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February 7th, 2010 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Case Sheath
Garage contractor refuses to fix moisture problem; states warranty has expired?

Last summer, or the summer before last ( 17 months ago) I had a 3 car garage built. It was stick built, nothing fancy, not any upgrades. It cost $61,000 in total including upgrades, etc. Yes, this is expensive, but the contractor was the "best" and had 30 years exp. in my area. Garage is heated insulated rocked etc.

The first winter, the walls grew wet the doors windows caked up with ice, and ice damn formed along the interior ceiling edge. The humidity ran 85-95%! Obviously a problem.

I call inspector and he find no baffles were added, cause insultion to be pressed against roof sheathing. Contracter sends his guys out and adds baffles, all seems fine. Next winter, same thing happens only worse. Moisture in garage is so bad, that when it got below freezing, the man door was stuck shut! Carboard boxes feel "wet" etc.

Contractor now states my 1 year warranty has expired, to bad. But this is a continuing problem. Do I have a legitimate court case if I take him to court?

I think you have a definite claim. I would go with the following action plan:

1 - Contact another inspector giving the specifics you just gave.

2 - Have this inspector state - in writing - that it was a contractor defect that caused this.

3 - Contact the contractor again and ask what remedy they will give you.

4 - If the remedy is unsatisfactory - contact an attorney and then determine if he/she can obtain a remedy for you that is worth the time, effort and cost (including attorney fees) to get such remedy.

5 - Notify the contractor what you have done and see if they will settle. If not - go to court.

Be aware - i.e., go in with your eyes open - with these facts in mind:

- Contractor could file bankruptcy - you get no remedy
- Attorney fees are not cheap and you need to get the feeling that those costs can be recouped as part of the settlement
- These type of cases can take 4 or 5 years to solve
- State contractor boards in certain states will help you look into these issue since it can place the contractor's license on the line
- Some states have contractor remedies in place (NV does)
- Key is to threaten the contractor with loss or license if no remedy

Take all of these into account. Also take into account if you made any changes that the contractor can point to and say it's your fault. Also, check out the original contract to see if there is any language in there that would not be in your favor. Your attorney would probably ask the same thing.

Best of luck.