Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
The appropriate measure of damages for defective construction "is the cost to repair the defects or, if the defects are not remediable, the difference in value between a properly constructed structure and that which was in fact built" ( Brushton-Moira Cent. School Dist. v. Thomas Assoc., 91 NY2d 256, 262; see Ferreira v. Saccento, 286 AD2d 366). Since the complaint alleged that the amount needed to remedy the work performed by the defendant was $5,000, the Supreme Court correctly concluded that she was not also entitled to recover the $17,000 previously paid to him on the contract.