A builder's obligation to perform works in a proper and workmanlike manner includes ensuring that compacted fill does not dry out before a concrete slab is poured. Where a building contract specifies footing depths for stability purposes and the builder fails to achieve those depths, the homeowner is entitled to the cost of underpinning to achieve the contractual standard even if the inadequate footings did not cause the observed damage, provided the cost is not out of all proportion to the benefit. An appellate court may substitute its own factual findings where the primary judge's conclusions were not founded on credibility assessments of witnesses.
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