Construction consulting services in Arizona
de Haan & Associates is a full-service forensic construction consulting firm providing investigation, research, and litigation services for the construction industry. We are retained by attorneys, insurance carriers, building owners, homeowner associations, and contractors in California, Arizona, and Montana.
Our expert witness experience includes universities, school districts, casinos, condominium associations, vacation resorts, single-family homes, commercial buildings, and restaurants. We are experienced in inspections of schools, commercial buildings, multi-residential buildings, and single-family homes.
The firm is founded on two basic concepts, industry experience and integrity. We provide expert witness services for settlement conferences, mediations, arbitrations, depositions, and trial. Gregg de Haan leads field investigations, gathers field data, and attends expert meetings, mediations, and arbitrations.
Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, and across Arizona
We take construction defect and expert witness matters anywhere in Arizona: the Phoenix area, including Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, and Glendale; Tucson and southern Arizona; and Flagstaff, Prescott, and the high country.
Gregg de Haan holds an Arizona KB-1 Dual Building Contractor license, ROC341972, issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. A dual license covers both residential and commercial building work.
Arizona has no general statewide building code. Cities, towns, and counties adopt and amend their own, usually based on the International Code Council’s model codes, so the code that governed a building depends on where and when it was permitted. Identifying that code is an early step in any code compliance review.
Timing rules in Arizona defect matters
Arizona’s statute of repose generally bars contract and implied warranty actions against those who designed or built an improvement to real property more than eight years after substantial completion. If the property is injured, or a latent defect is discovered, in the eighth year, an action may be brought within one year after that, but not more than nine years after substantial completion (A.R.S. § 12-552).
For homes, Arizona’s Purchaser Dwelling Actions statutes require the buyer to give the seller written notice of each claimed defect, by certified mail, before filing. The buyer must make the home available for inspection within 10 days of the seller’s request, and the seller has 60 days from receiving the notice to respond, which may include an offer to repair, replace, or pay (A.R.S. § 12-1363).
Both rules turn on dates and documented conditions, so early documentation matters. Shorter statutes of limitations can end a claim sooner. This is general information, not legal advice; counsel determines how these rules apply to a particular matter.
Building in a desert climate
Arizona’s climate is hard on buildings in ways that differ from coastal construction. Extreme heat and intense UV exposure age roofing membranes, sealants, and coatings. Wide daily temperature swings drive repeated expansion and contraction in roofs, walls, and flatwork. Dark roofing and west-facing walls take the most exposure.
Monsoon storms can deliver heavy, wind-driven rain in a short period, testing roof drainage, parapets, windows, and site grading. Expansive clay soils in some areas swell when wet and shrink as they dry. That movement can crack slabs, foundations, and flatwork and open gaps in exterior finishes.
Higher elevations in the state also see snow and freezing temperatures. Roofs and decks there face snow loads and freeze-thaw cycles that desert construction does not. We are snow country building specialists, and Gregg de Haan specializes in high alpine waterproofing, roofing, and general construction.
- Heat and UV aging of roofing, sealants, and coatings
- Thermal movement at joints and transitions
- Monsoon rain at roofs, parapets, and windows
- Expansive soils under slabs and flatwork
- Cement plaster cracking and moisture entry
Systems we examine in Arizona buildings
Our investigative specialties include cement plaster and siding, roofing and sheet metal, and windows and doors with product and installation water testing. They also include site drainage, concrete, masonry, decks, and mechanical/plumbing systems. Those are the assemblies desert conditions tend to affect most.
Our associates are active in the building trades and familiar with current building materials. Products suited to milder climates can fail early under sustained desert heat. If materials are found to have manufacturing defects, we are aligned with several laboratories that test and analyze product failure.
We also take field samples to store at our office in case they are needed at trial. Heat and sun can change exposed materials quickly, so preserved samples capture their condition at the time of the investigation. Those samples remain available if the building must be repaired before a matter is resolved.
Research, reports, and testimony
Our associates are educated on past and current building codes and on current and past building product performance testing. We perform plan and detail analysis for constructability and for code compliance. A library of present and past product literature and testing data supports that work.
We perform comprehensive change order, project cost, and RFI analysis for litigation purposes. We use camera and video documentation techniques to provide trial-ready exhibits. We generate comprehensive field reports, photo documentation, conceptual repair scopes, and cost estimates promptly.
Gregg de Haan specializes in preparing repair scopes, cost estimates, and complex defect reports. Counsel determines which Arizona requirements apply to a given matter. Our aim is accurate, organized information and a balanced, educated opinion for fair resolution.