Construction consulting services in Montana
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. Our aim is accurate, organized information and a balanced, educated opinion for fair resolution.
Bozeman, Big Sky, Whitefish, and across Montana
We take construction defect and expert witness matters anywhere in Montana: Bozeman and Big Sky, Missoula, Whitefish and the Flathead Valley, Billings, Helena, Great Falls, and Butte. In mountain resort communities, snow and ice set the conditions that roofs, decks, and waterproofing must meet.
Montana adopts its building codes statewide. The 2024 International Building Code and International Residential Code took effect for the state program on September 26, 2026, replacing the 2021 editions in force since June 2022. A building is generally judged against the code in force when it was permitted, so identifying that edition is an early step in any code compliance review.
Snow loads are determined by the building official. In certified cities and counties, the local building official provides them; elsewhere, Montana’s building codes program bases design snow loads on ASCE 7 ground snow loads, looked up with ASCE’s Hazard Tool. Montana law sets a minimum design roof snow load of 30 pounds per square foot after allowed reductions. The values that applied to an older building depend on when and where it was permitted.
Timing rules in Montana defect matters
In 2025 the Montana Legislature shortened the statute of repose for most damages actions arising from the design or construction of an improvement to real property (actions on written contracts are excluded) from 10 years to six years after completion. An action for an injury that occurs in the sixth year may be brought within one year of the injury (Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-208). The same bill shortened the period for actions on written contracts from eight years to six (§ 27-2-202).
For claims about a house or condominium unit, a claimant generally must serve written notice of the claim on the construction professional before filing. The professional then has 21 days to respond, which may include proposing an inspection, offering a settlement, or disputing the claim (Mont. Code Ann. § 70-19-427).
Snow and ice damage often surfaces a season or more after it starts, so these shorter periods make early documentation more important. This is general information, not legal advice; counsel determines how these rules apply, including to projects completed before the 2025 change.
Snow country and high alpine construction
Montana buildings face long winters, deep snow, and repeated freezing and thawing. Snow load stresses roof framing and overhangs. Snow sliding off steep roofs can damage decks, railings, and lower roofs, and drifts can bury vents and wall assemblies.
Ice dams form when heat escaping through a roof melts snow that refreezes at the colder eaves. The trapped water backs up under roofing and flashing and into walls and ceilings. Insulation, ventilation, and eave flashing all play a part in preventing them. Freeze-thaw cycles also break down concrete, masonry, and sealants as absorbed water expands.
We are snow country building specialists, and Gregg de Haan specializes in high alpine waterproofing, roofing, and general construction. He also specializes in plan reviews as they relate to waterproofing above and below grade. Roofing and waterproofing in these conditions must be detailed for snow, ice, and meltwater from the start.
- Snow load on roof framing and overhangs
- Ice dams at eaves, valleys, and roof transitions
- Freeze-thaw damage to concrete, masonry, and sealants
- Snow shedding onto decks, railings, and lower roofs
- Spring meltwater at foundations and below-grade walls
Systems we examine in Montana buildings
Our investigative specialties cover the assemblies cold climates test hardest. These include roofing and sheet metal, decks, windows and doors with product and installation water testing, concrete, masonry, subgrade waterproofing, and site drainage. Each is exposed to snow, ice, and meltwater in ways that milder climates rarely test.
Many cold-climate failures appear only after a winter or during spring melt. Investigation is often timed to see a roof or deck under winter conditions or just after the melt. Our field personnel identify and document defects promptly, and our photo and video documentation records conditions as found.
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.
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 analysis.
We generate comprehensive field reports, photo documentation, conceptual repair scopes, and cost estimates promptly. We use camera and video documentation techniques to provide trial-ready exhibits. We also perform change order, project cost, and RFI analysis for litigation purposes.
Gregg de Haan leads field investigations, gathers field data, and prepares field testing data for trial. He also specializes in preparing repair scopes, cost estimates, and complex defect reports. Counsel determines which Montana requirements apply to a given matter.