is to bond over or insure around the lien.
Quickly Resolve Subcontractor & Materialmen Mechanic's Liens
When you have paid the general contractor and yet your home gets hit with a subcontractor or materialmen's mechanic's lien, let me put you on the offensive - forcing the general contractor and its decision making individual employees through the trust fund statute to pay the unpaid subcontractor and indemnify you with treble damages, attorney's fees, and bankruptcy proof judgments.
Expansive Clay Soil & Foundation Damages
Colorado's Front Range has some of the worst soils for foundation construction. We estimate that one out of ten homes has an inappropriate foundation. In order to avoid the cost of piers drilled down into the bed rock, builders have for years used and continue to use spread or floating footers at the base of the basement walls. Often they attempt to remedy direct contact with expanding bentonite and or claystone by a technique called over digging with compacted fill. The idea is that the house will float up and down evenly on the expanding sub-material but often disaster strikes. Either the fill is not properly compacted, the movement is not even because of differing saturation rates of the sub-material, or the over digging creates a big bathtub that collects water that overwhelms the parameter drainage and or sump systems. Excessive cracking and especially drywall or foundation wall cracking in a horizontal direction bodes poorly for the life of the foundation.
Wet Basements
The impermeable clays allow subsurface water to plateau on shallow layers creating a false or suspended local water table. This condition is not usually detected in normal drill test wells because the shaft of the well itself works as a conduit for the water to escape higher strata and join the permanent water table. Localized and extreme changes in the suspended water table can occur in the spring with subdivision and or nearby agricultural irrigation or supply ditches. Bathtub (over dug and compacted fill) basements are effected the most severely. Foundation walls are only engineered to withstand the weight of the outside soil when the soil is dry.
When foundation walls are subjected to the pressure of wet surrounding material the walls:
- Fatigue
- Bend with the seasons
- Crack and leak
- Fail
Slips & Falls Caused By a Construction or Maintenance Defect
Slips & Falls Are Usually Caused By a Construction or Maintenance Defect. If you have a slip and fall on ice or stairs or even suffer burns from a fire - you may not be dealing with a problem that the normal personal injury attorney understands. The party at fault may not be readily apparent as it is in the normal auto accident and the approach to the case will require experience with construction not simply negotiation with insurance carriers. We have the knowledge to handle serious injuries resulting from defective construction or maintenance.
The Best Tips & Advice Possible
When you see evidence of any construction defect, call our firm to have it analyzed immediately. Construction defects are usually common law warranty issues which have a six-year statute of repose, but dangerous recent case law holds that a two-year statute of limitations begins to run at the very first sign of a defect no matter how insignificant.
Usually, in just a few minutes, we can make recommendations on the steps necessary to make sure that the issue is appropriately addressed. We maintain a staff of well-respected experts in all construction disciplines, who are trial hardened and who will efficiently and accurately analyze your problem and render rock solid opinions of the causes and cures for even the most complicated mis-construction.
In Trouble? Jorgensen, Brownell & Pepin, P.C. Can Still Help.
Over the years we have developed a cadre of experts in all areas of construction ready to review and opine on the most efficient fixes or indicators of other's malfeasance. We have developed techniques and standardized systems of case management and client advise for the most efficient and effective litigation possible. We have skilled associate and paralegal staff with actual building experience, not just book experience.
Don't Trust the Seller of a Home - Get Professional Inspections Completed
Over the years, we have sued lots of so called professional inspectors who have left our clients hanging on a home purchase. Many have been franchise operations, some have had impressive certifications, while others claim to be professional engineers. We are always happy to refer you to certified inspectors we have learned to trust and who understand that our referrals need to be held to the highest standards. Amazingly, recent Colorado appellate case law holds that sellers under the standard Colorado real estate contract are not responsible in tort for fraud conducted during the inspection period. Let us help you avoid the pitfalls and traps set up by unscrupulous sellers and contractors. Our experienced attorneys can help you determine which problems are minimal and which are pending disasters.
Construction Law Specialties
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