Framing insurance built for new construction.

How long a California framing job can come back

Completed operations claims on framing rarely arrive the year you finish. In California, two separate 10-year limits apply to different kinds of claims, and both run from substantial completion.

• Code of Civil Procedure 337.15: no action for a latent deficiency (one "not apparent by reasonable inspection") may be brought more than 10 years after substantial completion against anyone who built, designed or supervised the improvement. It counts indemnity actions too, so a builder's indemnity claim against a trade falls under the same limit.
• When the clock starts: under 337.15, substantial completion is measured separately for each trade, and it is no later than the earliest of final inspection, a recorded notice of completion, use or occupancy, or one year after your work stops.
• Not covered by the limit: 337.15 does not apply to willful misconduct or fraudulent concealment.
• Civil Code 941: for claims under the Right to Repair Act, the limit is 10 years after substantial completion, and it includes indemnity actions against those who performed or furnished the services or materials. Section 941 says 337.15 does not apply to actions under the Act, and repairs made through the Act's prelitigation process generally do not extend the filing period, apart from the tolling in Section 927.

What to do with this: for every job, keep the date your framing was finished, the final inspection or notice of completion, and your contract and subcontract. When you change carriers or close the business, ask how claims from past work would be handled, since a defect claim can arrive years after the job. Keep copies of every policy you have carried, too. Owners and builders insure the structure itself during construction through builder's risk.

When the builder gets a defect notice

Before a homeowner sues under the Act, Civil Code 910 requires written notice to the builder, by certified mail, overnight mail or personal delivery, describing the claim and, to the extent known, its location. What follows runs on short deadlines, and a framer can be pulled in quickly.

1. 14 days to acknowledge: the builder must acknowledge the notice in writing within 14 days of receiving it (Section 913).
2. 14 days to inspect: if the builder chooses to inspect, it must finish the initial inspection and testing within 14 days after that acknowledgment, pay for it, and give written proof of liability insurance for the testing (Section 916). A second inspection needs written reasons within 3 days after the first and must be finished within 40 days of it.
3. Notice to subs: if the builder intends to hold a subcontractor responsible, it must notify that sub in advance so it can attend the initial (or second) inspection and take part in the repair (Section 916).
4. 30 days to offer a repair: within 30 days of the initial or, if requested, second inspection, the builder may offer in writing to repair. The offer must name the contractors doing the work, with their addresses, phone numbers and license numbers, and those contractors must be fully insured for, and responsible for, damage or injury they cause (Section 917).

If a builder's notice reaches you, send it to your insurer right away and don't agree to repairs or pay anything before the carrier responds. If you are named to do repair work, expect to show proof of insurance, so keep your certificate current. The rest of a contractor's program is laid out on our contractor insurance page.