Unforeseen problem found
in home heating systems
By kathy baratta
Staff Writer

HOWELL — The legal discovery process in ongoing litigation against home builder K. Hovnanian recently uncovered a life-threatening situation that neither side had foreseen.

When Villanova Drive residents William Spataro and Robert Schiazza let K. Hovnanian expert Julius Ballanco, an engineer from Indiana, into their homes to determine if code violations existed, both sides got more information than they expected: the possibility of carbon monoxide.

Spataro and Schiazza are two of several homeowners suing their builder, K. Hovnanian, over structural and construction defects in their Country Meadows Estates homes. Ballanco’s inspection was made at the builder’s behest as part of the legal process and information gathering.

According to Spataro, what Ballanco found was so upsetting that the engineer called him three times on the same day he left the home on a day in August to impress upon Spataro the importance of not turning on the home’s heating system due to the likelihood of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Schiazza, who told Greater Media Newspapers that Ballanco inspected his home in September, said Ballanco also told him not to turn on the heating system because the house could fill with carbon monoxide. Schiazza said Ballanco told him the system would definitely fail.

Schiazza said Ballanco’s exact words to him were, "You’ll go to sleep one night and you won’t wake up."

Both homeowners told Greater Media Newspapers that subsequent to Ballanco’s inspection, it was ascertained by not only Ballanco, but by independent experts hired by each homeowner, that their heating systems had deteriorated due to the improper pitch of a flue venting pipe.

The men said condensation from the pipe has been dripping back into the main unit and that had caused rust, which in turn deteriorated the system and caused it to be ready to fail.

Both men, who have lived with their families in the homes since 1995, were understandably upset by the news of the problem. However, one is more upset than the other even though both, who are involved in litigation with the builder, had been moved out of their homes in 1996 in order for structural repairs to be made to the first floor.

Spataro said when his family was moved out of the home in 1996 in order for the builder to correct first floor structural defects, he was told the house would be inspected from "A to Z" in order to determine if any other problems existed.

"If they were doing their job right, they should have found the problem then," Spataro said.

His story does not end there. According to Spataro, he again had the builder in his home in 1998 to find out why the walls and ceiling in his garage were always wet. He said he thought the roof was leaking.

Spataro said it was then that the builder determined the pitch of the heating system’s flue vent was wrong and the condensation runoff was causing the drywall in the garage to get wet all winter.

Spataro said the pipe’s pitch was reset and the problem was supposedly solved.

Spataro said he was livid to find out that not only had the pipe problem not been adequately addressed, but the effort to fix it had apparently caused what could have been a life-threatening situation.

When asked to comment about his alleged remarks to the two Howell homeowners, Ballanco declined through a spokeswoman, and asserted that since he had been hired by K. Hovnanian as its expert witness, the developer had to be the entity to make any comment.

K. Hovnanian spokesman Doug Fenichel said the builder is aware of the problems at the Spataro and Schiazza homes. Fenichel said the company does not believe the problem is inherent in any particular model home.

"A situation with life-threatening potential was discovered, and we are working to remedy that. We found the problem, and we are working to correct it," said Fenichel, adding that the developer believes the problem was an isolated one.

However, he said, the builder would be checking all Country Meadows Estates homes in order to determine if the potential for danger exists in any other homes.

Spataro and Schiazza, at their own expense for costs they said have soared into the thousands, have hired their own engineers and plumbers. They said their experts have informed them their installed heating and air conditioning systems are inadequate as to size and capability and are improperly installed.

According to Spataro, it was also discovered in his home that the laundry room’s dryer vent was venting into his son’s bedroom. His son, he said, has been experiencing respiratory illnesses since they moved into the home.

Spataro and Schiazza said they want the problem fixed and assurances that any inadequate systems in their homes will be replaced with equipment that will properly function at a peak performance.

"We want what we paid for," the homeowners said.

Fenichel said K. Hovnanian is close to working out an agreement with the two homeowners to make the necessary repairs at their homes.