Building Warranty Surveys

Upon completion of any newly constructed building, the owner is usually given a 12 month warranty period during which defects can be corrected.

Most building owners realize too late that their warranty has run out.

These building owners may never discover that problems and costly repairs should have been covered and corrected at the contractor's expense.

Most building owners have no idea what might be defective until the A/C goes out completely, or a breaker trips. Other less apparent defects may go unnoticed for weeks, months, or even years before being discovered. It may seem implausible that this may happen but experience shows this to be quite frequent and quite expensive to correct.

Construction Verification Surveys

While the warranty survey is a good idea for all buildings it is especially applicable for more complex buildings such as clinics and hospitals. Many more requirements are mandated and meeting the design criteria is many times more difficult.

What is even more cause for concern is the apparent lack of attention to detail for these even more stringent requirements in the design documents paid by the contractor and sub-contractor. Many design specifications are not specifically heeded or others simply ignored.

Too often in complex health care construction projects specifications are skirted or even ignored altogether.

Sub-contractors, especially, have a tendency to build their next project using their memory of the last project. Because of this, the owner is not getting what he or she has bought and paid for. They are getting what the last owner has bought and paid for.

How does this happen one might ask?

In the majority of cases, it is simply the owner instructing the architect to build a building that meets their needs. The owner may provide some idea of what is needed in general terms and leaves the rest to the architect. The owner may be involved in progress meetings wherein sketches are discussed and changes made. However, the owner in not usually directly involved in producing the construction documents that accurately describe the building desired.

Because of this, the owner is completely reliant on the architect to ensure that whatever documents are produced will in fact describe the building the owner hopes will be provided. The point is, the owner is not intimately familiar with the details of the final product before or after the project is completed.

Hopefully, the contractor builds what is in the construction documents. If the architect does his or her job diligently, then the owner is well served. Too many architects, however, are simply too busy to check every detail. Many only visit the construction site an hour or two weekly.

This simply isn't enough oversight to ensure the plans and specifications are followed.

If one has complete confidence and blind faith in the architect then this process may work for you. On the other hand, if you have any reason whatever, including a gut feel that the process may be a little too relaxed, then it is your responsibility to exercise due diligence to verify or check out the process through some 3rd party.

Experience has shown that most completed buildings with a construction cost of over $3 million will have defects, errors or omissions equal to approximately 1% of the construction cost. This being the case, are you willing to forfeit up to 1% or more of your construction budget to the contractor? Unless you are proactive and somewhat suspect, the chances are that you will lose that $30,000 before you move in. Far too many owners are having to pay up to correct, repair or install what should have been provided to begin with.

To learn more or request a free estimate, please call us at (225) 273-1173, email us at info@facilityrepair.com or click here to submit your request.