How Much Does a Defective Stucco Construction Lawyer Cost?
While this depends on every case, most of the time, we work on a contingency basis. A contingency basis means we will cover the costs of the claim and only charge you if we win a settlement in or out of court. A contingency fee helps ensure we work hard for your case and that you don’t have more out-of-pocket expenses during a hard time. We also offer contingency fees for other areas of practice, such as:
What Exactly Is Stucco?
Stucco is a building substance used in construction that is very similar to plaster. The stucco is applied to your home’s exposed wood and exterior block surfaces while the compound is still wet.
In the past, stucco was made using water, sand, and lime. Flash-forward to modern times, however, and stucco typically ditches the lime in favor of Portland cement. When combined with sand and water, it causes the stucco to harden much more quickly.
Once dried, stucco is intended to help protect your home’s exterior from potential hazards like hurricanes, fire, and moisture damage, which can harm your property and your health. When stucco is applied correctly, it hardens and bonds to the outside of your home. Doing so creates a dense outer shell that looks appealing and protects your home.
What Happens if Stucco Isn’t Applied Correctly?
The problem, however, comes whenever stucco is installed incorrectly. This can result from a construction company or homebuilder trying to cut corners to save money and time. When this happens, the dense outer shell can develop cracks prematurely. As you can likely imagine, this allows moisture to pass behind the stucco and damage anything underneath it.
Catastrophic Damage
Homeowners often don’t realize any damage has occurred until it’s too late. This continual damage can go on for years, causing catastrophic damage to your home’s interior construction and core.
Health Hazards
Not only that, but by the time many homeowners realize a problem with their stucco, their home has become a severe health hazard. In some cases, the inner wooden structures can warp or rot.
Mold can also form, leaving you with more than just the risk of potential structural damage. Of course, this brings other problems, as well. One is trying to get the original stucco contractor to admit that they are responsible for the shoddy work to where they will agree to make it right.
Financial Damage
And the other problem is the monetary amount needed to make all of the necessary repairs to get your residence back to livable conditions.
What Causes Stucco to Become Defective?
After stucco is applied in its wet form, it needs to dry. But as it dries, it also shrinks. And sometimes, tiny cracks can develop, causing the finish to become porous. Contractors use control joints to help mitigate these tiny cracks, while corner beads and lattices help bind stucco around corners and windows. The back of these beads and joints are designed to be open, so that water can safely seep behind the stucco.
Since any qualified home builder is aware of the potential for cracking, they might use special mixtures with additives meant to make a more substantial barrier in the stucco to combat moisture.
Studies, however, prove otherwise. It’s been shown that using special mixtures, and other questionable construction methods only causes the stucco to be less effective, thus weakening faster and opening up you and your home to potential health concerns.
Hire a Construction Defective Lawyer
Fortunately, hiring a qualified construction defect lawyer who is well-versed in defective construction can assist you in getting the compensation you deserve. For better or worse, there are many instances of homebuilders taking shortcuts or improperly applying stucco, so the right attorney can ensure that the correct steps are taken to file a lawsuit against the original contractor.
Moreover, you don’t have to wait until your home is severely damaged to take action. If you notice defects in your property’s stucco, don’t delay contacting a trusted lawyer with experience in handling defective construction.
Your family’s health and well-being are of the utmost importance. The sooner your construction defect lawyer files the necessary paperwork, the sooner you can be made whole and ensure the safety of your loved ones. Contact us today.
