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Question:
We are currently involved in a dispute with a remodeling Contractor over the quality of his finish work. He keeps mentioning that his work is within industry standards. What are the industry
standards, who wrote them, and how can I find out what they are?
Answer:
The "Construction Industry Quality Standards" is a small (approx. 100 page) booklet that is written and made available by local
building associations for the purpose of specifying the minimum performance standards when dealing with natural building materials. It sets forth the basis for determining the validity of home owner complaints related to
defective materials and workmanship during the normal one year warranty period. Due to the variations in climate and material availability by region, I feel a standards booklet drafted locally is a better tool than a more
generalized version written by a national entity.
Our local book starts out by naming the Wisconsin State codes for building, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical trades. Most of the rules regarding health and safety
issues in the building industry are outlined by State codes and are not covered in this booklet. It can be assumed that most of the issues discussed here are probably more cosmetic than safety issues.
The booklet then
breaks down labor categories such as rough & finish carpentry, drywall, flooring, masonry, roofing, painting / staining, etc. into 24 separate sections, and then lists common problems or complaints associated with each. For
instance, under finish carpentry, the book lists a common complaint as gaps in miter joints on new wood trim. According to the book, miter joints should not exceed 1/16 of an inch. So in your case, if the miters on your wood
trim are within 1/16 of an inch, your contractor is within industry standards. It's that simple. The book then goes on to state that if the defect is beyond standards, that the builder must repair it, and may even suggest
methods or timetables to allow materials to go through their natural expansion and contraction cycles before repairing. So it is true that your contractor is not necessarily obligated to repair any defects that are within
industry standards. However, most professional contractors want to have happy customers, and would bend over backwards meet that end.
Unfortunately in your case it sounds like you have reached an impasse, which is
exactly why this booklet was written. Here is another example that applies to concrete floors in basements. I would be willing to bet that most people would think that any crack in a concrete floor is a defect. According to
industry standards though, cracks in concrete floors are acceptable if they do not exceed 3/16 of an inch in width, or 3/16 of an inch in height. Fact is, movement of our good earth causes the cracks in most cases, not the
contractor. So you see, when working with natural materials, no contractor can be held to standards he cannot control. This booklet helps outline common problems and solutions, and what should be acceptable or unacceptable to
the homeowner. Copies of the booklet can be obtained for under $10 from the Metropolitan Builders Association of greater Milwaukee.
Answered by: Patrick Benkowski, CR
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