Construction Owners & Builders Law Blog

"You love your home and then it turns on you," The New York Times reports one homeowner said when he discovered the foundation of his home was cracking, crumbling and moving. Repairing unstable foundations costs homeowners around $4 billion a year and that cost often is not covered by insurance.

Frequently, the shifting is the result of contractions and expansions triggered by soil drying out from lack of rain or being flooded by excessive rain.  Kate Murphy, writing for The New York Times, reports in "Shifting Soil Threatens Homes’ Foundations" that some experts believe these shifts are due to global warming.

But weather does not let builders, engineers and architects off the legal hook.  They are supposed to consider soil conditions and how that soil might expand and contract during dry and wet weather conditions in designing and building the foundations of homes and other buildings.

On April 21, new lead paint rules applicable to housing and certain child care schools and facilities built prior to 1978 go into effect.  Lead exposure can cause brain damage; exposure prior to age six is especially dangerous.

Contractors and owners can find the EPA's regulations on lead paint in Title 40, Part 745 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Visit The Illinois Construction Law Blog for a great summary of these new rules.