Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 1/27/2011

Question
QUESTION: A "Patio Enclosures" brand room addition was put onto a concrete slab or our Cincinnati home 15 to 20 years ago. Since then, one corner has sunk 3.5 inches, and one bank of windows/doors has begun to seperate/deform. The original company will rework/trim/realign the wall of doors/windows for a hefty fee. Another company that pumps concrete offered to drill holes through the floor and inject concrete to raise the corner of the room/slab, and underpin the problem corner. My question is this: Since I have received opinions that the room should never have been put on the slab without first putting footings or underpinning ("since slabs always move up and down"), do I have any negotiation leverage with the company that built it?

ANSWER: hi Brian, after 20 years you probably have no claim.  Most building warranties only cover the first five years and that time is prorated. You would be hard pressed to prove your case as to what caused the addition to settle over that much time.  However your homeowners insurance may have some help for you.  Other than that I am not aware of any other way to get someone else to fix your problem without you paying for it..sincerely Bruce e Johnson

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks. Here's a follow up question. Isn't the point of underpinnings to prevent settling?  If so, and if it's customary to use them before the room is built, then can't a person conclude that not using them would "allow" more settling (which I am told commonly occurs over backfilled areas around the foundation). And I was wondering if you think the company might feel they should have "done it right" the first time. Then I'd negotiate a better price.

Answer
Hi again Brian, you might  try that logic with this company.  But unless you have an engineer or several engineers testifying that there was a negligence of some sort involved in the building of the structure you really don't have much support for your argument.  If the project was properly permitted and the room was built according to plans and the city or county inspected the work twenty years ago and found the foundation adequate at the time I don't see where you have a claim.  I'm not an attorney so I can't answer your question regarding legality or what the statute of limitations is on a project such as this and I can't say what caused the settling.  I live in Florida and we have sinkholes where the ground literally pulls away from the foundation causing settling.  So again you would have to prove negligence on the part of the contractor and show that the problem was actually caused by inadequate building practices and not natural causes or manmade causes such as a water leak or sprinkler system washing out the ground on which the addition is sitting.  Contactng an attorney for the legal issues involved is the best advice I can give you at this point.  Sincerely Bruce E Johnson ...