Demlang Builders Built roof without a water and ice membrane, causing $20,000 worth of water damage. Sussex Wisconsin

Asa,

We’re sorry to hear that you are having problems. We want everyone to love their Demlang home, regardless of the age, number of owners before them, or phase of life they find themselves in.

We did receive your communications and made two separate attempts to return your calls. We know it is never good news when there is a big repair cost but hope to provide a little perspective on how this may have happened and why we feel your review of our workmanship is unfair.

It appears as though you are the third owner since 2005. Looking back at the construction of your home, the original owners performed much of the work themselves. In this case, they also provided their own subcontractors for many phases of construction that could have impacted the end result. During the selection process our customer, the original owner, choose the products that they wanted to be used on their home. Items like ice and water shield were opted not to be used by them.

At Demlang Builders, we carefully vet our trade partners for both workmanship and quality. And, we choose building materials that are known for both value and performance. This is why we stand behind our work and provide one of the best warranties in new home construction.

However, when a client insists on using their own subcontractors, we try to honor that request. Sometimes they are seeking cost savings and choose lower quality products or sacrificing extras like ice shield, sometimes it is simply a matter of workmanship. In these cases, we have no control over the final outcome nor do we offer a warranty on the home. Because of the length of time since we built your home, we have no records of what work was performed by us or the owner.

When we close on any house with our customers, prior to them taking occupancy, we review a detailed process pertaining to homeowner maintenance requirements. This advises the new owner on items as air quality pertaining to moisture and humidly control, as well as maintenance of gutters and exterior drainage systems.

This sets the stage for proper maintenance and repairs. But, as the third owner, it is hard for anyone to know what type of maintenance actually occurred throughout the past 14 years, as well as any renovations that may have been performed. It appears as though you purchased the home in 2017, and that there was a previous sale in 2015. Typically most real estate transactions involve a home inspection that would have revealed any issues with both the shingles and the windows.

As the current owner, with two back-to-back extreme winters, simple steps like ensuring clean gutters for proper drainage and proper attic ventilation may also have prevented the ice damming. Maintaining the proper humidity in the home through the use of bath fans and other ventilation systems would certainly improve the condensation and frost on the windows shown in the images you provided. Most window manufacturers have warranties twenty years or more.

We would be happy to continue the conversation with you offline. We appreciate that you find yourself in a difficult situation and would be happy to refer to you our trusted subcontractors. They can help you to ensure these challenges are addressed with the highest in reputation, workmanship, and quality as well as identify any opportunities to leverage manufacturer warranties or insurance claims on the roofing and window products originally installed in the home.

We welcome you to call our office at 262-246-0330 at any time to continue the dialogue.

Sincerely,

Rod Demlang
President
Demlang Builders, Inc.