Suspicious work by contractor

Q. We hired a contractor to build our new home, but now we're questioning the quality of his work. After the building inspector signed off on the framing, the contractor removed some of the two-by-four studs, saying they were installed too close together. He is about to cover the walls in Sheetrock, which will conceal what he has done. We told him he had altered what had been approved by the city inspector, but he said this is not a problem. We instructed him to stop the work until we checked this out, which made him pretty mad. What do you think of this?

A. You were smart to have the contractor hold off before installing Sheetrock. What he is doing is unusual and highly suspect because he had the building department approve something different that what he has actually produced.

Even if the two-by-four wall studs are closer together than required, it is not a code violation to have more studs than necessary. Therefore, there was no reason to remove framing members. On the other hand, it is possible for framing members to be too far apart. If that is now the case, since he removed some of the studs, that would indeed by a code violation and could weaken the structure of the building.

The building department should be asked to reinspect changes the builder has made before allowing him to proceed with the work. If the building department finds he violated code by removing the studs, you should terminate his involvement in the project and find a more reputable person to complete the construction. If this contractor continues with the construction, you should hire an experienced home inspector to review each phase of the work, as it continues.

Q. When we bought our home last year, it was inspected by a home inspector, and that included the fireplace. The first time we lit a fire, the house filled with smoke, so we called a chimney sweep. He looked up the chimney and discovered the flue pipe was not connected to the top of the fireplace, which allowed smoke to escape through the gap and into our house. To repair this, the wall must be cut open, which will be very expensive. Should our home inspector have seen this problem, and do we have recourse?

A. Your home inspector is liable for defects that were visible and accessible at the time of the inspection. If the chimney sweep was able to see the separation simply by looking up the chimney, then your inspector should probably have seen it as well and should take some responsibility for the cost of repair. If the cost is high, he should file a claim on his errors and omissions insurance, assuming he has insurance. You should contact your inspector immediately and request that he take a look at the problem. If he was recommended by your Realtor, you should notify that person as well.

Another consideration is the position of the sellers. If they had ever used the fireplace, they should have known about the problem and should have disclosed it. However, proving what someone knew or did not know is usually a challenge.

• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.

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