Reviews and Comments

“Spring Maintenance for a Worry-Free Summer"
March 29, 2007, ByLaura Rowley, Yahoo! Finance
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“Is Your Home Disaster-Proof?"
May 21, 2006 By Wayne Kalyn, parade Magazine
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“Protect your home in 2006:
A few fast and simple moves each month can bring peace of mind – and help boost your home’s value.”
December 19, 2005 By Kate Ashford, MONEY Magazine staff
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Annual 2007 Builder Survey – Find out how homebuilders are avoiding expensive litigation by using the California Building Performance Guidelines for Residential Construction. click here to view survey

Empire Homes – How one homebuilder uses the California Building Performance Guidelines with their Limited Warranty to satisfy homeowners and guarantee that their homes are built to the highest standards.
click here to view survey

“The California Building Performance Guidelines is provided to our homeowners at purchase and at walkthrough. It is clearly explained that action taken on claims is based on the guidelines in the book. When the action is disputed, homeowners are reminded of the guidelines in the book.” -- J. Smellie, Director of Customer Service, Brookfield Homes.

"The Toll Brothers Warranty Department in Northern California has used the California Building Performance Guidelines for 4 years now, and we have been able to resolve 98% of our customer issues using this book. The book is so thorough and easy to apply that we not only use it with our customers, but we use it as a training manual for our warranty staff as well. They know homebuilding. After all, they wrote the book." -- David Dell, Senior Warranty Manager, Toll Brothers Inc., Northern California

"Signature Properties uses Pacific InterWest Building Consultants, Inc. for architectural peer reviews and 3rd party construction inspections. In addition, we have been using their publication, the California Building Performance Guidelines for Residential Construction for the past 4 years. In all cases we have found their services and publications to be first class." -- Robert Huggins, V.P. of Operations, Signature Properties

"Every New Centex Homes homeowner in California receives a copy of the Maintenance Manual." -- David Barclay, Executive Vice President, West Coast Region, Centex Homes

"The California Building Performance Guidelines for Residential Construction is an easy to follow handbook that outlines the responsibilities for homeowners and builders. It's a pound of prevention for both.” -- Sandy Skipper-Lopez, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, Inc.(HADD).

"Standard Pacific Corp. has bought these books for use by our field personnel and our customer service representatives." -- Michael Cortney, President, Standard Pacific Homes

"Every one of our investigators and our consumer service representatives uses the California Building Performance Guidelines as a valuable reference book." -- Stephen Sands, Registrar of Contractors, Contractors State License Boar.

"Since the passage of SB800, our company provides a copy of the Guidelines Book to each of our new homeowners."  -- Harry Elliott, CEO, Elliott Homes, Inc.

"Brookfield Homes has found the Guidelines Book to be very helpful to put our homeowner expectations on a level playing field." -- Stephen Doyle, President, San Diego / Riverside Division, Brookfield Homes

"...the California Building Performance Guidelines is a very valuable, informative, and useful publication for the Homeowners Association and the homeowner." --Tyler Berding, consumer attorney and President of ECHO

Book Review: A Guide to Maintaining your house, from A to Z
By Tinah Saunders
The Atlanta Journal – Constitution
8/13/04

Whether buying a first home or your fifth, The National Home Maintenance Manual, published by MacLellan Wolfson Associates, is a book every homeowner should have in their home library. Written by and architect and a  home builder/engineer, the book is a guide to how homes are built and to maintain and repair them, beginning with the foundation, topping out at the roof and finishing with landscaping and grading of the grounds. It unravels the mysteries of owning a home: what can go wrong: what to worry about: how to fix it: and when to call in experts. At the back of the manual is a schedule of maintenance for everything from the air conditioner to stucco and trim. One column gives the purpose for checking the item, another the number of times per year to check, and a third the level of difficulty. A glossary of terms such as “lathe,” “fascia” and “efflorescence” helps you communicate with contractors and repairmen. The National Home Maintenance Manual is available online at www.housefixit.com.

Two good guides to buying, maintaining homes
By Richard Paoli
SFGate.com
12/14/03

…I have another book to recommend. The National Home Maintenance Manual is another how-to book, the result of the construction defect lawsuits that have plagued California builders. The authors, David MacLellan and George Wolfson, are principals in Walnut Creek construction industry consulting firm that bears their names.

“The book came about as a result of a Senate Bill 800, which went into effect Jan.1”, said MacLellan. SB 800, which did not end the lawsuits, but did, however, define whether builders have a liability to repair damage to a home that has not been properly maintained. “We felt that creating this book would help those homeowners looking for information on maintenance,” MacLellan said.

Whether you’re buying a brand new house or taking possession of a 50-year-old fixer upper, this book belongs in the garage next to the tools.

Is your work sloppy or up to snuff?
By John Schneider
Contra Costa Times
6/16/03

…there is a unique reference tool listing standards for workmanship that is now available to contractors and consumers. A newly published manual has finally accomplished the task of gathering and compiling many of the acceptable standards of workmanship from various trade and builder organizations, and put them into a single document. The document is called the California Building Performance Guidelines Manual for Residential Construction, and presents a major breakthrough for deciding on questions of workmanship.

…Finally, there is a single resource establishing acceptable standards and guidelines builders and contractors are expected to perform to, while making the information accessible for the consumer to reference and review. In addition to listing workmanship and performance guidelines, the manual also lists the "10 Most Common Mistakes made by New Home Owners", a Glossary of Terms, Maintenance Alerts for the Homeowner (discussing homeowner responsibilities to keep their builder's warranty in tact), and illustrations and information discussing essential home maintenance.

Anyone working in the construction industry or who owns a home, townhouse, or condo that was built in the last 10 years, and anyone interested in practical home maintenance advice, can benefit from the information detailed in this manual.

In fact, the Contractors State License Board (CSLM) was so impressed with the California Building Performance Guidelines for Residential Construction, that it is providing a copy to every deputy investigator and administrative law judge in their organization. The manual also has the support of major builders in California, many of whom are offering it to their buyers as part of the purchase.