Florida Still a Sea of Blue Tarps as
Hurricane Season Looms
Reversing Course, California Chooses
I-Codes
OFFCUTS
Second-Home Sales on the Rise
GM Truck Tailgates Blamed for Injuries and
DeathsMany homeowners having to retarp as they wait in
line for a new roof
Blue tarps cover roofs that were damaged by Hurricane Ivan.
Experts predict that it will be at least another year before
all the damage from the 2004 hurricanes is repaired.
In the wake of the 2004 hurricanes, thousands of Florida
homeowners had no choice but to cover their damaged and leaking
roofs with tarps supplied by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. Eight months later, residents continue to suffer from a
lack of supplies, labor, and money to repair the destruction
caused by Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. "There
are still a lot of blue tarps around here. I get 10 to 20 calls
a day; most are hurricane-damage related," says Bill Sueppel,
owner and president of Central Florida Roofing and Aluminum in
Lake Placid.
Unfortunately for homeowners and their bank accounts, roofers
are finding that the methods used by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to install the FEMA tarps further undermined some
roofs. Says Sueppel, "A person had a small area of damaged roof
that would equate to about $1,000 to repair. The corps put a
tarp on the whole roof — they put these tarps on flat
roofs with nailers; water ponds when it rains; and so you have
leaks where there were none before — and now you have to
pay for a whole new roof."
Time is running out for this weather-beaten tarp as the
2005 hurricane season threatens.
At the time, though, homeowners didn't have any good
alternatives. According to Steve Munnell, executive director of
the Florida Roofing, Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning
Contractors Association, "You have to consider the
circumstances. There was this frenzy for people's roofs to be
covered and the corps came in with contractors who were
authorized to do the repair … but the people were
trained to get the roof watertight and didn't necessarily know
how to walk on a tile roof or attach the tarp in the best way
not to compromise the roofing system."
The nailed strapping used to hold down tarps has
compromised otherwise intact sections of roofs, say Florida
roofers.
Munnell adds, "It's certainly going to be at least another year
before the majority of the blue tarps are gone, primarily
because of the shortage of bodies — qualified,
legitimate, licensed contractors." Add this labor shortage to
what Sueppel calls "an unbelievable amount of work to be
accomplished," and simple economics predicts what Munnell
confirms: "The cost of labor has skyrocketed."
The potential profits have created incentives for some to take
advantage of homeowner desperation. The South Florida
Sun-Sentinel reported in March that a number of licensed
contractors were subcontracting business to unlicensed subs,
and that one contractor admitted to investigators that he
loaned his name and license number to unlicensed roofers in
exchange for a percentage of sales. Some guys are simply
collecting deposits, ripping up part of the roof, and
disappearing. Penalties are high, however: Governor Jeb Bush
has increased the crime of working without a license from a
misdemeanor to a felony. Still, roofer Sueppel believes the
shortage of enforcement officials continues to put licensed,
in-state roofing contractors at a disadvantage.
Shingle supply improved. At least the supply shortage of
asphalt shingles has eased up. According to Munnell, it had
been taking up to five to six weeks to get the shingles, but
suppliers say the wait is down to one to two weeks. Clay-tile
availability is about five to six weeks. On the other hand, the
lead time for concrete tile, which before the hurricanes had
been 12 weeks, is now running four to five months.
Meanwhile, tarps are beginning to wear out and leak, and free
replacements won't be coming from FEMA. State chief financial
officer Tom Gallagher advises Floridians that by state law,
insurance policies must cover temporary protection; he
recommends that homeowners file claims to have their worn-out
tarps replaced with new ones as they wait to have more
permanent repairs done.
With the 2005 hurricane season shaping up to be "above
average," according to the latest report by hurricane
forecaster Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University,
there's little time to spare. Unless someone invents a 75-mph
tarp in a hurry, it's a no-win situation for roofless residents
who, according to predictions, face an 82 percent chance of a
hurricane landing on the East Coast this season. —
Laurie Elden
Reversing Course,
California Chooses I-Codes
California's Building Standards Commission has reversed a
crucial decision about updating the state's building code. The
Commission voted 8-2 in March to recommend that California base
its statewide building code on the International Building Code,
which is published by the International Code Council. The ICC
is the successor organization to the International Council of
Building Officials (ICBO), which created the 1997 Uniform
Building Code on which California's present code is
based.
The California board's decision clears the way for state
agencies and local governments to create any amendments to the
IBC that are needed to fit the code to California conditions.
Once modifications are completed and accepted (a process that
may take two or three years), California will begin enforcing
the new code.
The March vote reverses the July 29, 2003, decision to
recommend the NFPA 5000 building code, published by the
National Fire Protection Association. NFPA rushed to offer its
competing version after talks with the ICC broke down over a
plan to cooperate in creating a single national model code. Had
California gone ahead with adopting NFPA 5000, it would have
been the first and only state in the nation to choose that
course; by contrast, more than 40 states and several federal
agencies now implement the International Codes (or
I-Codes).
California's 2003 vote to recommend NFPA 5000, which occurred
under the administration of former Governor Gray Davis, was
widely criticized at the time as ill-advised and politically
motivated. Several board members had ties to firefighters and
plumbers unions — groups that backed the NFPA code and
were providing campaign support to Davis in his fight against a
voter recall. After Davis lost his battle and several
appointees of new Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the
board, the political balance shifted and the board
reconsidered.
In voting for the I-Codes path, the board followed the advice
of a coordinating council composed of seven state agency
representatives. The council said that making the "massive
number of amendments" needed to get the NFPA 5000 code ready to
use would cost too much: Structural provisions required in
California, said the report, were particularly deficient.
Further complicating the issue of amendments, the coordinating
council said, was the discovery that the modifications offered
by NFPA consultants included wording drawn wholesale from the
competing International Codes — language over which ICBO
and ICC claim copyright ownership. Copyright claims over code
language are legally shaky, but even the threat of a protracted
lawsuit over hundreds of pages of amendments was seen as a
major drawback to pressing ahead with NFPA 5000.
The decision to drop NFPA 5000 in favor of the I-Codes was
greeted with relief by code officials, builders, and plan
checkers. Imad Naffa, a plan-review engineer whose firm, Naffa
International, offers code-compliance software and consulting
over the Internet, reflects the views of many: "We've been
stuck using a code that is not up-to-date, because of politics
in Sacramento. Meanwhile, things have been changing in the
industry." But a switch to the IBC will be much smoother than
one to NFPA 5000 would have been, says Naffa: "As a plan-review
engineer, I find the IBC to be more user-friendly, more
streamlined." Plan checkers, he says, are "thrilled" about the
idea of a single national model code: "That way, we can check
plans from New York, or California, or anywhere else in the
country, and we will all be in the same basic format." —
Ted Cushman
OFFCUTS
It can be costly, not to mention embarrassing, to
fire an employee who is on jury duty. Ask Sam LeComte,
owner of Multi Building Inc. in Lewisville, Texas, who made
just this mistake. According to an April 8 article in the
Houston Chronicle, U.S. District Judge David Hittner accepted
that the firing was unrelated to the jury service but ordered
the builder to pay his former framing superintendent Mike
Borowski $200 per day for the duration of the trial. Not
satisfied with just the fine, Hittner further took LeComte to
task for showing up in court dressed in jeans and a work
shirt.
Unless she allows the contractor to try to fix what she
calls substandard repair work done on her fire-damaged
condominium, Sandra Moose will not be granted a
disciplinary hearing by the licensing board, the Charlotte
Observer reported on April 18. The condo owner refuses to let
the contractor enter her home to attempt to resolve the alleged
problem; for its part, C.N.E. Services of Greensboro, N.C.,
disagrees that there was anything wrong with the work to begin
with. Moose is going to apply again for a hearing, but in the
meantime she has also filed a lawsuit against the
company.
"Hundreds of thousands of families" are being priced
out of the housing market, says a bipartisan group of
47 members of Congress who sent a letter to President Bush in
April urging the repeal of tariffs on Canadian lumber. The
duties were originally imposed in 2002 to protect the domestic
lumber industry from what was perceived as unfair competition
with government-subsidized businesses in Canada. According to
lawmakers, however, the tariffs have caused high lumber prices
that have in turn boosted housing costs by as much $1,000 per
home.
So, what are the odds of being struck by lightning
twice? Roughly one in 9 million. Emory Johnson got his
second shot on May 4 when lightning struck a tree and bolted
through a window, The Associated Press reported. Ironically, he
had just moved inside to get out of the rain. His first
encounter occurred nearly 20 years ago when he got hit sitting
in his truck at an intersection. Maybe the Florida hvac worker
should think about buying a lottery ticket.
A Bronx, N.Y., bartender served more than drinks when
he delivered cash to improperly hired workers,
according to a May 6 story in The New York Times. Walter Mack,
federal monitor of the New York City carpenters union, found
that Boom Construction Enterprises of Long Island City, N.Y.,
hired carpenters at lower than union wages, paid them cash off
the record, and then bribed shop stewards more than $80,000 to
turn a blind eye. Just a week before his report on the scheme
was issued, Mack was relieved of his investigating duties by
Judge Charles Haight, who agreed with the carpenters that the
monitor's two-year appointment had run out.
If you tend to blow through batteries on your cordless
tools — and if you happen to live near one of
464 authorized Ridgid service centers — you might want to
take advantage of the tool manufacturer's new lifetime service
agreement. According to company spokesman Paul Fitzmaurice,
"The new service agreement is essentially a lifetime warranty,
but we're not calling it that, because users have to register
their tools with Ridgid." The new agreement provides free
service and parts for unexpected repairs as well as for normal
wear items like brushes, O-rings, and, amazingly, battery
packs. Parts and service must be obtained at an authorized
service center, although customers without a local facility can
obtain some parts — like new batteries — without
taking in the tool. The agreement applies to all Ridgid
stationary and hand-held power tools and pneumatic nailers
— as long as buyers register their tools. Tools purchased
between February 1, 2004, and April 14, 2005, qualify if
registration is postmarked by August 12, 2005. For details,
call 866/539-1710 or visit www.ridgid.com.
Second-Home Sales on the
Rise
A certain percentage of home buyers have always been looking
for a second home, and a certain segment of the remodeling
market has always involved repair, maintenance, or improvement
of houses that are rented out. But a recent report from the
National Association of Realtors (NAR) indicates that the size
and importance of that second-home market may be much greater
than previously thought.
The NAR report is based on surveys mailed to thousands of
homeowners. In past studies, says NAR, second homes were
undercounted because few of the questionnaires mailed to
second-home addresses ever came back: Either the houses were
vacant, or the tenants just threw the surveys out.
This time, researchers specifically asked about homes that
respondents might own other than the one to which the survey
was mailed. A follow-up questionnaire asked further questions
about any reported second homes. Data was then cross-checked
against information available from government agencies. The
resulting picture shows a national market in which second homes
are a major factor.
The study concludes that more than a third — 36 percent
— of all homes purchased last year were second homes.
Nearly a quarter —23 percent — of all purchases
were homes bought as an investment, while 13 percent were
bought as vacation homes. Of the nation's total housing stock,
said the report, 38 percent — nearly 44 million homes
— are second homes. Of these, more than 37 million are
owned as an investment, and nearly 80 percent of those
investment properties are rented out.
This trend toward second-home ownership, and especially toward
investment-home ownership, could be changing the market in ways
that are important to contractors. For one thing, it may cut
the downside risk builders traditionally have faced in a hot
market. Second-home investors who are helping push today's busy
market typically bring equity or cash to the table, and
builders are more likely than in past booms to have down
payments or buyer financing in hand before starting a project.
As NAHB economist Michael Carliner remarked recently, "In a
way, we have outsourced building speculation." — Ted
Cushman
GM Truck Tailgates Blamed for
Injuries and Deaths
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced
in April that it has widened an investigation into tailgate
problems on millions of pickup trucks made by General Motors.
In April 2004, GM recalled 4 million pickups from model years
dating back to 2000 because of reports that tailgate cables
could deteriorate from corrosion and metal fatigue and snap
suddenly, causing tailgates to fall off. The government's
newest probe adds two new truck brands to the list of models
under investigation, and broadens the range of model years for
some trucks already being scrutinized.
"On some of these vehicles," GM said in its 2004 recall letter,
"the galvanized steel tailgate cable that supports the tailgate
in the full open (horizontal) position may corrode, weaken, and
fracture. … If the remaining cable is sufficiently
weakened by corrosion, it could fracture within moments of the
first cable fracturing, especially if there is a load on the
tailgate. … Anyone sitting or standing on the tailgate
when both cables fracture could be injured by falling from the
tailgate."
GMC Trucks Recalled in
2004 |
| | |
Model | | Year |
|
Chevrolet Silverado | | 2000-2004 |
GMC Sierra | | 2000-2004 |
Chevrolet Avalanche | | 2002-2004 |
Cadillac Escalade EXT | | 2002-2004 |
| | |
GMC Trucks Under Further
NHTSA Investigation |
| | |
Model | | Year |
|
GMC Sonoma | | 1998-2004 |
Chevrolet S-10 | | 1998-2004 |
Chevrolet Silverado | | 1998-2000 |
GMC Sierra | | 1998-2000 |
That's exactly the scenario that one family blames for the
death of 19-year-old Timothy Michaud. According to an
Associated Press report, attorney Stephen Schwarz filed a
wrongful-death lawsuit against GM after Michaud died of head
injuries allegedly caused by falling from the tailgate of a
2000 Chevrolet truck owned by his employer. Chicago NBC
affiliate WMAQ-TV says as many as six deaths have been linked
to the tailgate defect.
While the original recall letters for the first batch of
tailgate problems were mailed in April 2004, GM needed time to
get replacement cables to dealerships. By September 30, fewer
than 1 percent of the millions of trucks eligible for a free
repair had actually been fixed, according to the AP
story.
Federal officials sharply rebuked General Motors in March 2004
for dragging its feet on another recall process relating to
failing auto windshield-wiper motors, and later fined the
company $1 million. In the recently released letter, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief counsel Jacqueline
Glassman linked the wiper problem to a larger pattern of
lackadaisical behavior at GM. Wrote Glassman, "GM's recent
history with regard to the timing of defect determinations has
been, and continues to be, a matter of significant concern to
the agency." —
Ted Cushman