A claim can be made against a contractor's bond for defective work. The bond is usually $12,000-$15,000. You must prove to the bond company that the work is defective and how much the repair will cost. You can also make a claim against the contractors liability insurance policy, if they have one, which should be much larger $ limits. You may need an attorney to assist you. deborah.barron@lawbarron.com http://www.lawbarron.net

If the only thing wrong is the work itself, Ms. Barron is wrong that there is a claim on the liability policy. Liability policies for contractors expressly exclude the contractor's own defective work. The reason there have been big liability insurance cases in construction defects is because some kinds of defective construction can cause damage to other parts of the structure, most notably defective roofing and/or waterproofing can cause extensive damage to the framing and finish work. You should also know that a wall that is not striaght may not be a compensable defect. Construction is an inexact process. No wall is perfectly straight, no corner perfectly square, except by raw chance. The rule of thumb is whether the deviation from plans or specifications is such that it impairs the value or utility of the structure. If so, it is a compensable defect. If not, it is considered to be within the standard margin of error in all construction. I have over 20 years of construction law experience, including serving as the head of construction law for San Francisco International Airport's General Counsel's Office. If you would like to get a more "situation specific" take on your case, feel free to email me.

Based on my rather limited experience in pursuing contractor bonds, I think the bonding company will tell you to sue and get a judgment first, and if the judgment is not paid by the contractor, they'll consider your application for payment under the bond. That's several steps beyond merely mmaking a claim to the bonding company for defective work.