By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
We purchased a 1986 house, and our home inspector found fogginess at three of the dual pane windows. He determined that the seals were leaking, and the sellers paid to have the faulty windows replaced. What the inspector failed to discover, however, is that eight other windows were also clouded. So we now have to bear the major expense of replacing those windows. Is the home inspector liable for this expense?
- Mason
Dear Mason,
Home inspector liability varies from one state to the next and in some areas of the country is limited to a mere refund of the inspection fee. Therefore, you'll have to seek legal advice in that regard. In the meantime, you should notify the inspector of the newly discovered defects and invite him to re-inspect the windows and respond to your concerns.
Dual pane windows manufactured in the '80s are notorious for leaking seals. Experienced home inspectors are aware of this and will generally recommend a professional review of all dual pane windows whenever even one shows signs of having leaked. Residual water stains between dual panes are sometimes very faint, and the observability of watermarks can vary according to atmospheric conditions and variations in lighting. For this reason, a prudent inspector will not assume that problems involving leaking seals have only occurred at windows where stains are visible at the time of the inspection.
The window industry of the 1980s had not perfected dual pane seals to the extent that was finally achieved during the '90s. The costs of product liability claims forced them to develop better materials and methods for sealing the glass edges. Many companies now offer lifetime warranties on newly manufactured dual pane windows. But with older windows such as yours, the cost of replacement is the responsibility of the property owner. This is why home inspectors should be particularly careful when specifying which windows have leaked and which have not.
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