I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

On Aug 21, 6:56*pm, John Wheeler wrote:
I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

Helpfull is talk to a lawyer, did you ever hear of statute of
limitations.

That advice was not helpful. I am looking for an online resource I can
consult without talking to a lawyer first, as I'd like to give the
home builder adequate opportunity to fix the problem without going
through legal channels--but I also want to have all my bases covered.

Anyone with helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. If you know
of this 4-year structural defect liability (I haven't been able to
Google for it), please let me know.

Thanks.

John Wheeler wrote:
That advice was not helpful. I am looking for an online resource I can
consult without talking to a lawyer first, as I'd like to give the
home builder adequate opportunity to fix the problem without going
through legal channels--but I also want to have all my bases covered.

Anyone with helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. If you know
of this 4-year structural defect liability (I haven't been able to
Google for it), please let me know.

Thanks.

Such liability laws vary widely, if they exist at all, from locale to locale.
How about asking the engineer who gave you this info about *his*
source of informatiion?

Thank Leroy, I'll try that. I would also like to solicit anyone else
that might be knowledgeable about the subject. I live in Wilson
County, Tennessee.

"John Wheeler" wrote in message
...
I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

Laws regarding this issue will vary from state to state as do contractor
laws. You could try contacting the state office (If any) that regulates the
contractors and builders. As someone else mentioned, your best bet is to do
an initial consultation with an attorney who specializes in construction
law. You can look online all you want and talk to plenty of civil servants
and get all kinds of advice from a newsgroup, but the one person who has
experience with the laws and issues will be a local attorney. Then you will
be well informed to decide how to proceed. Sometimes the laws are written
in such a way that you can recoup your legal fees.

On Aug 21, 8:26*pm, John Wheeler wrote:
Thank Leroy, I'll try that. I would also like to solicit anyone else
that might be knowledgeable about the subject. I live in Wilson
County, Tennessee.

Well, hell, there must be hundreds of people on this newsgroup with
specific knowledge or Wilson County legal trivia. I'm wondering why
you don't trust the structural engineer but you'd trust some unknown
person on the internet. The local professionals will know what your
state's requirements are, you could also call a professional liability
insurance company, or you could go to your local library and do your
research with the help of a librarian.

R

RicodJour wrote in news:939e2586-5d3a-4ba5-
:

On Aug 21, 8:26*pm, John Wheeler wrote:
Thank Leroy, I'll try that. I would also like to solicit anyone else
that might be knowledgeable about the subject. I live in Wilson
County, Tennessee.

Well, hell, there must be hundreds of people on this newsgroup with
specific knowledge or Wilson County legal trivia.

That stuck me just right. Literally chuckling aloud.

I figured for Wilson County, Tennessee, best shot previals in all
matters.


I'm wondering why
you don't trust the structural engineer but you'd trust some unknown
person on the internet. The local professionals will know what your
state's requirements are, you could also call a professional liability
insurance company, or you could go to your local library and do your
research with the help of a librarian.

R

Or you could do all those things in tandem with news group posts as a
means to solicit whatever help you can. Really, still looking for
"help."

Thanks

On Aug 21, 11:22*pm, John Wheeler wrote:
Or you could do all those things in tandem with news group posts as a
means to solicit whatever help you can. Really, still looking for
"help."

Don't leave any stones unturned. Print up some flyers and stick them
up on phone poles and on supermarket bulletin boards.

You've already gotten help. You got pointed in the right direction
which just happens to be in your own backyard.

R

On Aug 21, 11:22*pm, John Wheeler wrote:
Or you could do all those things in tandem with news group posts as a
means to solicit whatever help you can. Really, still looking for
"help."

Thanks

Local laws I do not know but I tangled with my builder years ago with
case ending up in lawsuit.
Results were a mixed bag because in spite of laws, builders know how
to skirt them, hide behind corporations and are often in bed with
local officials. My case was settled out of court but I never got a
penny from the builder and could only write off the settlement on my
taxes as a short term loss. Do not go public or personal as your
objective is to get problem fixed at no emotional or financial loss.
My builder, with another buyer's problem of forged release of liens,
could have gone to jail but buyer's lawyers advice was as I've given.

For starter, go back to builder. He may have insurance that will
cover your repair but be prepared to go to local officials and a
lawyer.

On Aug 21, 7:56*pm, John Wheeler wrote:
I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

Be prepared to make a lot of phone calls if you seek a lawyer. I had
a problem with a botched home inspection and called numerous lawyers
to no avail. They all either worked for the insurance companies or
din't want to get involved, no money in it. I guess slip & fall and
medical malpractice are easy money makers.

As was already suggested ask your engineer for the reference to the 4
year limit. Then call the builder and ask him to make good on his
product. If he refuses then get a lawyer, BBB and guvment agencies
are worthless.

You might also want to talk to your local building department and ask
for their help. I wouldn't offer the name of the builder or the
address of your house unless they seem like they are really going to
be helpful.

Good luck.

On Aug 22, 8:20*am, Limp Arbor wrote:
On Aug 21, 7:56*pm, John Wheeler wrote:

I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

Be prepared to make a lot of phone calls if you seek a lawyer. *I had
a problem with a botched home inspection and called numerous lawyers
to no avail. *They all either worked for the insurance companies or
din't want to get involved, no money in it. *I guess slip & fall and
medical malpractice are easy money makers.

As was already suggested ask your engineer for the reference to the 4
year limit. *Then call the builder and ask him to make good on his
product. *If he refuses then get a lawyer, BBB and guvment agencies
are worthless.

You might also want to talk to your local building department and ask
for their help. *I wouldn't offer the name of the builder or the
address of your house unless they seem like they are really going to
be helpful.

Good luck.


Suggestion to contact the local building dept is a very good one.
They should have some familiarity with the state requirements for
coverage for defects. Here in NJ, it's generally 10 years for
structural defects.

I'd also consult a lawyer. Many offer free initial consultations.

John Wheeler wrote:
I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

No can do other than to look for the applicable Code sections of your
State. Needless to say, as others have pointed out, getting
professional help in doing this is far more likely to result in a
successful conclusion both in time and likelihood of the proper outcome.

It is, of course, also true that one could start w/ the engineer who
told you this "fact" as to his source.

Following that, others have already mentioned the local building
regulation code enforcement folks (if, of course, you're in a place
where there is such an animal--where we were in TN code enforcement
consisted of leaving a bottle of Wild Turkey or other appropriate flavor
in the most obvious nook).

I'd only add that I would think your likelihood of success in pursuing
this is directly related to the integrity of the builder himself and
whether it was a simple mistake or a deliberate act. The strength of
the case could also be related to whether the building in question was
done under permits and w/ fully engineered and stamped plans or was
simply built from layout view plans as opposed to blueprints.

Far too much unknown and variables for usenet to be of any real use...

--

John Wheeler wrote:
Or you could do all those things in tandem with news group posts as a
means to solicit whatever help you can. Really, still looking for
"help."

Thanks
Hmmm,
Yup, El cheapo help. If it was a brand new house, I wouldn't have noved
in knowing there is a problem. May be you tried to build cheap?

On Aug 21, 4:56*pm, John Wheeler wrote:
I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

John-

You have not said how old the home is or how long you have owned it.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural engineer

The home builder who built the home, right?

I think you're leaving out lots of important details (some have been
filed in as the thread has continued)

Looks to be like you contacted the builder about a "costly structural
defect" (how you determined its existence or cost is another issue).

He said "contact a structural engineer"..did the builder also say "&
see what he says or see what the fix would be".

Going the legal route is costly, time consuming & usually
unsatisfying.

Sounds like the builder is being reasonable. Just get the engineer to
take a look & develop a concept for repair.
You'll get a lot more for your money working with the engineer & the
builder, plus the problem will get fixed (if it even needs to be
fixed) The lawyer will spend your money on letters, phone calls &
meetings. Your money is better spent on calcs & concrete.

cheers
Bob

John Wheeler wrote:
I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.


Time periods for tolling the statute of limitations are all over the map.
Some start when the defect is first noticed. Some start when you obtain
title to the object (home, power drill, etc.). Some are governed by the
contract.

The technique that always works is to approach the original builder and
threaten to kill his cat unless he fixes the problem.

I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

Just look at the length of this thread so far. Why wouldn't you first
contact the the engineer? He's the one knows all about the specs. Why
would you come here until yóu've exhausted the most logical contacts
first? And if you DID do that, why didn't you say so? And what
research have you done on your own so far? Any at all?

On Aug 21, 11:22 pm, John Wheeler wrote:
Or you could do all those things in tandem with news group posts as a
means to solicit whatever help you can. Really, still looking for
"help."

Thanks

Probably your best bet would be to call you state Attorney General's
consumer hotline and ask.

On Aug 21, 7:56 pm, John Wheeler wrote:
I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

In the amount of time it took you to do this, reply to posts, etc. you
could have Googled it. It took me exactly 47 seconds to find an
answer.

plus into google: product liability, structure home, tennessee

and you get. http://www.uslaw.org/files/public/Tennessee.pdf when
states:

-------

I. BREACH OF CONTRACT
Typically a breach of contract claim can be asserted by the purchaser
against the general contractor, as well as by the general contractor
against its subcontractors. A general breach of contract claim in
Tennessee is subject to a six year statute of limitations. T. C. A. §
28-3-109 (1976). However, it is well settled in Tennessee that the
three (3) year statue of limitations (Tennessee Code Annotated §
28-3-105) applies to claims for injuries to realty. This is so
regardless of whether the causes of actions set forth in the complaint
are designated as an action for tort (negligence) or contract. To
determine the nature of the cause of action the court will look to the
gravemen of the complaint. Whaley v. Perkins, 197 S.W.3d 665, 670
(Tenn. 2006). The three (3) year statue of limitations begins to run
when the plaintiff first discovers that he has a cause of action (e.g.
that there is a problem with the residence). There is also a four (4)
year statute of repose (Tennessee Code Annotated § 28-3-202) which
provides that all claims related to improvements to property are
barred if brought more than four (4) years after the date of
substantial completion, regardless of when the alleged problems were
discovered.

On Aug 22, 7:12*pm, Pat wrote:
On Aug 21, 7:56 pm, John Wheeler wrote:

I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks

In the amount of time it took you to do this, reply to posts, etc. you
could have Googled it. *It took me exactly 47 seconds to find an
answer.

plus into google: product liability, structure home, tennessee

and you get.http://www.uslaw.org/files/public/Tennessee.pdf*when
states:

-------

I. BREACH OF CONTRACT
Typically a breach of contract claim can be asserted by the purchaser
against the general contractor, as well as by the general contractor
against its subcontractors. A general breach of contract claim in
Tennessee is subject to a six year statute of limitations. T. C. A. §
28-3-109 (1976). However, it is well settled in Tennessee that the
three (3) year statue of limitations (Tennessee Code Annotated §
28-3-105) applies to claims for injuries to realty. This is so
regardless of whether the causes of actions set forth in the complaint
are designated as an action for tort (negligence) or contract. To
determine the nature of the cause of action the court will look to the
gravemen of the complaint. Whaley v. Perkins, 197 S.W.3d 665, 670
(Tenn. 2006). The three (3) year statue of limitations begins to run
when the plaintiff first discovers that he has a cause of action (e.g.
that there is a problem with the residence). There is also a four (4)
year statute of repose (Tennessee Code Annotated § 28-3-202) which
provides that all claims related to improvements to property are
barred if brought more than four (4) years after the date of
substantial completion, regardless of when the alleged problems were
discovered.

Pat, I make it a point to give people a beating...errr...education,
when they ask questions on a newsgroup and they obviously haven't done
any research on their own.

The last thing I will do is to spoon feed an adult that doesn't
actually physically require it.

R

You need to bring your construction contract to an attorney to review. Only
he can tell you if you have any rights against the builder. The engineer is
going by local building code but the contract may exclude liability for that
and have a binding arbitration clause and if you signed such a contract than
you are screwed. It is amazing to me that people will sign a contract to
build a $500000 house and not spend $200 to have an attorney explain to them
what they are signing.


"John Wheeler" wrote in message
...
I have a home that was built with a costly structural defect. One of
the load bearing stud walls was built without adequate concrete
footing.

I contacted the home builder, who told me to contact a structural
engineer. The engineer informed me that the home builder was liable
for structural defects for four years after the home's construction.
Can anyone point me to an online reference with this information or
anything helpful.

Thanks