contractor/engineer not following contract/material

[ilmbg]

Boy, what a mess!
We have a 1.3 millon dollar residing project going on. The Board/Management company decided on these people.
The contract states:
'Tyvek or equal quality material' for house barrier
They are using Home Depot's Easy Gard, which is not the same at all- Tyvek is water/air barrier, Easy Gard is air barrier...

They are supposed to be using Hardie-Plank and Hardie-Trim. The 2x2's that are used are regular wood.

I talked with the Hardie-Plank rep-
1. He says NO CAULKING of siding. They are caulking ALL the siding where there are butt-joints.
2. There is supposed to be 2 layers of Housewrap behind any butt-joint. There isn't.
3. The nails have too much pnuematic pressure- they are being countersunk.
4. The lap siding where the corners of the building meet aren't even CLOSE to the edge- they might be 1/2 inch to 1 inch from the edge- making it very easy for water to penetrate under the trim even with the trim caulked.

This is just a starter...
I have gotten the ASTM Data Specification Sheets to prove to the contractor/engineer that what they are using for Housewrap isn't what the contract says, and he just says 'it is the same' and turns his back and walks away.

The condo owners have just gotten anywhere from a $7,000 fee to $12,000 fee ADDED to the monthly dues, so nobody is able to hire an attorney. (most are elderly with fixed incomes).

I have called the cith building inspector, but no return call yet...

What else can I do to stop this poor work?

On top of that, he hires illegals from downtown who don't have a clue what they are doing- they just want a job. Of course he is paying minimum wage, so you get minimum knowlege...

Thank you for your help.

[pushkins]

Unless the contractor is breaking "code" rules there is little the city inspector can do and most often they don't want to be involved in contractual issues anyway.
It doesn't sound from your post that the contractor is breaking any "code rules" even if he isn't performing as you see the contract.

Typically Easyguard (Chinese manufacturer) is considered similar to Tyvek (though don't ask Dupont ) Easyguard is considered a moisture barrier the following link is their compliance by the ICC and clearly sets out it's use in house wrapping under both the IRC and IBC.

http://www.icc-es.org/reports/pdf_files/ICC-ES/ESR-2252.pdf

Typically Home Depot and Lowe's try to carry difference product brands or the brands themselves sell the rights to exclusivity to one store. Other supply houses have their own "branded" wrap, usually made from one of the aforementioned companies just printed with a different name for example "Builder Supply depot" have a house wrap branded with their name (comes from China as well, most likely Easyguard).

The Hardi-Plank issue is a beast all on another page, Hardi are VERY clear on their installation requirements and any deviation from these steps can (most likely would) void any warranties including water damage, this would be an area that the Management Board should be concerned with and they should bring it to the contractors notice. They could call out a Hardi rep to inspect the installation and issue a report. I'm sure if the contractor is not following installation steps correctly Hardi will say it's not covered by warranty, that leaves the contractor on the hook for any problems, the only problem with this is, problems associated to this might not be noticeable for months if not years and who knows where or "if" the contractor is around then.

I will add that hounding a contractor or engineer relentlessly every time they step foot on a site usually doesn't bring great results, especially if your not the guy signing the contractors payment checks, that's why it is important to bring in the Management Board.