Texas Adopts Extremely Limited New Home Warranties

[johncoby]

?c?//www.houstondemocrats.com/archives/lies.jpg

Austin Texas. The newly created Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC pronounced "trick") approved extremely limited new home warranty standards for home construction in Texas. The warranty which must be provided by all new homebuilders becomes effective June 1. These standards have been in work for almost a year, yet fall short of providing adequate protection for new homebuyers.

According to a review, by Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, the standards allow for cracks in the walls, in the foundation, and in the exterior of the home which consumer groups and the general public deems unreasonable. Homeowners must also correctly maintain the water content around their foundation or risk voiding the warranty. These are only a few of the many serious flaws in the standards that will be imposed on new homebuyers.

"The leadership of Texas has stooped to the lowest set of warranty standards for new home construction. It is a shame they hold such little regard for the largest investment of a Texan's lifetime." says John Cobarruvias President HADD Texas.

The warranty standards can be found at the TRCC's website http://www.trcc.state.tx.us. The TRCC is conducting informational seminars on the standards across the state. The schedule can be found at http://www.trcc.state.tx.us/links/Sandy%20...%20Schedule.pdf

HADD's review of the warranty can be found at http://www.hadd.com/documents/warrantyreview.pdf

For further information Contact

John Cobarruvias

Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings

john.cobarruvias@hadd.com

281-496-5203 H

281-483-9357 W

281-222-2754 C

[LTAWACS]

Yeah I read about this last week I think. Isn't it dominated by republicans or people who are friends with rick perry? Or is it the homebuilders themselves? When I read the article it just reeked of corruption.

What can we do about this? Why are all these politicos doing this to us?

[kjb434]

One, don't assume this is all Republicans. Many wealthy democrats are in the home building business.

Two, the cracks in the foundation and the moisture content is an acceptable policy. The cracks in the walls are not.

A concrete foundation developing minor cracks throughout is not a bad thing. It is supposed to happend. That the whole reason that rebar is used in a foundation to handle the tension that concrete can't. Many pointless lawsuits are brought to courts over cracks in a foundation that does not comprimise the structural integrity. There is a point where cracks do display a faulty foundation. Does the rules go into which crack sizes are acceptable? Highway departments have standards for this and building codes also. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) established acceptable tollerances for hundreds of material sand their testing and design procedures have been held up around the world as the best standard. Many other countries have developed independant groups like this and modeled many standards for this. This group goes through an explanation of acceptable foundation cracks and unacceptable cracks that is seems the state is listening too.

The moisture content just mean you have to water around your house. Having shrubs and plants around your house that you have to water will take car of this. Have you seen the commercials about foundation repair, most of this repairs are made to homes where the soils around the foundation dried out. Having shaded areas near the home and regularly watering around will take care of this problem. My parents actually fixed a potential probablem before it got worse at their house by planting some flower gardens and watering it regularly. The landscaping placed around the edges of the house are there for two reasons. One for looks and two for helping the foundation. If homeowners are not to maintain the moisture content around their foundation, who will do it. This is not the moisture under the foundatin. This is the moisture of the soil around. A hose pipe or even a sprinkler system easily takes care of this. Hardly a burden to the home owner.

Any crack in a stucco, brick, and interior sheet rock wall to me is unacceptable expecially within the one year warranty period. All this problems are not structural to the house and can occur though settling (which can be controlled with moisture content as above). As long as the house is in good condition (foundation and wall alignments), cracks should not develop. Fixing these cracks is not a big chore either. I can see where the builders are worried about being taken to court where a lawyer and a jury who don't know the science behind the issues can award bogus settlements.

I do not work for a builder and have had problems with mine. I am an engineer just wants to shed some light on the situation.

The watchdog group is right to overview this and all commissions that supposed to serve the public. They also have a responsibility to be reasonable. They may make better in roads in helping their cause if they rationally review everything.

Does the oppisition group understand the cocepts above? Are they just holding builders to unrealistic standards.

[HeightsGuy]

I think this legislation was written and paid for by homebuilder lobbyists. It makes no sense, and tilts everything in favor of the homebuilder.

My thought is, if your going to limit warranties regarding foundations, you ought to make it mandatory that new home builders install perimiter watering systems to pass code. To me it's akin to auto makers selling cars without paint on them, and then saying they won't guarantee rust damage in the first few years.

[HeightsGuy]

Sorry, I want to get on a high horse on this one. In Houston, we have a condition whereby our ground is moist much of the time. During certain times of the year, we can get into a dry spell where the ground dries dramatically. Yet, builders are allowed to pour slab foundations that can't handle it without intervention by the homeowner.

In colder climates, during certain times of the year, the ground can freeze. Lo and behold, builders are required to build foundations that can handle it without intervention by the homeowner.

Common sense says there's a problem here with slab foundations. No question. But we aren't getting an answer, what we're being told with this legislation that the problem is all our fault.

Personally, I think the answer is to not pour slab foundations at all. We should build more pier and beam. That answers two problems, advances in pier design can make plumb for a very long time, and you can install termite barriers on piers that are much more effective than slabs.

[HeightsGuy]

Sorry, I want to get on a high horse on this one. In Houston, we have a condition whereby our ground is moist much of the time. During certain times of the year, we can get into a dry spell where the ground dries dramatically. Yet, builders are allowed to pour slab foundations that can't handle it without intervention by the homeowner.

In colder climates, during certain times of the year, the ground can freeze. Lo and behold, builders are required to build foundations that can handle it without intervention by the homeowner.

Common sense says there's a problem here with slab foundations. No question. But we aren't getting an answer, what we're being told with this legislation that the problem is all our fault.

Personally, I think the answer is to not pour slab foundations at all. We should build more pier and beam. That answers two problems, advances in pier design can make piers plumb and level for a very long time, and you can install termite barriers on piers that are much more effective than slabs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[kjb434]

Pier and beam is not that effective of a way to keep houses level. Pier and beam is subjected to differential (uneven) settlement which is a big problem in Houston soils. Also, pier and beam construction will allow for the soil under the house to go under various changes throughout the year putting more stress on the house.

Slab foundations has the ability to handle differential settlment much easier. Pier and beam setups were popular for a long time because of ease of construction and materials to build plus it assisted in cooling the house in the summer time.

The advances in pier and beam construction just means that you may use survey equipment to level the slab off. I have work on several pier and beam structures back in Louisiana as a teenager as part of a historical park project. We recreated some homes and pier and beam was very common years ago.

During the dryer periods of the year, simply using a hose pipe will take care of the foundation.

Termite protection is another thing. Pier and beam allows for good protection and is common in termite risk regions such as swamps and in Hawaii. Measures can be taken to prevent termite attacks on slab foundations that are quite effective.

As for time of year, if the soil is fairly uniform (moisture condition) under the foundation when it's poured it shouldn't have many problems. The soil can be a little dry and it won't be a problem. The problem comes when a contractor uses expansive soils. Expansive soils are soils that will expand when moist and shrink when dry. Building codes do not allow for usage of this soil and if your house gets built on one by a developer, you do have recourse because the developer avoided building codes. Developers have to get geotechnical reports for subdivision construction because of all the utilities and the detention facilities that will be constructed. The geotechinical report will have detailed soil borings that will detail soil types and depths. This way the soil can be identified as good are bad to build on. Several more types outside of expansive soils are classified as unfit to build on. If no other options are available, soil reiforcing can be attempted and is often used on highways. If the soil has too much clay or moisture, it can be tilled with limestone to help it become better. After the tilling, it is rolled to an acceptable compaction.

The geotechnical engineering industry is not one where carelessness is practice. The malpractice insurance for a geotechnical engineering company is outrageous because when ever foundation problems arise, they are the first one to be sued. Often there reports will detail risk and advise to use or not to use the soil. If the developer doesn't abide by the warnings in the report, they are liable. Many times home owners don't know this and get run arounds. Know a little bit about the construction progress will give you and a lawyer the amunition to get to the developer.

This stuff many of times supercedes the home warranty because the cause can be traced to practices that occured prior to construction. With this lawsuits are available as the recourse.

[LTAWACS]

I think this legislation was written and paid for by homebuilder lobbyists. It makes no sense, and tilts everything in favor of the homebuilder.

My thought is, if your going to limit warranties regarding foundations, you ought to make it mandatory that new home builders install perimiter watering systems to pass code. To me it's akin to auto makers selling cars without paint on them, and then saying they won't guarantee rust damage in the first few years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly.

What can we do to stop this?

[johncoby]

Some background:

HB730 was filed by a Democrat, Allan Ritter.

He owns a lumber company.

Sells lumber to? The homebuilding industry.

He is a member of the Texas Association of Builders.

One of the commissioners wrote the bill.

He is the VP and Counsel for? Bob Perry homes.

Not one single consumer organization was consulted with this bill. None.

A home can have cracks 1 or many, in the walls and ceiling not to exceed 1/32". One or a hundred, no matter how old the house is.

Most defects are not covered after one year, paint, wood floors, tile, roof, carpet, windows, and more.

Only the AC, heating, and electrical are covered longer. 2 years.

[LTAWACS]

Some background:

HB730 was filed by a Democrat, Allan Ritter.

He owns a lumber company.

Sells lumber to? The homebuilding industry.

He is a member of the Texas Association of Builders.

One of the commissioners wrote the bill.

He is the VP and Counsel for? Bob Perry homes.

Not one single consumer organization was consulted with this bill. None.

A home can have cracks 1 or many, in the walls and ceiling not to exceed 1/32". One or a hundred, no matter how old the house is.

Most defects are not covered after one year, paint, wood floors, tile, roof, carpet, windows, and more.

Only the AC, heating, and electrical are covered longer. 2 years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Then we need to do something about all this corruption. We cannot let them get away with all this blatant disregard for homeowners' rights.

[johncoby]

More on the standards:

Cracks in stucco are covered for only 1 year, but it must be 1/8" wide. Bricks, 1/8" wide. One or many.

The watering the foundation requirement is nothing more than an excuse. During the workshop not one single builder, commissioner, or their attorney, could tell us how to do this. Water hose? Sprinkler? Soaker hose? And how much water? To what depth? They couldnt say.

But, if you have a foundaton failure, it will be the first excuse they will use. We have seen this many many times. "You didnt water your foundation. You didnt water it enough. You watered it too much. You didnt do it evenly." Really. This happens.

Hey, Texas A&M wrote these standards. These are the same people who allowed a 100 ton stack of logs to be built without a foundation.

[kjb434]

I aggree with the legal aspect about the watering that they can end run around any you say. If the slab truly cracks from over watering, I would like to see because it won't happen. Underwater yes.

The problem is you can set and rules on how much to water because it is too variable. This natural occurence works well into the developers hands.

I personally just bought a house two months ago. I watched like a hawk throughout the construction when I could. The sad part is not everyone can do this and not everyone knows what to look for. Some people would say that is your responsibility to know all this. It's part of owning a house. I don't like this, but at the same time not many companies can certify everything about the house to be perfect. Perfection is not obtainable. The foundation crack requirement is in line with the ASTM standard and is followed by building codes even for skyscrapers. The 1/8" cracks bother me for the stucco, brick, and sheet rock; these cracks would occur with a bad foundation and they would have to be repared in conjunction with a foundation.

Many state have rules like this. Texas is not alone. Some states have strict building codes, but house prices escalate because of them. It doesn't mean you'll get a better house with better codes either. The extra cost pays for insurance on the developer and builder to comply with these stricter codes and to insure the work.