Legal Question in Construction Law in California

industry standards for construction

i had a job end up with interior walls that are wavy and neither straight or plumb. the contractor tells me that there were no quality standards listed in the job specifications and therefore he can be held to none. are there common industry standards for construction? or if i want a wall to be straight do i have to spell it out in the contract documents?


Asked on 11/15/02, 5:59 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Chris Johnson Christopher B. Johnson, Attorney at Law

Re: industry standards for construction

The standard would be industry standard and what is acceptable in the industry. I doubt "wavy" walls are acceptable. Without knowning more, try checking the Uniform Building Code to see if there are accepted variances for walls.

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Answered on 11/15/02, 6:12 pm
Gary Redenbacher Redenbacher & Brown, LLP

Re: industry standards for construction

That builder is handing you a line. There are standards of the trade. It usually takes an expert to opine what the standard is. At some point, however, the work gets so poor that it doesn't take an expert to determine that it's not done right.

There is a saying in the building trades, "You're building a house, not a piano." Make sure that you are also being reasonable in your expectations.

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Answered on 11/16/02, 1:45 pm


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