Reversed Weather Barrier, Eleven Months Later
Eleven months after substantial completion of a 200-unit multifamily project, the owner reports water intrusion at 14 north-facing units. Your weekly observation reports from the previous winter noted reversed weather-barrier laps at those exact bays, and the contractor's own QC log recorded the same condition. You issued an observation report to both parties; the contractor responded in writing, 'will correct prior to cladding,' and cladding went up two weeks later with no correction. Your construction contract administration scope was weekly visits with no full-time presence. The General Conditions state that site visits are not exhaustive and that the contractor is solely responsible for means, methods, and quality of work.
1. Assess the architect's position. Did the observation scope and the General Conditions language fully protect the architect here?
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Mostly, but not fully - and the difference is the whole case.
What protects you: you were periodic, not full-time; the General Conditions expressly disclaim exhaustive observation and place quality on the contractor; you found the defect, reported it contemporaneously to both parties, and have the contractor's written promise to correct. That is a strong record on the standard of care. You cannot be the contractor's inspector.
What does not fully protect you: the contractor's written reply created a known, specific, unresolved item. A reasonable architect receiving 'will correct prior to cladding' for a life-of-building water barrier would either re-observe that bay before or shortly after cladding, or request photographic confirmation of correction. Doing neither leaves an argument that you knew of a concealed defect, accepted a promise as performance, and closed the item without verification. That is a narrower and more contestable question than 'you missed it' - but it is a real one.
The General Conditions shift responsibility; they do not eliminate a follow-up duty on an item you flagged and then dropped. Notify your professional liability carrier now, in writing, and do not characterize fault in any correspondence.
2. What are your immediate actions in the first two weeks?
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Sequence matters - evidence first, opinions later.
- Preserve the file. Observation reports, the contractor's reply, QC logs, RFIs, submittals, the WRB manufacturer's installation instructions, photos, and daily reports. Do not edit or supplement reports.
- Notify your carrier and retain counsel if the owner or contractor signals a claim. Written notice is cheap; late notice can void coverage.
- Inspect jointly - owner, contractor, WRB manufacturer's representative, and you. Open a representative bay (destructive testing at one or two locations) to confirm the lap condition and whether water entry is from the WRB, a flashing detail, or a window installation.
- Put the contractor on written notice to correct under the warranty, with a deadline and a requirement for a correction plan and manufacturer's concurrence on the repair detail.
- Do not issue a repair design for free and do not admit liability. If remedial design is needed, scope it as additional service with a written agreement.
- Tell the owner what you know and do not know in one factual letter. Silence reads as concealment.
3. The owner wants to know how to prevent this on the next project. What changes to the CA scope would you recommend, grounded in what happened here?
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Everything here traces to one structural weakness: a known defect was closed by a promise rather than by verification. Fix that, not the observation frequency.
- Hold points. Designate enclosure of the weather barrier as a hold point: no cladding until the architect or envelope consultant signs off. Make it a contract requirement, not a courtesy.
- Mock-up first. A full-scale wall mock-up with the WRB, flashing, and a window, tested before any production work, surfaces lap-direction errors while they cost hundreds rather than millions.
- Close the loop by procedure. Any observation item that the contractor promises to correct gets a follow-up observation or documented photographic confirmation before it can be closed in the log. No exceptions for 'we'll handle it.'
- Targeted presence, not full-time. Add a third-party envelope consultant for enclosure phases. The Owner gets expertise at the moment of risk rather than a presence multiplier.
- Report language. End observation reports with what you will do next: 'we will re-observe upon the contractor's notice that correction is complete.' It converts a report into a live obligation.
- Fee for the follow-up. Scope re-observation as a defined service so it is funded rather than skipped.