Drees loses lawsuit for moldy new construction (Washington: lawyers, house)

[homless]

Please see the link below-largest mold verdict ever in VA .4.75million.

Costly Mold: Loudoun couple awarded $4.75M for mold injuries*::*Weekly Edition*::*Virginia Lawyers Weekly

[Tish Thompson]

WOW! Not sure if a home inspection would have caught the dampness or not (some inspectors use a tool that determines how damp the walls etc are or if there's evidence of dampness behind the drywall). New construction or not, buyers should always take advantage of any inspection available to them before closing.

[homless]

Tish,

We had inspections, but the mold was growing behind the walls-the house looked beautiful with dry white drywall, it wasn't until the Industrial hygeniest started testing that we knew the extent of the problem-mold spores are microscopic. DREES was incompetent to say the least and now this has ruined our lives. The house wasn't even built to code-Loudoun Cty found at least 3 major USBC violations. These weren't found until we had paid $50,000 to an engineering group, the fromt masonry wall was not built correctly and the roof wasn't complete. The house was never watertight!

How many building inspectors look at masonry and roofs??

See FOX 5 news report from Jan 11th about our story!

MyFox Washington DC | Family Awarded $4.75 Million for Toxic Mold in House (http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8231224&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 - broken link)

[car54]

Tisha Thompson
FOX 5 Reporter


Hey Tish, did you take another gig until the housing market picks up?

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by homless

Tish,

We had inspections, but the mold was growing behind the walls-the house looked beautiful with dry white drywall, it wasn't until the Industrial hygeniest started testing that we knew the extent of the problem-mold spores are microscopic. DREES was incompetent to say the least and now this has ruined our lives. The house wasn't even built to code-Loudoun Cty found at least 3 major USBC violations. These weren't found until we had paid $50,000 to an engineering group, the fromt masonry wall was not built correctly and the roof wasn't complete. The house was never watertight!

How many building inspectors look at masonry and roofs??

See FOX 5 news report from Jan 11th about our story!

MyFox Washington DC | Family Awarded $4.75 Million for Toxic Mold in House (http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8231224&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 - broken link)

I take it you didn't have a framing inspection before the drywall was installed?

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by homless

We of course relied on the County to properly inspect each phase-obviously they weren't doing their job-if you lived here in 2005-the market and building boom was insane!! For all the building code violations that were subsequently discovered it is obvious that the County wasn't doing their job dilligently. This is a home in a subdivision where DREES was the only builder-we didn't realize we had to be the GC as well as stroking the 900,000 check

I feel bad for you and your family, but the county is not responsible for checking on conditions that cause mold, build quality, etc.

The county is only responsible in ensuring that the foundation, framing, plumbing, electrical, etc. meets code.

You had a contract to build a home with a builder, not a private person/family. Therefore, even during the boom times of 2005, there were no bidding wars for new construction nor was there pressure to wave inspections in order to have your contract accepted.

I think if you had hired a private home inspector, they would have noted any potential issues.

When I bought my new construction home in 2003, I visited the house almost every day. Also, I hired an inspector for the framing walk through and the final inspection. Everything was noted on the punch list, which made the builder responsible and liable.

When homes were going up, basements routinely were flooded during rainstorms. My basement was moldy also, but I noted grading issues and water in the basement, which the builder signed off on.

That is why they had to spend $25k to have a mold remediation company bomb my basement and get rid of the mold. Then the builder spent another $25k on giving me brand new replacement windows (47 total) because the builder's grade versions were installed incorrectly. I also had the builder regrade my backyard 3 times to improve drainage.

Lesson to all is to document everything during the build process and put it on the punch list. Try not to settle until everything is resolved. It took the builder 3 years to complete my punch list. I ended up selling the house, but the house was gone over with a fine toothed comb.

Again, hindsight is 20/20, but I hope your family pulls through this.