If the work was initially a code violation or otherwise defective, even
though he only gave you a 1 year warranty, unless you signed a contract that
clearly said otherwise, you can sue him in most areas of the country (US)
until the statute of limitations (which varies by state). That said, sueing
is expensive and often not worth it unless you are talking about a major
repair or can do it in small claims court.


"Vinnie Murdico" wrote in message
news:s4P_c.2398$BQ4.748@trnddc06...
Not sure what you mean by weep screed
I had read that a weep screed was a type of horizontal flashing that
went under the stucco to help drain water or condensation under the
stucco but on top of the house wrap and allow it to "weep" out the
bottom of the wall. I guess I was just wondering if they would put one
in the middle of the wall (8 ft. up) or if it was defintely some type of
"joint". In the case of a joint between the block and sheathing, it
would probably be "sealable", but in the case of a weep screed, it most
likely would not be to allow water to drain. But again, I've never
heard of a weep screed up high, normally just above grade level to allow
water to drain out the bottom if it got behind the stucco. That's just
what I've read -- I'm certainly no expert g.

Unless you can still get the builder to
open the wall up as a warranty/goodwill gesture, I'm afraid you are
looking
at some money.
I'd like to get the builder involved even though we're out of warranty
(1 yr), but now we're thinking of calling in a home inspector first to
get an independent opinion of the source of the problem first. Then he
may be able to tell us what *should* be done to fix it. While a
warranty repair (if we can get it done as one) would be nice, I'm not
certain I even want the builder doing the work again as they may not
realize what they did wrong in the first place. (The homebuilder's
subcontract labor in this area is....um, questionable... g).

Of course, not being familiar with usual and customary FL building
practices, I may be as all wet as your wall is getting.
That's ok - I'll take any advice I can get right now -- I just want to
learn more about what it *could* be so I can go forward with a bit more
knowledge and understanding when the actual repair is made -- hopefully
correctly this time g.

One thing for sure-
the longer you wait for the repair, the worse the damage, unless it
stops
raining. And Ivan is a week out.
Yeah, we've already placed a call in to an inspector, but I know we
won't be able to get one out here AND get a repair crew out here all
before Ivan comes in. At this point, we're resigned to the fact that if
Ivan hits our north side, we're collecting "wall-water" in Tupperware
again. At least our rainy season will be over in about another month so
we should be out of the worst of the woods in a few more weeks, and then
they can take as long as they want to come out and fix it! g

Thanks again,
-- Vinnie