Performance Standards for Quality Control
Below are Observations, Performance Standards and Corrective Measures for most building construction projects
Performance Standard: Exterior doors shall not warp to the extent that they become inoperable, cease to be weather-resistant, or exceed National Wood Window and Door Association Standards of 1/4 inch measured diagonally from comer to comer.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will correct or replace and refinish defective doors during the warranty period.
Discussion: Exterior doors will warp to some degree because of the difference in the temperature between inside and outside surfaces. Warping may also be caused by improper or incomplete finishing the door, including sides, top, and bottom.
Performance Standard: Split panels shall not allow light to be visible through the door.
Corrective Measure: If light is visible, the remodeler will fill the split panel and match paint or stain as closely as practical once during the warranty period.
Performance Standard: Exterior doors shall operate smoothly, except that wooden exterior doors may stick during occasional periods of high humidity.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will adjust or replace the door to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: Exterior doors shall shut completely.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will adjust or replace the door to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: Exterior doors shall not swing open or closed by the force of gravity alone. This standard does not apply where a new door is installed in an existing wall that is out of plumb.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will adjust the door to prevent it from swinging open or closed by the force of gravity.
Performance Standard: Garage doors shall operate properly.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will correct or adjust garage doors as required, except where the owner’s actions or negligence caused the problem.
Performance Standard: Garage doors shall be installed as recommended by the manufacturer. Some snow or water can be expected to enter under unusual conditions.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will adjust or correct garage doors to meet the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Performance Standard: Bi-fold doors shall slide properly on their tracks at the time the job is accepted. Operating and maintenance necessary to preserve proper operation are an owner’s responsibility.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will repair any bi-fold door that will not stay on its track during normal operation if the defect is noted prior to acceptance of the job.
Discussion: Proper operation should be verified by the owner and the remodeler at the time the job is accepted.
Performance Standard: Doors shall operate smoothly, and door latches shall operate correctly.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will repair the door and the door latch as necessary to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: Doors shall not drag on carpet.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will repair the door to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: Where the remodeler installs the door frame and the door, the door edge shall be within 1/4 inch of parallel to the door jamb. Where the remodeler installs the door in an existing frame that is out of square, the standard does not apply.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will adjust the door as necessary to meet the standard.
Performance Standard: Minor cracks in concrete basement floors are normal. Cracks exceeding 3/16 inch in width or 1/8 inch in vertical displacement shall be repaired.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will repair cracks exceeding the performance standard by surface patching or other methods as necessary.
Performance Standard: Cracks that rupture the finished flooring material shall be repaired.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will repair cracks, as necessary, so they are not readily apparent when the finished flooring material is in place.
Performance Standard: Stoops and steps shall not settle, heave, or separate in excess of 1 inch from the house structure.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will take whatever corrective action is required to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: Water shall drain off outdoor stoops and steps. Minor amounts of water can be expected to remain on stoops and steps for a short time after a rain.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will take corrective action to assure proper drainage of stoops and steps
Performance Standard: Holes larger than 1 inch in diameter or 1 inch in depth are unacceptable. Rough areas of exposed aggregate 16 inches square or greater are unacceptable. Corrective Measure: The remodeler will fill defects that exceed the standard with a cement, fine sand, water, and latex mixture, or a premixed compound of equal quality. The ratio of cement to fine sand should be 1:2.
Discussion: Structural properties of basements supersede the aesthetic properties since basements are not finished spaces. Bubbles and rough areas not affecting structural performance need dressing up only when they are large and obvious. For further details on repair methods
Performance Standard: Cracks in basement walls shall not exceed 1 /8inch in width or in vertical displacement. Corrective Measure: Cracks that exceed the performance standard will be thoroughly cleaned, filled, and troweled level with a latex-fortified cement mixture or other material designed to fill cracks and bond concrete.
Performance Standard: Cracks in garage slabs shall not exceed ¼ inch in width or in vertical displacement.
Corrective Measure: Cracks that exceed the performance standard will be cleaned thoroughly and filled and troweled level with a latex-fortified cement mixture or other material designed to fill cracks and bond concrete.
Performance Standard: The garage floor shall not settle, heave, or separate in excess of 1 inch from the structure.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will take whatever corrective action is required to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: Except for basement floors or where a floor or portion of floor has been designed for specific drainage purposes, concrete floors in rooms designed for habitability shall not have pits, depressions, or areas of unevenness exceeding 1/4 inch in 32 inches. Corrective Measure: The remodeler will correct or repair the floor to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: Concrete surfaces shall not disintegrate to the extent that the aggregate is exposed and loosened under normal conditions of weathering and use.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will take whatever corrective measures are necessary to repair or replace defective concrete surfaces. The remodeler is not responsible for deterioration caused by salt, chemicals, mechanical implements, and other factors beyond the remodeler’s control.
Performance Standard: Cracks in slab-on-grade floors shall not exceed 1/16 inch in width or in vertical displacement.
Corrective Measure: Cracks that exceed the performance standard shall be thoroughly cleaned, filled, and troweled level using a latex fortified cement mixture or other material designed to fill cracks and bond concrete.
Discussion: Cracks may be caused by settlement, soil expansion, concentrated loading, penetrations, drying shrinkage, or temperature changes. Drying shrinkage takes place as concrete sets. The amount of shrinkage depends on the amount of water the concrete holds at the time, the cement content, the type and amount of mixture, and the type and source of the aggregate.
Performance Standard: Cracks in concrete block basement walls shall not exceed 1/8 inch in width.
Corrective Measure: Cracks that exceed the performance standard will be thoroughly cleaned, filled, and troweled level using a latex-fortified cement mixture or other material designed to fill cracks and bond concrete.
Discussion: Minor cracks in concrete masonry are often caused by settling of the building. These cracks are not of a structural nature.
Performance Standard: Floors shall not have more than a 1/4 inch ridge or depression within any 32-inch measurement when measured parallel to the joists. Allowable floor and ceiling joist deflections are governed by the local approved building code.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will correct or repair to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: The diagonal of a triangle with sides of 12 feet and 16 feet along the edges of the floor shall be no more than 1/2 inch more nor less than 20 feet, unless the owner and the remodeler agree to build a wood floor out of square in order to match or otherwise compensate for preexisting conditions.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will make the necessary modifications to any floor not complying with the performance standard for squareness to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: No point on the surface of a wood floor shall be more than 1/2 inch higher or lower than any other point on the surface within 20 feet, or proportional multiples of the preceding dimensions, unless the owner and the remodeler agree to build a wood floor out of level in order to match or otherwise compensate for preexisting conditions.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will make the necessary modifications to any floor not complying with the performance standard for levelness to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: At the time the job is accepted, splits, warps, and cups in wood decking boards shall not exceed the allowances established by the official grading rules issued by the agency responsible for the lumber species used for the deck boards, including but not limited to Southern Pine Inspection Bureau, Western Wood Products Association, West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau, Redwood Inspection Service, and Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will replace decking boards as necessary to meet the performance standard.
Performance Standard: Nail heads shall not protrude from the floor of the wood deck during the warranty period.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will refasten nails with heads protruding from the floor of the deck so that the heads are flush with the surface.
Discussion: Nails should be driven flush when the deck is installed, but they may pop from the deck over time as the wood shrinks and expands.
Performance Standard: Beams and posts, especially those 3 1/2 inches or greater in thickness (which normally are not kiln dried) will sometimes split as they dry subsequent to construction. Such splitting is usually not a structural concern if posts and beams have been sized according to National Forest Products Association span tables. Unfilled splits exceeding 1/4 inch in width, and all splits exceeding 3/8 inch in width, are unacceptable.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will repair or replace any beam or post with a defect exceeding the standard. Filling splits is acceptable for widths up to 3/8 inch.
Discussion: Some characteristics of drying wood are beyond the control of the remodeler and cannot be prevented. Compensation is made in span tables for the probable reduction in strength resulting from splitting caused by drying. Therefore, splitting is primarily an aesthetic concern rather than a structural problem. “Checks and splits which occur during the drying of lumber have the effect of reducing the area in the plane of shear resistance. Consequently, laboratory data developed for shear parallel to grain are reduced substantially for design purposes in order to accommodate the probability of the occurrence of checks and splits after drying.
Performance Standard: Beams and posts, especially those 31/2 inches or greater in thickness (which normally are not kiln dried) will sometimes twist or bow as they dry subsequent to construction. Twisting or bowing are usually not a structural concern if posts and beams have been sized according to National Forest Products Association span tables.4 Bows and twists exceeding 3/4 inch in 8 feet are unacceptable.
Corrective Measure: The remodeler will repair or replace any beam or post with a defect exceeding the standard.
