The Indiana Quality Assurance Builder Standards

Indiana Quality Assurance Builder Standards provide, for the first time ever, new home buyer and remodeling customers a way to measure their builder and the project against an industry-approved set of standards.

These standards create a series of performance guidelines that builders and their customers can use to communicate and understand each other's explanations regarding building or remodeling projects. The standards address the most prevalent issues that arise between the builder and the customer before the unrealized or undiscovered expectations that create the majority of the problems encountered in the building or remodeling process. It is the intent that the standards will help eliminate these problems before the project even begins.

The objective of the Indiana Quality Assurance Builder Standards is to encourage professionalism within the home building industry and increase the likelihood that the home buyer will have a satisfactory experience when buying a new home. The standards provide the builder and remodeler with a set of standards that home buyer can rely upon.

We all know how undefined expectations create the majority of the problems encountered in the building and remodeling processes. The standards manual is divided into sections organized according to the usual sequence of events in the construction process. Each section typically includes a general introduction and major categories containing individual construction standards. The standards contain all or most of the following components:

• Observation: A description of a particular circumstance that may raise a question regarding the quality of materials or workmanship.
• Standard: The specific criterion for acceptable workmanship.
• Builder's responsibility: A description of the repair work by the builder that may be necessary to meet the standard.
• Homeowner's responsibility: (Optional) A description of a particular homeowner's maintenance responsibility if it warrants special consideration.
• Discussion: (Optional) An explanation of unique factors pertinent to the observation, standard, builder responsibility or homeowner responsibility.

To participate in the Indiana Quality Assurance Builder Standards program, Andree Builder's has agreed to provide a manual to every customer at the time of contract signing for each new construction and/or remodeling project undertaken; include language incorporating the standards in all sales contracts with customers; identify a third-party dispute resolution mechanism in all sales contracts with customers; comply with the standards identified in the standards manual; and maintain membership in a local builders association participating in the standards program.

The Indiana Quality Assurance Builder Standards Manual is the cornerstone of the Indiana Builders Association's promise to educate the home buying/remodeling community, which may very well eliminate potential problems before any project begins. The IBA and Andree Builders are committed to achieve this goal.

For more information on the Indiana Quality Assurance Program, please visit the QABS website.