WestCon Tribune

David MacLellan’s thirty-three year career in home-building covers nearly all types of housing, including apartments, condominiums, town houses, mobile home parks, planned-unit developments, semi-custom and custom homes.  He graduated with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in engineering from Penn State University.  He has testified in more than 200 lawsuits or disputes involving construction defects and has been appointed as a Superior Court referee on matters of land use and construction defects.  Mr. MacLellan is also a fifteen year member of HBANC’s (Home Builders Association of Northern California) Eastern Division Board of Directors and a current director of CBIA (California Building Industry Association). 

Mr. MacLellan will be speaking on the subject of written standards as a valuable tool in residential purchase and construction contracts.  His recent book, the California Building Performance Guidelines for Residential Construction, is used by the Contractors State License Board and by the Attorney General’s office for construction dispute resolution.  The California Building Performance Guidelines Manual for Residential Construction is a set of construction performance guidelines that the owner of a new home can expect to receive as part of the purchase. The Manual also contains chapters covering more than 300 conditions relating to workmanship that have been historic sources of disputes between homeowners and builders. The Manual comprehensively covers all components and areas of the House. Each Chapter of the Manual describes specific conditions common to new homes, the recommended guideline of performance, the Homeowner’s Responsibility, and the Builder’s Responsibility. One purpose of the Manual is to level the playing field between a homeowner’s expectations and the ability of the builder to perform to a standard. It is intended to become a universal “Reference Book” that the homeowner will turn to in the event of a problem. The Manual is a consumer oriented publication written in simple language for the homeowner to understand.

Mr. MacLellan’s presentation will cover a brief history of construction defect litigation, warranties, quality control, and written standards in residential construction.

MacLellan Wolfson Associates is a consulting company that serves the construction and real estate industry in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The mission of our Company is to promote and assist in the construction of quality housing and commercial office buildings.