Homeowner set for showdown

Diana Sahagun

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

North Las Vegas homeowner Russ Lewis said last week that he's ready to face Falcon Homes on Wednesday before the Nevada State Contractor's Board over charges of faulty construction.

Lewis says he and his family have had enough -- nine years of what he calls a living hell. Since 1993 he has been fighting with Falcon Homes, exchanging nasty letters and grappling with soaring attorney bills.

He considers the matter simple: His home was not built according to national building codes so sanctions should be taken against Falcon. He says he only wants what he paid for.

At the heart of the dispute is the grade of wood used for the sill plate, the bottom part of a home's wooden frame that attaches to the concrete foundation.

Lewis says a low grade of lumber was used for the sill plate instead of pressure-treated Douglas fir. Falcon claims the materials were used according to building code at the time.

Falcon faces additional charges before the board including: nonconforming sill plates, wrong-sized anchor bolts that secure the home to the concrete slab, and a sill plate overhanging the foundation.

And with the board hearing approaching, things are still simmering between the two engineers hired to come up with a solution on how to repair the home.

Last month, while threatening to yank Falcon President Fred Ahlstrom's license, the board gave Falcon one month for the engineers from both parties to meet and propose a correction to the overhanging sill plate and mislaid anchor bolts at the Lewis home.

Last week Falcon attorney Brian Terry forwarded an agreement between R2H, the engineering company hired by Falcon, and engineer Bill De La Garza, hired by Lewis's attorney Cal Potter, to the board claiming both engineers supported the resolution.

But De La Garza fired off two letters to Potter after receiving a copy of the resolution, saying he does not recall agreeing to any of Falcon's proposed solutions.

"I don't agree with their fix because of a number of technical things," he told the Sun last week. "I don't agree with the philosophy, because they're changing the original set of plans."

According to the proposal, De La Garza and R2H agreed that the best way to fix the home is to attach a bracket to the foundation and to the sill plate to stabilize the overhanging sill plate.

De La Garza maintains that the only solution he came up with was ripping out the foundation and replacing it.

"My recollection is that we sat down and the first thing I said was, 'My recommendation is remove the bad foundation, fix it and bring it up to how to it was according to plan.' Afterward, I agreed they could come up with repair if it met code," he said.

Lewis says the "Band-Aid" fix proposed for his home is unacceptable.

"I bought a home that was supposed to be built according to the approved plans and specs," he said. "They welched on what they were going to do."

In Lewis' case, Phil Coggins, building manager for the North Las Vegas Building Department, admits there was an error in the inspection process.

Sometime during the home's construction, the city hired inspector left, and another inspector picked up where he had left off. Somewhere in that personnel change, the overhanging sill plate was initially overlooked, he said. Coggins said the department made every attempt to correct the problem after it was discovered, but that Lewis would not agree to the fix.

The saga between Lewis and Falcon may not end soon. Falcon has filed a lawsuit against Lewis claiming libel and slander, after he organized residents against Falcon and posted signs around his property. There has been no date set for a hearing, but last week Falcon requested a psychiatric exam be conducted on Lewis and his wife, Donna.