Oh boy. I was you, about 8 years ago. We just needed new windows, they were moldy. So we saved up to replace them, casings and all. Turns out, our development was built right in the middle of a huge scandal in this area involving paying off building inspectors, etc, etc. Lucky us! So then the siding came off. No Tyvec wrap. No insulation. No flashing. Lots of mold. So now we add new plywood, wrapping, insulated siding on Day 1. THEN we get to the back of the house. Deck is built with boards parallel to the house instead of perpendicular. Rotted 3 boards deep where it was attached because...no flashing. So now we also need to dig out the rotted wood, displace all the carpenter ants, and repair. Oh! And as a bonus, the sliding door was not attached to the house frame except for one large wad of caulk in one corner. But did we learn? NOPE! We spent 6 years recovering from the unexpected expenses and also grading the lawn/replacing the deck. The lawn sloped -toward the house, so the sump pump ran all the time. I was concerned about damage to the foundation eventually, so we fixed it. What a difference! Then 2 years ago we started in again. The tub chipped, so I decided it had to go because I was afraid of what I'd find under it. Fortunately, the only surprise that project was the sink pipes not actually being fastened together in the wall. It was a miracle we didn't have a waterfall in our kitchen! Speaking of kitchen, we just finished a remodel. Among the choice building techniques we found were rows of test holes for almost every screw in the cabinets trying to find the studs. A spacer above the microwave/vent made of scrap 2x4 and masking tape. Then there was the live wire left dangling in the wall with just some tape on the end, that was special. The other wiring was so convoluted it took a whole morning to figure out what was attached to what and where things went. Luckily, that concludes the major kitchen problems. Let's move on to my current projects. We had to gut the basement and replace all the drywall due to mold. And they used the wrong type of insulation in the basement (the fluffy cotton candy stuff), so that all went and we now have the proper insulation. We had another live wire with tape hidden in the ceiling. None of the outlets or switches were attached to the wall, they were just in boxes dangling on the end of the wires held in place by the faceplates. We had one vent discovered that had been walled over. They also ran out of space in the panel box for power circuits. So what to do with all the electric in the basement? Why, just feed an outlet nearby, then run FOUR leads from there. Code here is 2 max. We at least had a GFI on that outlet, but not on the one used for the sump pump. Plus that GFI also controlled the second floor bath outlet and the box in the kitchen with the outdoor light and under cabinet lights on it. Trust me, that was not easy to figure out! Speaking of wiring, there was also a light box under the drop ceiling. No fixture, I had no idea it was there. But there were 3 wires that connected through there, and one coming out that went over the rim. So you couldn't even attach a fixture if you wanted to! Our GC has never seen anything like it. We had to upgrade the panel box before the kitchen project, so at least now everything we've touched is up to code and on appropriate circuits, GFI, etc. Oh! And the fireplace, which I've been working on while the GC does the basement. The mantel was wider than the hearth, so it had about an inch overhang on each side. Classy! So decided to replace them both. Turns out, the reason the tiles on the side of the hearth looked loose was because they were. They tiled right on the plywood, so most of those side tiles came of with my own hands, no tools. So what's my point? You have an important decision to make. If you think this is original builder incompetence, you need to either jump ship now before the rest of their stuff crumbles (or burns the house down), or decide it's worth staying and save like crazy to make the needed repairs on the way. It may even pay off to find a GC you trust and have him go over everything, and I mean -everything- in detail to see what you can catch early and what to prepare for. For your sake, I hope it was just the tile guy that was horrible. But if the builder didn't catch that, which would have been obvious for days (or lack thereof), I wouldn't hold high hopes. (BTW, all this was on top of normal stuff, like a roof at about 25 years, new furnace after about 27, etc...).

Hi Drj Sorry. Misread this statement. "We considered, a couple of years ago, building in a place with a list of approved builders. It so happened that the lot we were interested in was owned by a particular builder so we had to use him if we decided to build on that lot". I thought you were talking about this house. One thing I don't understand is that if DH went to straighten out a "bunch of other trim issues" how is the TC is doing a good job? The ceiling issue you posted about should have been addressed by him before he cut the first board. I also don't understand the on-the-job training of the siding crew. Is this a shake sided house? How much did that "journey" cost you and is it the beginning of a long journey for you of failing products and voided warrantees? If the builder had spoken to his supplier Nichiha would have wined and dined them for a few days and trained them on how to properly install the products. If you look at the photo posted by worthy it is obvious that people aren't "as fussy". If that were one of my projects the first thing to go would be that stair. Everything about it is wrong. It's disproportionate in every detail and it looks like everything else in the foyer was slapped in there with no rhyme or reason whatsoever. Was that supposed to be a barrel vault ceiling or are they just trying to hide the stair coming into the hallway? The white concrete and the floor are great but are lost in all the commotion. The amount of money you are spending or the perceived "value" of the home compared to others and your distance from the site is irrelevant. Most of the clientele I worked with were usually on different continents altogether as were some of the subs. With the technology and services available today there is no reason why you couldn't get a sample sent to you. If they are using an "epoxy-like" finish it may not be noticeable. The only thing I would be concerned about everything having a plastic or metallic look. Either way you are paying for this work and it is your house. Wanting something done right is not being "fussy".

"My gutters are on the front and back of the house; the window in question is on the side of the house. Does that make a difference?" Yes, that would very likely rule out any difficulty from gutters backing up since the gutters are not on the side of the house, where the window is. Checking the window is a good idea since there is evidence on the wall of water infiltration but you're still left with the difficulty of locating the source. If it were only the wall that had water spotting one could predict it is perhaps a difficlty either with moisture build up or faulty caulking around the window. But since you have a spot on the ceiling seven feet away from the window, that means that fixing faulty caulking probably isn't the total solution. However, water can travel across a ceiling from an outside wall if there were even a very slight slope toward the center of the room. You went to the attic and saw no problem. Was that before the rain came or did you go up during the rain? Were you able to put your eyes on the area around that dormer window that is above the living room? Roof leaks can be challenging to spot if it isn't actually raining (or snow is melting on the roof) at the time you go up to look. Too, if it just a sprinkle of rain outside you may see nothing. Even if it is a downpour of rain, if the wind is blowing the "wrong" way, the roof may not leak at that time. That contributes to the frustration of finding the leak. I had a leak once that only presented in downpours accompanied by a strong NE wind. Same rain with a SW or even SE wind caused no leak in that case. It turned out to be chimney flashing, on the NE side of the house. And it did no damage to the second floor of the house. Only showed up at the base of the fireplace. As has been said, it may turn out not to be the roof at all. Could be the house's siding leaking somewhere above the window. Even brick siding can leak at cracked mortar joints when the wind blows the rain that direction. Keep after it and keep posting - someone is bound to help figure this out!

Steam is not likely to be effective. You would need to heat the contaminated material to high temperature all the way through for an extended period. I don't know how you would do that to this structure. Note that I have no idea what "twin Ts" are.) The bleach will penetrate to a limited degree as well, but my guess it that it will work better than trying to steam it. I am still struggling with your description. Is there any way to post some pictures or do you have any links to similar structures? I am afraid that your best bet might be to just concentrate on humidity control to keep it in check after you make sure there is no water infiltration. Keep in mind that humid air that might be sucked in due to pressure differentials created by the HVAC can cause condensation wherever the hot, moist air first hits a cold surface. A few words on bleach. The concentration of hypochlorite is all over the place for some time now. It used to be a standard 6% by some convention. If you want to use the 5 or 10% figure, you need 6% hypochlorite in the bottle. The flavored varieties, as I like to call them, have a lower concentration so the added scents are not oxidized (degraded) by the bleach. Some shysters even market stuff as "ultra" that have lower concentrations than 6%. It is all a consumer rip-off. If you are in the store and forgot the 6% figure, check a bottle in the store that says "disinfectant bleach" on the label or has an EPA registration and buy the stuff that has the same or higher concentration that is least costly.