Philadelphia Enquirer said:It is not unusual for new homes to have small defects. But the sudden avalanche of waterlogged houses originally puzzled observers: How could so many homes built by so many different builders be experiencing the exact same problem at once?
According to Lstiburek, the answer was simple: It was “a perfect storm” — a combination that attorneys now allege came from pressure to build faster, an industrywide switch to lower-cost building materials, and little government and builder oversight. Add to that a climate like Pennsylvania’s, where the average annual rainfall is around 41 inches — and the potential for water damage was that much greater.
Part of the problem, Lstiburek said, is that houses today are built differently than decades ago — and are less forgiving when wet. So when shoddy construction occurs simultaneously, he said, results can be disastrous.
Among the largest differences today is that homes are more energy-efficient, keeping heat and air from escaping. But that can be problematic for a house’s internal walls, Lstiburek said, which need airflow to dry.
And as new technology has ushered in more environmentally friendly and less expensive materials, he added, there’s been one big downside: Many are far less water resistant.
“It’s not that buildings are getting wetter,” Lstiburek said in an interview. “Now, it takes longer to dry.”
The problem is energy efficiency and Green Code, these new homes are sealed up so they can't "breathe" to dry out and cheap materials like plastic housewraps and Flakeboard are actually required in many cases.
The problem is energy efficiency and Green Code, these new homes are sealed up so they can't "breathe" to dry out and cheap materials like plastic housewraps and Flakeboard are actually required in many cases.
OSB and plastic housewraps are NEVER required.....But people want to build cheaply and don't understand how to build or use the products they are using....See it every day...Unfortunately most Tons do not have the time to do a "progress" inspection for roofing or siding. We only do a final and what can you really see there...
There’s not a lot to inspect with lath. T.
Wikipedia said:The leaky condo crisis, also known as the leaky condo syndrome and rotten condo crisis, is an ongoing construction, financial, and legal crisis in Canada. It primarily involves multi-unit condominium (or strata) buildings damaged by rainwater infiltration in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island regions of coastal British Columbia (B.C.). In B.C. alone an estimated $4 billion in damage has occurred to over 900 buildings and 31,000 individual housing units built between the late 1980s and early 2000s, establishing it as the most extensive and most costly reconstruction of housing stock in Canadian history.
Similar infiltration problems have been reported in highrise buildings and schools, as well as in other climatic zones in Ontario and Nova Scotia, in the United States, and New Zealand. Since the start of the crisis it has been commonplace to see occupied buildings draped in scaffolding and protective tarps as the problems were assessed and repaired. The crisis has caused, as a major public inquiry concluded: "a litany of horrific experiences, personal tragedies, and dashed dreams" endured by homeowners¹