Mold-plagued houses there that made news in the 1990s continue to haunt the courts, the state and the building industry.
Donna Halvorsen, Star Tribune
Last update: November 20, 2005 at 12:43 PM
Printer friendly E-mail this story Related content
A growing concernLocal
Guard unit returns home to Marshall

Fundraiser note raised a ruckus

2 hospitals to drop licensed practical nurses

For real estate agents, 7% is no longer the magic number

Groupies go gaga over their gal, Martha
Like a prairie storm, the epidemic swept through Woodbury: Home after home experienced black mold, soaked insulation and crumbling wallboard.

Half of the city's stucco homes built before 1999 -- and some built later -- fell victim to water, a life sustainer that turns nasty when it gets inside walls, turning the structures to mush.

"Everybody was in shock," said home- owner Debbie Long. "It looked like a tornado hit around here."

"Water intrusion" is now known to be an equal-opportunity home wrecker, not just a problem in largely affluent Woodbury. It can occur anywhere homes were built from the 1990s on, when poor construction with new materials allowed water into walls, rotting building materials that were never meant to get wet.

Experts say water may have first entered the walls shortly after the houses were built, and it may not have been noticed for several years.

Ron Glubka, Woodbury's chief building official, calls it "the largest construction defect problem in local history." Recently, he concluded that the city's 1999 efforts to make stucco houses dry and durable had failed, and water problems continue to take a physical, emotional and financial toll on Woodbury homeowners.

The burden of finding answers is now with the state (researching water movement in walls), the stucco and building industries (seeking solutions), and the courts (homeowners seeking relief and rulings on who should pay).

Steve and Debbie Long avoided court.

Their builder, Kootenia Homes of Woodbury, came out regularly to address problems. And when the fixes didn't work, Kootenia turned the couple's claim over to Federated Insurance, which paid the repair bill in full -- no haggling. That's $174,860 -- not unusual when homes are rebuilt.

The Longs can talk about their experience; some homeowners can't or won't. Many have been restricted after suing their builders and settling.

For the Longs, as with many others, it was gut-wrenching to watch their house being torn apart and reconstructed.

"You're a wreck," Debbie Long said of the process, in which she, her husband and daughter, then 2, were sickened by construction dust and perhaps mold.

In many cases, the issue is playing out in the courts. Federated Insurance argued before the Minnesota Court of Appeals that Cincinnati Insurance, Kootenia's current carrier, should pay some of Kootenia's repair bills.

Minneapolis attorney Dave Hammargren said who pays for damage is an open legal question. "It'll be good for homeowners to have some certainty on the [coverage] issue when they negotiate with the builder's insurance company," he said.

The Longs first noticed water leaking around windows they think were not sealed properly, and there was a persistent black spot below a sliding glass door. Also, the basement flooded when a sump pump failed.

When a neighbor tested her house for moisture, the Longs did the same. The test revealed water in the walls, a lot in places. When a stucco section was pulled off, the area was black with mold.

"That was a total shock," Debbie Long said. "I didn't know what mold and water could do."

Kootenia paid a contractor to replace the walls and a caulking crew to seal openings where water might intrude. Debbie Long said her family has had no water problems since the repairs were made three years ago.

Glubka's research showed that half of stucco homes built in Woodbury before 1999 had water problems, and 20 percent cost $100,000 or more to repair. The Longs' house was built in 1996.

In 1999, Glubka made it his mission to learn why houses were failing and how to build them better. Changes were made to state building code, and Glubka added his own. But homes built since 2000 have continued to fail.

His research shows that a tiny fraction of non-stucco houses have had problems, a conclusion disputed by the stucco industry, which has drafted new building practices and proposed changes in the state building code. Steve Pedracine, director of the Minnesota Lath and Plaster Bureau, said rainwater that enters walls is a major problem.

The Longs and others have stayed with stucco but used different wall assemblies.

"We've had more awareness in the stucco homes," said state building official Tom Joachim. "In the other homes, you may not notice it as quick."

Minnesota is revising its building code again, and flashing -- material such as sheet metal that steers water away from and out of the house -- is a big focus. The current building code is vague, Joachim said. "It just says the building should be flashed."

"For the hundreds of thousands of homes that are built, the percentage [with water problems] is small," State investigator Mike Happ said. "But it's devastating to the families."

In some cases, houses went up too fast, and details were missed, Happ said. "Everybody's got to take a deep breath and just watch what they're doing."


Donna Halvorsen • 612-673-1709
_________________________
Jimmy McDonald
http://www.StartRemodeling.com
Jimmy@StartRemodeling.com

http://www.ToxicMoldUSA.com
McMoldMan@ToxicMoldUSA.com

Jimmy McDonald ( RemodelingGuy) specifically assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information or process disclosed. The above further expressly advises that any use of or reliance upon the information and or opinion disclosed is at your risk .