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Green waste is what results from clearing the lot. Depending on the size of the lot, some folks push it up into a berm and allow it to slowly compost. Otherwise it needs to be trucked off site. Some unscrupulous builders bury it to avoid the removal cost. When buried as it decays, anything laid over the top, for example your building slab or piers, will inevitably subside causing untold thousands in damage and in most case, there is no practical fix for the damaged foundation. Hope this makes it clear.
dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"
dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"
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Unscrupulous builders and pake home owners make a deadly combination,also.
Big lots - yah just berm it and let it do its thing and then plant there. This is also the reason for not putting cinders anywhere near or under the foundation. They compress.
LQuade - Kehena beach. One owner said whine whine whine "why do I have to get this hauled off (at about the 4th or 5th truckload), then bring in rock for my pad?" (SERIOUSLY). As soon as Carrie sent me these pics a month or two ago, I forwarded it to them and said "6 years ago when we made you haul off the green crap - THIS IS WHY WE SAID TO DO THIS". Yes I sent it to them all in caps, italized, and underlined. I felt vindicated FINALLY. Common sense might be how you operate but many many people dont, or they "read it on the internet". We dont let my dad build for this reason. He is scary.
Carrie & Tony's house is a great (very unfortunate) example. The other example having seen the actual letter to Carrie from GC xxx - when someone tells you they will not do something, it may not be in your best interest to harangue them to say yes, or threaten to take the job away if they dont do it.
On the other hand, I applaud the builders who have enough chutzpa/cajones to say NO I WILL NOT - FIRE ME IF YOU WANT. I just saw that same thing - the GC whom has been in Hilo 35 years + told the owner that he wants to regrade and dig up some of the areas that look iffy and because the green waste issue is becoming larger. The owner said no. He said fine I am walking away and did from a fairly substantial project in today's market. He said - it is my license, and my conscious - there will be other jobs. Home owner is throwing a little hissy fit because they are used to doing what they want and not being told no. (Which is the reason i think they really walked away is because the client is a grown up spoiled brat.)
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Cat,
The 1 year Contractor's "warranty" does not cover work that is done "not to standards". There is no time limit for damages that arise later due to substandard work. When I say substandard I mean issues that are clear code violations or failure to follow manufacturers installation requirements.
Dan
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quote:
Originally posted by DanielP
Cat,
The 1 year Contractor's "warranty" does not cover work that is done "not to standards". There is no time limit for damages that arise later due to substandard work.
Dan
Carrie - did you see this? (pointing up).
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I've spent the last 14 minutes reading this thread and am just horrified beyond words at the moment. It is interesting there have been in excess of 560 reads on this post. Someone is watching closely and I'll bet a load of potential builders are some of these watchers.
mella l
mella l
Art and Science
bytheSEA
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Thank you,Lquade and Dick.
I still need to know how the possible green waste burial can be detected.I'll start a new thread.
___________________________
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just ask a question first.
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quote:
Originally posted by DanielP
The 1 year Contractor's "warranty" does not cover work that is done "not to standards".
Sorry to disappoint you guys, but there is no law for the GCs to give a one year warranty. Actually, there is no requirement to give a warranty at all. Regardless, most GCs give a warranty because if they didn't than nobody would hire them.
Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,PB,ABR,CRB,CM,FHS
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Typically Tropical Properties
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Horrible situation. Tony had talked to us briefly our last trip to BIT for service. Best of luck getting redress.
Just curious that I've not seen mention of your Home Inspection or other due diligence on your part. Not that I'm suggesting the inspector has liability, but could shed like on how apparent the damage was at time of sale. If not apparent to the inspector, could be reasonable that neither the prior owner nor their agent had reason to suspect. Where was the taped off area in relation to house? Near/far?
Question as to your Title insurance. Does it cover just the land or property and improvements? If latter, does it kick in if house is condemned (unsafe)?
What do you think the remedy is here?
David
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Thanks again for your input, everyone.
Aloha David. Tony told me he saw you recently...I asked about the puppies...still have any? First - all the necessary documents were filled out as you would expect them to be. No mention of any sinking ground issues - at all. The insurance only covers the house and not the land and since the house damage is because of the land...well you get it.
As to the yellow caution tape - I don't think we could be held responsible for "knowing" what that was for...we never questioned it (dumb, dumb, dumb) because we just assumed it was probably the water line or something. It was strung across a walking-path kind of area near the middle-back area of the property. There was obvously green waste pushed to the back of the lot in a "berm" with fruit trees and palms planted on it...much of that has since collapsed.
The house was already here for three to four years when we bought it. The major decomposition didn't really start until earlier this year and only then looked like small cracks you would find when a home settles. Something you could fill and paint over. Then the sinking picked up speed - quickly.
Now we have over 1/4" wide cracks from the doorways to the ceiling where the ceiling is pulling away from the wall on the interior of the room - AND the exterior...there is an opening now on the other side of the wall. After pulling back the carpet in Mom's room we found the slab is cracked from one side to the other - Just as Seaside Bob called it!
Of course a class action suit has been a thought, but I don't think we would recover enough to take care of our issues. That may be something to consider a little further down the road. First, we will have to find someone who is hot for a case like this one. We already know we will have to go into big debt to pursue it.
got "STRESS?"
[:X][:X]
Carrie Rojo
http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com
"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it." Galadriel - LOTR
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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Yes Carrie, we kept one, she was the runt. Hard to believe she is 14 weeks old tomorrow. All the rest went to great homes.
Sorry to confuse, but not your home owners insurance but your Title policy, the one you probably got through your escrow company. I ask because of a situation I'm vaguely familiar with, but not all the details of course. The short version- neighbor sold a chunk of property to a friend, Hawaii Count refused to issue a building permit, Title company refunded $$ to the buyer and assumed ownership of the parcel.
Sooooo, was asking if your policy was strictly the land portion or land and improvements? May not lead to anything, but then again I don't know.
David
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