A company, 10 years ago, put a new basement wall/foundation in my house/basement. I had tons of stuff in my house, so I wanted a new basement to put all the stuff somewhere. A day after the foundation and such was complete, I lined up the basement walls with shelves and such, never to see it until a month ago.
A month ago, I cleaned my basement for an estate/rummage sale, as I'm planning on moving in a year or two. After clearing the basement to the bone, I realized the wall was cracking. Along with the wall, the foundation was too.
My question is, do I have a lawsuit who installed/created the foundation/wall? A foundation should last for hundreds of years atleast, not 10 years, so I believe it was a faulty job on their part.
Do I have a case?
2007-08-21 16:02:54 · 4 answers · asked by Jeff S 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The state is Wisconsin, USA.
The basement was not an addition, just a simple replacement of the wall, two walls. Both walls are cracking, although I believe the one wall is cracking and shifting so much, it is causing so much pressure on the other wall (Adjacent) that it is cracking as well.
The company is still in business, although it is a different business - they were a masonry/construction business and are now a storage business, with multiple storage bins in the city. I'm not going to contact them yet, as I'm not too sure of the whole case of it.
I've already contacted an engineer/mason, and he has told me it needs to be replaced - not immediately and it is safe to live there - no contamination or anything either.
2007-08-21 16:30:47 · update #1
It also depends on the state you live in. In CA, the statute of limitations for construction defect is 10 years. You need to find out what the statute of limitations is in your state.
2007-08-21 16:24:35 · answer #1 · answered by Princess Leia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, it depends on what country you live in whether you have a case or not and buildings have a life of approx 40 years, not 100's of years.
A certain amount of cracking is generally present as diffential settlement, but I am assuming you are talking about massive movement.
I am imaging that as the basement was an addition that it did not necesarily interfere with the original superstructure. The foundations that are cracking may have been additional. If they are not you may immediately need to ascertain if it is safe to stay there in the short term.
I advise your first step is to consult a structural engineer to access the damage, and advise you on the potential cause of it. If it appears the builders have been negligent in how they have put your basement together you might well have a case against them. if they are still in business I suggest you contact them direct with your Engineer's findings, as most Companies would go to great lengths to avoid law suits, they may well rectify the problem for you.
If not, don't hestitate to take them to task over it. In Australia here we have access to the Small Claims tribunal which could legislate against them without any money incurred by yourselves in defence.
You may look to what similar system you have available to you and good luck with this.
regards
2007-08-21 16:20:59 · answer #2 · answered by AJ... Australia 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do not know what the statute of limitations is for product liability in your state. Can't tell you that.
Have you had a contractor or engineer look at the wall? Sometimes basement walls or retaining walls crack for reasons other than faulty construction.
If you were going to pursue a lawsuit, you would have to prove that the installation of the wall was faulty.
2007-08-21 16:26:19 · answer #3 · answered by Boots 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-04-01 10:22:26 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋