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Updated over 4 years ago on . Most recent reply
Bowed Wall on New Construction Property
I'm trying to understand how much of a concern a bowed wall should be in a new construction property and if my agent and property manager (same person) should have raised an issue with the builder about it. My agent did a walk through before closing and did not mention the bowed wall to the builder (or notice it?). During the tenant walk through, the tenant mentioned the bowed wall to the PM/agent, but the property manager did not mention it to me or the builder. Once I was able to visit the property (it's an OOS rental), I saw the bowed wall and immediately put in a service request to the builder. Due to timing constraints on the tenant side, we decided to wait until after the new year to get it fixed.
Turns out that the bowed wall was caused by the water supply line coming in too close to the wall so the framer had to push out the frame as much as he could to avoid the supply line. This is what caused the bowed wall. Unfortunately, the water line was still too close to the wall and a nail hit it when the dry wall was put up. After a few months the pipe started leaking (this is behind the wall) and now there is some pretty extensive damage to the walls around the pipe, wood floors, and baseboards.
All this could have been avoided if the bowed wall was fixed prior to close. So I'm just wondering if a bowed wall usually signifies bigger issues or if it's usually just a cosmetic issue that isn't worth the time to get fixed or follow-up on.