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Problems undermine Hopkinton subdivision By Walter V. Robinson and Matt Carroll, Globe Staff, 4/29/01
WEB-ONLY
LATER PARTS
WBZ-TV reporter Ron Sanders and photographer Tom Rehkamp joined in the Globe investigation. Watch their reports on RealVideo.
PART ONE
The Globe Spotlight Team would like to hear from readers willing to share their experiences -- or thoughts -- about new home construction. The Spotlight telephone number is (617) 929-3208. Confidential messages about new home construction and other issues can also be left at (617) 929-7483. You can email Spotlight at spotlight@globe.com.
Toll Brothers' subcontractors used sodden lumber upstairs that may cause walls and ceilings to crack once they dry out. A snowpile melting in the second-floor hall for much of the winter damaged the flooring and the structure below. Out of sight, in a far corner of the attic, is a roof section that lacks required truss supports. And some of the indoor carrying beams were resting on flimsy 2-by-4-foot studs.
That's not all. The exterior walls were not properly anchored to the foundation. The Globe found evidence that Toll's brick subcontractor took shortcuts that make moisture damage to interior walls likely.
The Spotlight Team's findings of similar problems at two other homes in the Hopkinton Highlands subdivision, at 34 and 64 Greenwood Road, contradict Toll Brothers' claims about the high quality of its luxury homes and the reliability of the system it uses to monitor its subcontractors.
All three homes ''have serious building code, energy efficiency, and safety violations,'' said Walter Blair Adams, a Wellesley architect and building code expert hired by the Globe to inspect the buildings.
In a letter to the Globe, the company said the newspaper's findings are ''riddled with inaccuracies'' and contain ''unsupportable assertions.'' Toll refused to provide any specific information.
Hopkinton Building Inspector Richard J. Bowker, in an interview on Friday, called Toll's workmanship ''half-assed'' compared to other Hopkinton home builders. Recently, he said, he ordered Toll to rebuild a chimney that was too short, in violation of the code.
As Toll's subcontractors came and went while the homes took shape over the last several months, so too did the Spotlight Team, Adams, other construction experts, and a team from WBZ-TV, Channel 4.
During lengthy visits, both news organizations made extensive video recordings of the structural problems identified by Adams, who prepared a detailed report.
This was not Adams' first exposure to a Toll home with problems. In a case involving a Franklin home that had so many defects that Toll recently repurchased it, Adams did a detailed study for the homeowners.
Like the problems at 48 Greenwood, many problems at 64 Greenwood are now walled in, including wood framing and rafters built flush against an interior chimney. The state building code requires a separation for safety reasons.
Some of the most serious problems, however, are at 34 Greenwood Road, although correcting some of them will be easier because the inside of the house remains unfinished.
But Adams, who was building commissioner in Newton for 10 years, found one major problem at 34 Greenwood that may be difficult to resolve. When he first visited the house, Adams was struck by the disproportionately high number of windows, and expressed concern that the house might not have sufficient insulation to meet the state energy code.
Toll was required to file documents with the town proving that each of the 72 houses in the development met the energy code. Based on Toll's filings, the three homes monitored by Adams do meet the code, although just barely.
But Adams discovered that the energy plans submitted by Toll do not match the specifications on their building plans for the three homes. To be certain, Adams compared the Toll plans to the actual buildings during a visit last weekend.
For example, Toll's documents claiming that 34 Greenwood Road meets energy-efficiency standards show the house has 666 square feet of windows and glass doors. Glass has much less insulating value than walls. But in fact, the actual square footage is 876. Toll also claimed that the house has a furnace with an efficiency rating of 90. In fact, it has a less efficient boiler with a lower rating - 85.
The house at 34 Greenwood, Adams said, fails - by a wide margin - to meet the energy code's minimum standards. The other two houses also fail, but by small margins.
In a statement faxed to the Globe on Friday, a Toll attorney, Michael Araten, asserted that all the occupied homes in the development meet the energy code, and that the three homes studied by Adams will meet the code.
The Spotlight Team, Adams, and the other experts also found substantial evidence that the brick fronts at all three homes were built improperly, and in violation of code.
During a February visit, a masonry crew was observed mortaring brick directly to one of the house's felt-covered wood sheathing, even though Toll's practice, and the industry standard, is to leave a one-inch airspace behind the brick for drainage.
Last Tuesday, Mark DiBiasie, Toll's construction manager for the subdivision, stood with Globe and WBZ-TV reporters in front of 48 Greenwood Road. Asked about the brickwork, DiBiasie said there should be a one-inch drainage cavity behind the brick.
Asked about drainage weepholes above rectangular windows and doors, which state code requires, DiBiasie said they should be there. But when it became apparent there were none, he grew silent and ended the conversation shortly thereafter.
A more detailed account of the substandard brickwork at Hopkinton Highlands will appear in Part 3 of this series.
This story ran on page A27 of the Boston Globe on 4/29/2001.
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© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Co. |
OPKINTON - When the work crew installed wallboard in the spacious rooms at 48 Greenwood Road last week, they unwittingly sealed off from view potentially serious construction defects that are likely to plague the family that moves into the home.
The homes 'have