Renovation work is some of the most problematic there is, because it's built on top of an existing structure and is often finished with improvised fixes that stray from the standards the law sets out. In some cases the people doing the work simply don't know those standards or the accepted way to do the job. That can create problems ranging from safety risks to dampness or flooring that comes loose.
Other problems come down to the relationship itself between the resident and the contractor. Some contractors disappear a while after finishing the job, leaving the resident with no one to hold responsible for it. Another risk is a contractor working alone, without other tradespeople alongside him: someone skilled in one trade may end up doing work he's far less experienced in himself, just to save money.
A particularly acute problem lies in the contract between the renovator and the resident. Normal construction work comes with a technical specification agreed between the contractor and the resident, and for new construction the law fixes its format.
Renovation work has no such requirement, which leaves the resident exposed to a specification that's vague on the details, for instance saying nothing about the exact materials and products the contractor plans to use.
That gives the contractor enormous latitude on quality. A common example is aluminum windows, where price and quality can vary by hundreds of percent from one manufacturer to the next. Another is a specification that leaves the resident paying well above the going rate for changes that come up mid-project and were never written down in advance.
For all these reasons, and from plenty of cases where residents got burned, we recommend having a home inspection done at the final stage of the renovation, rather than waiting for problems to surface. Every contractor supplying construction work is required to work to the Israeli Standard that applies to that type of work: that's the renovator's real obligation to the resident.
Take flooring as an example.
Many renovation contractors don't know that a flooring standard from March 2003 (Israeli Standard 1555, part 3) requires joints of at least 3 mm between tiles: they should never be laid flush against each other.
The joints exist mainly to let tiles expand and contract without cracking or coming loose, and tile manufacturers themselves void their warranty when tiles are laid touching or with joints under 3 mm.
Another example is dampness caused by missing waterproofing that the standard requires, such as the concealed, sealed concrete beam that belongs under bathroom door thresholds. Contractors unfamiliar with this requirement may build those thresholds without it, letting water seep under the floor into the hallway or other rooms.
None of this means every contractor is careless: plenty are skilled and know the standards well. This article is meant simply to tell residents what to watch for.
The engineers of Arad Bedek Bayit, led by building engineer Ron Arad, whom courts appoint as their own expert on construction defects. The company has been inspecting apartments and buildings since 2001. Engineer Ron Arad · More about the company