Water Intrusion—A Series of Unfortunate Events

Bill and Diane had developed a sizeable amount of equity in their home, and with Bill's recent promotion, they decided now was the time to begin the process of building their long awaited dream home. Since their children were entering the high school years, they chose to stay in the same school district and looked to build in one of the emerging golf course developments on the southern end of the district.

Since the nicest developments were exclusive to particular builders, Bill and Diane started going to the various model homes on the weekends to evaluate the choice of builders. After a few weeks they had narrowed it down to two builders that both had built many homes in the area and had nice designs. The choice finally came down to the builder and designer that they felt listened to their desires the most—Builder Dan.

Since the design of the new home would be dependent on how it fit on the lot, Bill and Diane spent the next couple of weeks carefully selecting a suitable property. Lot 10 would be perfect for Diane because the rear walk–out would face the southeast. Diane always wanted a view of the rising sun which also would be better for the growth of her inside plants. Bill liked the same lot too, because it had a great view and access to one of the nicest greens on the golf course. The children could hardly wait to invite all of their friends over for pool parties!

Builder Dan and the design team were so friendly. They listened to Bill and Diane's ideas and came up with a couple of great floor plans from which to select. Once they finished the inside floor plan and the dimensions of the home were set, they began the exterior design.

Because of Bill's busy schedule and the sheer size of the home, they wanted a low–maintenance exterior. Since the development covenants required they select natural looking exterior products, they finally settled on a balanced blend of stucco, manufactured stone, with cedar band boards, frieze boards, and window trim.

They selected windows to enhance their enjoyment of the fantastic views that their property allowed. Since windows would be such a critical part of their home, they wanted them to be a long lasting, high quality window like Andersen, Marvin, or Pella. Keeping with their desire for low maintenance, the windows would have vinyl or aluminum exterior cladding, with wood interior that could be stained or painted. The design team presented a great selection of windows that would work well with the various views and needs of the rooms.

At first, the design process was exhilarating, but soon the weeks seemed to last months. They never realized just how many design details and product selections were needed when building a new home. Even before Builder Dan could begin building, the plans had to go before the architectural review committee. It seemed much easier when they just drove around and selected their last home from houses listed with local real estate companies.

At last the blueprints were finalized and the actual construction of the house began. A transition was made from Builder Dan and the design team to Manager Mike, the project manager overseeing production and scheduling of the sub–contractors. Since Bill and Diane had spent so much time in the design stage, they trusted Manager Mike to work his magic while they returned to their busy work and family duties. In addition to some walk–throughs with the sub–contractors, they occasionally stopped by the site on weekends. Manager Mike set an approximate target date for closing, but the date would not be locked in until the drywall stage started. From that point on the schedule grew fairly predictable and was no longer impacted by weather and final selection changes. Mike had obviously done this many times and was able to coordinate the construction schedule. He even added a couple of last–minute changes without panic.

The last finishing touches of the house involved the landscaping. They selected a nice blend of evergreens and colorful plants that would look good all year long. Rich black dirt was graded along the house and a thick layer of cedar mulch was carefully spread around the beautiful plantings. Nobody could say that this home didn't have great curb appeal! Builder Dan even asked if they could enter it in the local tour of homes for a possible award. Bill and Diane were so excited and proud of the home they had planned and nurtured.

Those first years were the best years that the family ever had together. The fruit of their hard work paid off, and as their family grew they were grateful that they had planned ahead for enough space for all of the new toys that accumulated. After the first year, Manager Mike stopped by with Serviceman Tim to document any small punch list items that required attention as part of the one–year warranty of the home. A few nail pops and cabinet adjustments were made and two shrubs were replaced from the winter freeze; the home appeared to be in perfect condition.

But soon the newness of it all began to change. Bill and Diane started hearing neighbors complain about streaking on the outside of their stucco below the windows. Others had water staining on their window sills and still others saw discoloration on the walls of their unfinished lower levels. By year eight, Bill and Diane had developed similar symptoms. What was happening? They contacted Builder Dan and he came out to look at the issues and told them that he would send out Serviceman Tim to caulk around the windows and remove window trim from around one of the windows to inspect for damage.

Neighbor Sally hired an attorney because their builder and the builder's insurance company refused to help her. Bill and Diane were concerned. Was this a problem with only some builders, or an epidemic that could affect even their home? Many of the homes in their neighborhood were soon being tested for water intrusion (a term that they would hear about more in the months that followed.) News even spread about one house that had been inspected for mold because the homeowners were afraid that it may be harmful for their young children.

Bill and Diane never intended to learn about how a house was built, but over the next year they were educated about building codes, types of building products, and laws of physics. Words they never had heard of before were now common in conversation. "mold," "remediation," and "water intrusion" frequented the local news papers. Television news crews visited the neighborhood. Dramatic stories of damage seemed to be everywhere. Diane spoke with another neighbor that decided to have the stucco removed on their home so that the damage would be exposed, making it easier for the builder's insurance company to estimate.

They contacted Builder Dan one more time. He told them that he wanted to help them, but his insurer prevented him from doing so. They contacted Builder Dan's insurer and told them that they were going to hire a moisture testing service and possibly a structural engineer to perform test cuts to produce proof that they had problems. The insurer just asked to be informed of dates and times before performing invasive testing so that they could document any damage. Bill and Diane didn't like the thought of initiating a lawsuit, but they were beginning to run out of options.

It all seemed so unfair. They wondered what they could have done differently. How could they possibly be associated with such a widespread building calamity? They felt like they had unknowingly become mixed up in an exclusive club that they would never have chosen to join. Every night as they pulled into their drive way, the test–cuts beneath their windows became a sore reminder that their home had hidden problems. Their dream home had become a painful nightmare.

There were many more questions than answers:

• Why weren't the building officials responsible?
• Why wouldn't the insurance company allow the builder to make the repairs?
• Why wouldn't the builder's insurance company pay for all of the repairs?
• Should they hire an attorney and take time out of their schedules for a year or more for something that was not any fault of theirs?
• Since it sounded like they would not be made whole by the insurance company, should they hire an attorney or take a settlement if the insurance company offered it?
• Should they begin the repairs and let the damage make their case, or make a couple of test cuts and let their attorney argue their case?

They used the best builder, with the best materials, in the best community. All they wanted was to have their home repaired like they were told the law promised. When Bill and Diane finally did hire an attorney they discovered their contractor had gone out of business, changed its name, or restructured to avoid claims.

What Had Gone Wrong?

It is important to remember that a home is actually a complex system. Despite improvements to windows, mechanical systems, roofing products, insulating techniques, or exterior claddings, the key to performance and durability lies in the design and thoughtful integration of all of the products used to construct a home.

One of the major forces that impacted home building was the oil crisis (1973 & 1979). The scarcity and rising cost of energy spawned home building changes beginning with the creation of new energy codes. The need to conserve energy and a desire to create comfort called for the outer home shell to be re–designed. The exterior walls grew from 4 to 6 inches to add more insulation. Installing a vapor barrier became code in order to keep precious energy in and drafty winds out. However, the development of new products requires significant time of testing before success can be proven–time which was absent. Building codes had not yet been created to govern the construction of the new products into the newly created designs. As Remi Stone of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities says, "you have homeowners and builders relying on forces outside of their control. Building codes are tested, not before they're adopted, but tested in the field after they're adopted. It's a perfect storm." As a remodeling contractor working to remedy water intrusion, I witnessed much of the damage left behind by the storm. My definition of water intrusion is when there is a breach in the outer shell of the home allowing water to intrude—without the ability of a drying force to prevent deterioration. Drying must exceed the wetting or decay is inevitable. We must either prevent the intruder or have a means to combat the intruder when it attempts to enter the home much like our immune systems combat intruders on a daily basis.

Although I have seen moisture originating from the interior of the home, the majority of water damage was from exterior sources such as rain water or sprinklers watering the house; all of which were preventable. Despite the fact that many factors are out of our control, it is comforting to know that some things have remained constant, such as one of the laws of physics—gravity. For example, if we simply remember that water follows the path of least resistance and is constantly being helped out by gravity, we would never assemble building paper or other components with reverse laps. We must think about our massive wall exposure as a roof and install all of the building components "shingle fashion". This means that the house paper, the windows, doors, and mechanical penetrations all need to be installed as if it were on a roof where we would automatically be thinking like a rain drop.

Bill and Diane are fictional characters, but their story is similar to many true life stories of homeowners that I have worked with. To avoid having history repeat itself, I have listed some more in–depth questions to ask your potential repair contractor.

Questions To Ask a Prospective Repair Contractor

• How many homes have you or your company repaired that were damaged by water intrusion?
• What resources does your company use to locate hidden moisture?
• Can you explain what pan flashing is and how you would use it on my home?
• Can you explain how you construct a drainage plane?
• Will you be using step flashing and where?
• Can you describe kick–out flashing and how it is installed?
• Do you use sub–contractors, and if so, for what parts of the construction?
• How long have they worked together with you?
• How will the chain of command work?
• Who will be the project manager?
• Who will be the person on–site to supervise the actual work?
• Do you have references?

Posted on February 12, 2007 at 4:23 PM

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