When you think of construction defects, you typically think of fundamental mistakes that mean the building doesn’t work in some fashion. Maybe the contractor forgot to run the lines to the kitchen lights and none of them work, for instance. Maybe there are cracks in a foundation that was not poured properly. Maybe the grade of the lot is wrong and water drains back toward the house — and into the basement — instead of away from the house.
But what about smaller details? Say you just do not like how the tile backsplash looks in the kitchen, or say the paint seems spotty and has thin spots that really stand out. Are these also construction defects, even though the home technically functions as expected?
What is it that you don’t like?
First and foremost, poor workmanship can count as a construction defect. You hired someone to do a high-quality job in a professional manner. If it looks like an amateur painted those walls and missed a lot of spots, that’s far below your standards or what you expected.
If what you don’t like is just a stylistic choice, it’s only a defect if it went against your wishes. For instance, if you picked the tile for the backsplash and it was installed perfectly but you don’t like how it looks in the kitchen, that’s not a defect. If it was installed poorly — or if the contractor used a material you didn’t approve, hoping you wouldn’t notice — that is a defect.
What options do you have?
The details matter. When errors lead to legal disputes, be sure you know what options you have and how to proceed. Protecting your investment is no little matter, so take the necessary steps to learn more.