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About Workmanship Warranty

Washington DCConstruction Contract Defects

Back in 2015 my mom had a retaining wall in front of her house replaced and it is beginning to crack. I checked the contract and it states there is a 5 year "workmanship warranty". My mom has been calling the contractor for about 6 months to a year telling him she sees cracks forming but he tells her to look into other issues like street vibration issues that has previously affected the past walls stability. He won't even come look at it I am fed up with how he is handling this and looking into the contract to see what he actually "owes" us and if he is supposed to fix it, I will step in and if he does not, I will look into legal actions. I am trying to find out my options

1 reply

Sep 9, 2019

When a contract has a workmanship warranty explicitly written into the contract, often, there will be some statement as to how a claim on that warranty should be made ( a "written notice", etc.). But, if the contract is silent as to how a warranty claim should be made, it's a good idea to put the claim into writing and to send that letter to the contractor's place of business. Specifically laying out what issues are present and that you're requesting they come to inspect and potentially cure the defects is generally a good idea when requesting warranty work. Plus, letting them know what actions will be taken if the warranty isn't honored - like taking legal action to enforce the warranty in the contract - might be helpful too. As for what legal options are available - suing for breach of contract or breach of warranty may be available options. But, if it does come down to legal action, consulting with a local attorney should be helpful. They'll be able to review documentation of the faulty work as well as the terms of the contract itself, then advise on how best to move forward.

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