Construction Defects
A defect claim is not about whether you are unhappy with the work. It is about proving what the standard was, how the work departed from it, and what the departure caused.
Defects fall into a few recognizable groups. Design defects originate in the drawings, so the work was built as specified and the specification was wrong. Workmanship defects mean the work departed from the plans or from accepted practice. Material defects involve products that failed or were unsuitable for the application. Many real cases involve more than one, which is why responsibility is so often contested between the builder, the designer, the trades and the supplier.
Water is the most common cause of serious claims: roofing, flashing, windows, grading, drainage and foundation waterproofing. Water damage also compounds, which is why these matters get more expensive the longer they are left.
What has to be established
- The standard. What the contract, the plans and specifications, the building code and accepted practice required.
- The departure. How the work as built differs from that standard, established by inspection rather than assertion.
- Causation. That the departure caused the damage, rather than maintenance, use, weather or a later alteration.
- Responsibility. Which party is answerable, which frequently involves more than one and sometimes a designer as well as a builder.
- Damages. The cost of repair, properly scoped and quoted, and any consequential loss that follows.
Serious defect claims are proven through a qualified inspection or engineering assessment. That is a real cost early in the matter, and it is also what tells you whether the claim is worth pursuing before larger money is committed.
Notice and the opportunity to repair
Most construction contracts and builder warranties require written notice of a defect within a defined period and give the builder an opportunity to inspect and to cure before any claim may proceed. That step is not optional and skipping it can defeat an otherwise sound claim.
It also has a practical benefit. A builder who repairs properly resolves the matter at a fraction of the cost of litigating it, and many will. Where the builder inspects and refuses, or repairs inadequately, that history strengthens the claim considerably.
Deadlines on defect claims
Defect claims are subject to limitation periods, and Michigan also places an outer limit on claims arising from improvements to real property, running from the time the improvement was completed and occupied or used. The result is that a defect discovered many years after construction may already be outside the period even though it was genuinely hidden until now.
Because the analysis depends on when the work was completed and when the problem was or should have been discovered, a defect that has just appeared in an older building should be assessed promptly rather than watched through another season.
How these matters run
- Document before repairingPhotographs, dates, moisture readings and the condition as found. Necessary emergency work should still be done, and documented as it is done.
- The documents assembledContract, plans and specifications, change orders, permits, inspection records and the warranty, alongside all correspondence with the builder.
- Assessment obtainedA qualified inspection identifying the departure, the cause and the scope of repair, which is what makes the claim provable.
- Notice, then claimWritten notice and opportunity to cure as the contract requires, then the claim in the forum the agreement specifies.
Questions about defective work
Should I fix it first and then claim the cost?
Document it thoroughly first, and give the notice your contract requires before major remediation where you can. Repairing first destroys the evidence of what went wrong and often the evidence of who did it. Genuinely urgent work to prevent further damage should proceed, with photographs and invoices kept.
My builder will not return calls.
Put the notice in writing anyway, in the manner the contract requires, and keep proof of delivery. A builder who ignores a proper notice and a proper opportunity to cure is in a considerably worse position later than one who inspected and disagreed.
The house is eight years old. Is it too late?
It may be, and it may not. Michigan has both a limitation period and an outer limit measured from completion and occupancy, and where the claim falls depends on those dates and on when the problem was discoverable. It is worth assessing rather than assuming either way.
The builder blames the architect and the architect blames the builder.
That is the normal posture, and it is why the independent assessment matters. Where responsibility is genuinely shared, both can be pursued, and the finger pointing between them frequently improves rather than harms the claimant's position.
Document it before anyone repairs it.
[PHONE]Matters with a lien deadline, a filing deadline or a hearing already on the calendar are handled by phone.