Roofing
Roofing is a frequent defect allegation. Claims often include one or more of the following:

• Overexposure of roofing shingle or tile to weather. Production roofers usually make the field equal from eave to ridge without cutting, stretching the courses a little, if necessary, to make it even. Occasionally, the tiles or shingles are stretched to a point where the underlayment is exposed at the joints due to insufficient lap.
• Penetrations through flashing, or flashing that does not extend high enough.
• Water intrusion at plumbing and other utility penetrations.
• Improperly configured valleys. Open valleys are required to be larger at the bottom than at the top so that they will not have a tendency to trap debris.
• Shingles at the eaves failing to project beyond the edge of the roof framing. Many concrete shingles shave a drip lip to reduce the water curl as it is discharged from the roof. The more metal transition and drip flashing that can be incorporated in the installation, the better, including gutters. These are not mandatory; however, in defect investigation, wood damage is often seen from poor eave performance and is shown as the standard of care that the builder used in construction.
• Insufficient penetration of fasteners. In cement fiber shingle construction, many installations have not used a staple that fully penetrates the sheathing, or a minimum of 3⁄4". The result is that high winds may lift off large sections of the shingles.
• Failure to install an upslope cricket in skylights over 30" in width. The skylight curb must be high enough to support this cricket with a minimum of 51⁄2" curb height. The cricket rule also applies to chimneys over 30".
• Failure to use pressure-treated wood for sleepers and nailers under roofing shingles. The sleepers and nailers should be in 4' lengths with spacing to allow water to drain off of the underlayment.

Siding
Two of the most common siding defects are: (1) the wood material is not backprimed prior to installation, and (2) the siding does not terminate far enough above the surrounding grade. The absence of an air gap between the wood framing/siding assembly and paving or soil is the defect that causes the greatest damage. This is because it does not really show up until the wood fails, which takes about five years. Mold odor will occur in the living space, but the source is not easily detectable. The mold and fungal attack creates an unhealthy air quality inside the building. When the damage is discovered, it usually is a very expensive changeout.