In case your home has LP siding, you should know that you have a 25 year warranty from the date of installation. To make a claim call 1-877-677-6722 to speak to an LP representative. It takes 4 to 7 months to complete the process, so it is best to get it started sooner than later.
An excellent siding replacement company is Valley Siding at 425 888 9127. Excellent service, quality work, very competitive pricing.
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Comments 18
We had our house built in 1994 and have been told we need to
replace almost all of the siding on our home. We know this
will be a hugh expense. We have been told the siding is under warranty for 25 years, from what I have read it sounds almost impossible to get the warranty. I feel it’s unfair that Louisiana Pacific does not stand by its product.
We were never notified of the problem so now it is our job to cover labor, painting and defective siding. What a hugh
expense to the homeowers with LP siding. Who can I talk to get advise. Thank you!!!
I must agree with Melinda Moser. At this point in time LP is not willing to seriously stand behind their warranty. I submitted a claim last fall. I called them after 45 days to verify that they had received my claim. (They say that they will take no more than 90 days to give you an answer.) Just before the 90 days were up I called again. The agent was not able to give me an answer as to why I hadn’t received an answer but told me she would call me back. I waited 1 day and called again. At that point they had finally sent the claim to an inspector. Two weeks later the inspector came out and spent an hour. He found damage on all 4 sides of the house. (2 side were replaced in 1996). A week or so later, I received a settlement offer of $16. Not worth the time I spent filling out the claim form!!!!
I’m in the LP dilemma as well. I bought a used house and knew it had LP siding and I’m a building inspector.
As long as the inspector has no malicious intent and is not negligent in his/her duties, then the inspector is not personally liable. And it is also difficult and costly to prove that a jurisdiction was negligent also (trust me, if I could I’d go after an inspector for my house). In other words, as long as the inspector does their best with the time allowed then they are not liable. It is ultimately the builders/contractors responsibility to install items per code or per the manufacturer’s requirements. (Several court cases back this up)
Remember, we (the inspector) have a high number of inspections to do each day and time is limited most times. Even inspectors with 20-25 years in the business miss items. Not making excuses – it’s reality and has been for years. The builder is on site most of the time and should use their time effectfully to build a structurally sound and quality product, but they are human also and miss things.
Most of us have the training to interpret plans but if a licensed designer is involved then the inspector cannot alter the plans. Only the designer can change “most” plan items.
I would suggest contacting the local jurisdiction and see if they can assist you. I’m not saying they can help, but it’s a good starting point.
Also, always get copies of your property record file/plans from the local AHJ (Authority Having Jurisidiction), as this can answer questions you may have.
Helpful site http://www.iccsafe.org (go to the bulleitn board)
Good Luck!
Re: Comment 14
Is this a “custom” home being built on your own property, or a “pre-sale” home being built by the builder on his lot?
Generally, it is my experience that it is not the the County Inspector’s nor the Bank’s responsibility to insure a general’s compliance with the permitted plans. That responsibility belongs almost exclusively to the homeowner. The County’s only concerns are safety and code compliance. Eeven then, if their inspector misses something that has to be corrected later, it will still be at the expense of the homeowner.
This is why we warn people about building custom homes. Things rarely go smoothly, and few people can afford the time that is required to check on the site every day during the course of construction.
County employees and bank inspectors are not architects or builders. They are not qualified to interpret your plans for you.
If you skimped somewhere along the line by either not retaining a qualified architect/designer as a consultant, or going with the less than reputable low bidder general contractor, this is the price that is paid when building a custom home.
Have you any experience where items that should have been identified by a County Building Inspector during the home construction process were not? Is it possible to sue the County Inspector and or Bank for failure to insure home construction compliance to blue prints prior to dispatching construction monies to the General Building Contractor? I live in Ohio. Thanks.
Melinda, Have you called 1-877-677-6722? Try it. You might save a few thousand dollars. Yes, the product is not good. Yes, the settlement is not very good either. But you may as well try to get what you can.
I don’t understand the “Redmond yuppie land” part of your comment. Please clarify.
Where are you people coming from? LP will leave you flat one heartbeat. There is zero warranty program with LP…none, zero zip. Zero. You get to eat the price of replacing your siding. That will cost me K16.
So much for REDMOND YUPPIE LAND
I’m in a similar situation to Sharon’s. When we visited Florida in 1994 to close on the house we chose, our Mortgage Broker changed the terms of the loan the day of closing and asked for $12k more which we didn’t have, so we extended our stay one more day and were forced to find another house (this one) quickly. We had no extra money for a second inspection (we had one done on the 1st property). Our RE Agent showed us this one but there was siding damage which we were told was due to termites. I now know differently. The realtor paid out of his pocket for the repairs to consumate the closing. We found out from our Insurance Adjuster that we had 85% damaged siding when the Hurricanes came through in 2004. We were told it was Masonite and tried to join the class action only to later learn from our Neighbor that it was LP siding. She had received a settlement from them. We had to file ch 13 to prevent foreclosure that same year and we are currently paying this mortgage and other creditors through the court. My Bank was willing to give me a $10k loan to make repairs because of the equity we have, but the Ch 13 prevents them from assisting us. We still are eligible for the 25 yr siding warranty. I know the Builder did not follow the plans because my neighbor had an Engineer over recently and they had to look at my plans (hers were “missing” from the City –I got mine in 2004 and btw, there is NO mention of siding anywhere in the file); the foundation is not monolith,as it should be there was a hole left open at the ground level where a drain pipe extends outside allowing water intrusion. The damage to her house is similar to mine. I was told by a friend who sold these houses when they originally were built that the City Inspectors didn’t really inspect them, but simply drove through…I know time is against me with the Courts and the lawyers I’ve spoken to locally won’t help and it’s cost prohibitive for me to litigate. The Builder is still in business under a new name and is on the Board of a local Bank. Should I contact my current Mortgage Lender, dismiss the Ch13 for a Ch 7, explain the situation to them and ask for a refinance (we are @8.75%) to make repairs? Or should I just pray for the next Cane to wipe us out?? I am disabled on social security. My husband still works. This is our only real asset and I’m watching it deteriorate before my eyes. Based on another site, I’d say we are at Stage 4 or 5 where the siding damage is evident. My brother (in another state)is a carpenter and he estimates about $30k to replace siding and repair this house. Please don’t publish my last name if you can help it.
Dear Sharon,
The condition you describe, or your window installer descibed, sounds much more onerous than just failed siding. For failures to reach the framing to such a degree indicated that your parents’ builder failed to properly flash, caulk and seal the windows, trim, and siding at the time the house was built.
Your next step should be to hire a professional inspector that has residential general contracting experience to inspect the home.
Then obtain repair bids from reputable referred contractors.
With this information in hand, consult with a real estate attorney about your options.
My sense is that there will not be much opportunity for recourse against either the contractor of siding manufacturer. 17 years is too long to have waited, and I believe most courts would agree that the bulk of the cost of the damage is due to homeowner neglect.
While the contractor may have done a poor job, and the siding is an inferior product, a simple $250-400 professional inspection of the newly completed home would have revealed the conditions that lead to the degree of failure that you describe.
Problems with LP siding have been known since about the time your parents’ home was built. An inspector would have warned them, a claim could have been placed at that time. But the claim would have been only for the cost of replacement siding, NOT installation or painting. Most claiments I know took the money and bought something else with it because they didn’t want to pay for the installation and painting. 10 years later, when they decide to sell, they face a much more expensive problem.
So your parents are not alone in this. It is an unfortunate reminder of how important it is to keep track of the condition of your home over time. Catch a problem early and it’s usually not terribly expensive. But procrastinate about a simple issue, and it can escalate into many thousands of dollars in repairs.
Feel free to call me if you need more help. Who knows? maybe I’ve got this all wrong. But a professional inspection is the best way to determine where you stand. DO NOT leave it to the repair contractor to tell you what you need done.
Kind Regards,
Bill MacDonald, Associate Broker
Windermere Bellevue Commons
1-888-557-3648
please contact me asap
my parents had their house built in 1990 and it has the defective LP siding. Currently we got a contractor to replace our windows and they found rotting wood all the way to the core of the house. Because we live in the state of florida, there was no warranty established and my parents could not file a claim because they were never notified of the lawsuit. Someone should be responsible for this. What shoud I do?
Hello,
My fiance and I are looking at our DREAM house..Bad thing.. it has 1994 LP siding.. can any of you give me information that could be helpful to us? We want to home so bad but are very worried about the LP it a some dammage.. nothing big and the inspector said it looks just fine as the homowner has taken great care of it..
Linda, We have assisted several homeowners in completing their claim and restitution.
I just found out about the 25 year warranty and called LP today. They were quite nice but that’s the easy part. Has anyone finalized the claim and received any monies?
Shane,
You need to call the phone number above. They will tell you what your options are.
Don’t be bullied by the buyer’s inspector. Your listing agent should be able to negotiate an equitable settlement ertaining to this issue i.e., the buyer didn’t expect new siding and paint when they made their offer, thus they should particiapte in the repair/replacement cost to a certain degree.
In the worst cases only about half of the siding was totally failed. You should only be responsible for that which has completely failed, and partially responsible for that which is going to fail eventually.
Can I get lp to compensate me if I bought the house in 2005? the house was built in 1990 and I am now trying to sell it but the inpector wants the lp replaced replaced. I am affraid the cost is going to empty my pockets.
Alex, I believe part of the result of the class action suit was that LP would replace, or compensate for, failed siding for about as long as you own it, but they only replace the material. Labor is up to the homeowner, as well as painting. It’s certainly worth making a call to find out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck!
I heard the class action lawsuit was over by the end of 2002, so can I still make a claim since they have 25 year warranty? I got my lp siding installed in 1994.