[kcrossley2]

I live in a 4-year old house with a covered, concrete slabbed front porch. For several years the front porch has been sinking towards the foundation. The builder refuses to do anything to remedy the situation, claiming that I am beyond my 1-year warranty.

Recently, I discovered that a neighbor, who has the same model home as me, is having his entire front porch rebuilt. When I asked him about this, he said it was covered under the builders 10-year structural warranty because the builder didn't install any flashing between the concrete porch and the front foundation.

How can I tell if my house was properly flashed? What am I looking for? Will improper flashing cause a porch to sink?

Thanks,
Kelly

 

[Ron6519]

I live in a 4-year old house with a covered, concrete slabbed front porch. For several years the front porch has been sinking towards the foundation. The builder refuses to do anything to remedy the situation, claiming that I am beyond my 1-year warranty.

Recently, I discovered that a neighbor, who has the same model home as me, is having his entire front porch rebuilt. When I asked him about this, he said it was covered under the builders 10-year structural warranty because the builder didn't install any flashing between the concrete porch and the front foundation.

How can I tell if my house was properly flashed? What am I looking for? Will improper flashing cause a porch to sink?

Thanks,
Kelly

Your neighbor found out, ask how they did it.

 

[kcrossley2]

They had water leaking into their basement and garage, but for some reason their porch gets a lot more rain than mine, even though both of our porches are covered. Plus, we don't have a basement.

 

[tpolk]

my guess same builder= same porch=same defect

 

[TrapperL]

In most states, flatwork is not a warrantable item. Yours, from the info you posted, is flatwork and is not part of the structural warranty as it is not part of the foundation. Since your neighbor has a basement, his might be part of the structure with the basement. I'd ask him about it. Probabilities are high you're on your own to remedy the problem.
FWIW, construction methods are different from state to state but in Texas, there is no flashing between the flatwork porches and the house foundation. The only thing required is an expansion joint which can be a piece of redwood, asphalt impregnated sheathing, etc. But no metal flashing. Your neighbor with the basement may have a flashing to keep water from migrating into the area.

 

[Aggie67]

For folks that read this in the future:

Pay heed to when your warranty expires. Hire an engineer to do a warranty inspection before your warranty expires, typically 6-9 months before it expires, or whenever you see something unusual. Don't wait until the last second. The warranty is there to protect you and your investment. I've seen too many times builders trying to poo-poo issues away as "maintenance items", when in reality there's an underlying flaw.

 

[kcrossley2]

No worries. The chief building inspector for the county is aware of some of these problems and is helping homeowners in our area. Hard for the builder to avoid fixing things that should have been done properly when the county is holding all the new building permits.

 

[kcrossley2]

For folks that read this in the future:

Pay heed to when your warranty expires. Hire an engineer to do a warranty inspection before your warranty expires, typically 6-9 months before it expires, or whenever you see something unusual. Don't wait until the last second. The warranty is there to protect you and your investment. I've seen too many times builders trying to poo-poo issues away as "maintenance items", when in reality there's an underlying flaw.

I did hire a building inspector prior to moving in, but I wish I would have hired an engineer.