Hello again Chris --

Yes, I was correct -- it appears that Fairbanks, AK has adopted portions of the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Remodeling Code (IRC) and h here is a link where you can actually purchase all building, Electrical, etc codes that are applicable to Fairbanks AK: http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/building-codes/alaska/fairbanks/ I am certain that you can find some violations of the building code for your city in these volumes (it would take me several hours of research to point out exactly what you need and I would have to review Plans and specs at the same time and that is beyond the scope of what we do here on Just Answer). In addition to some violations of the building and remodeling Codes (which There are probably some right in the plans & specs before the house was even erected because it sounds like they didn't follow anything as far as the building codes were concerned -- and you are going to end up in a situation where the Architect or engineer will claim that it was the builder's responsibility to know the codes and implement them (leaving the architect and engineer in the position of the person who drew a pretty picture) and the builder will claim that it was the architect or engineer (or both) that were responsible for laying out the code sections on the plans and specs. Just FYI, it is the architect or engineer's responsibility to tell the builder what code sections apply to the project although the architect will deny it and try to wriggle out of it.

In addition to the code section violations that you can sue over there are any number of legal theories that you can advance under Alaska and US federal laws. You have standard breach of contract claims because they did not perform their part of the contract in a good workmanlike manner (this does not have to be expressly written into the contract -- it is implied) as well as claims under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC0 -- which AK has also adopted for Breach of the Implied Warranty of Merchantability and the Implied Warranty of Fitness for Particular Purpose. Here is a link to seminar materials on Construction Law in Alaska which sets forth these legal theories for pursuing a construction project where the building was faulty due to construction defects: http://www.uslaw.org/files/public/AK_Construction_09.pdf

This is a great pamphlet to have and you should print it off and read it before you speak to a few attorneys regarding these problems.

I suggest that you try to get an attorney involved as soon as possible -- because there are time limits to these claims -- to pursue a breach of written contract claim there is a 6 year statute of limitations and many of the tort claims have a 3 year statute of limitations. The warranty that they gave you in the contract will expire soon -- although your attorney can probably make a case that the statute of limitations stopped when you first notified the builder of the claim and the builder started playing games with you (the builder is deliberately trying to get beyond that date so you will lose the right to the claim by playing these games with you -- it is not uncommon). You can find a construction lawyer by contacting a few bar Association for cities and counties in AK and asking for a referral to a lawyer who handles such claims. They should give you several names and you can talk to them and make up your mind regarding which one to use going forward.

I hope that all of this helps.

--MARY

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