New house problems

[BRN_RI_FL]

I just want to vent a bit with this thread. First it was a bad heat pump that resulted in a high electric bill when we weren’t there. Then it was a water leak (outside the house) that resulted in a high water bill when we weren’t there. Then it was the dryer vent that was erroneously fitted with a screen and was 100% blocked. Then it was loose electrical connections on the stove that resulted in burned wire casings and a non-operable stove. Then it was the foggy glass on the microwave that I finally managed to get replaced after being denied twice. Today we received a call from the water company about high water useage, again while we were in RI. The plumber (Mike Scott Plumbing) came out and the repair was in the exact same place as the last time it was repaired. There will be another high water bill. So much for buying a new house to avoid problems in buying an older one. I guess I should consider myself lucky that my house didn’t burn as a result of a couple of these mistakes.

[BobnBev]

You probably would have been better of if it burned to the ground. Insurance would have taken care of the problem.:popcorn:

[BRN_RI_FL]

You probably would have been better of if it burned to the ground. Insurance would have taken care of the problem.:popcorn:

You may be right then we could have gotten the 2.5 garage instead of the crappy 1.5.

[villagetinker]

Bruce, I hope you contacted home warranty on all of these items, most if not all are covered for at least a year. I would also call home warranty specifically about the dryer vent and the wiring, and have full compensation from the builder. We had water inside our new house due to a defective sprinkler. I had the house watched by the Villages home watch service, and when I found mold in the carpeting, I went ballistic. I had the builder, the lawn care company, and the home watch company at the house. In the end I was able to get ALL of my money ( 5 months of fees) for the home watch back and full cleanup of all damage at no cost.
Make some noise, you might be surprised at the results.

[HandyGrandpap]

OP, thanks for sharing your experiences. I hope the warranty at least limited some of the repair expenses.

[BRN_RI_FL]

Bruce, I hope you contacted home warranty on all of these items, most if not all are covered for at least a year. I would also call home warranty specifically about the dryer vent and the wiring, and have full compensation from the builder. We had water inside our new house due to a defective sprinkler. I had the house watched by the Villages home watch service, and when I found mold in the carpeting, I went ballistic. I had the builder, the lawn care company, and the home watch company at the house. In the end I was able to get ALL of my money ( 5 months of fees) for the home watch back and full cleanup of all damage at no cost.
Make some noise, you might be surprised at the results.

Thanks for the info villagetinker. I’m pretty good at making noise so I did contact home warranty and everything was fixed without charge. It’s just very frustrating to buy a new house and have these problems especially when we are up north. We had a Home watch guy but our wonderful neighbors insisted that they check our place instead and they have been great.

[BRN_RI_FL]

Thanks for the info villagetinker. I’m pretty good at making noise so I did contact home warranty and everything was fixed without charge. It’s just very frustrating to buy a new house and have these problems especially when we are up north. We had a Home watch guy but our wonderful neighbors insisted that they check our place instead and they have been great.

Our neighbors met the plumber there and sent us pictures - before plumbing repair and after plumbing repair.

[rustyp]

Oh I know someone who is not going to like these posts. Once again I will state the houses built here meet code but there is a huge gap between code and "high" quality. However the codes are pretty darn good as compared to other areas of the country. But then again the selling prices reflect that fact. Pay the subcontractors more and the quality might go up but so will the price of the house. It is a production line here. It seems it is common to get through the bugs in the first year by calling home warranty. Maybe those resales are not such a bad idea. Let the first guy find the bugs ?

[BRN_RI_FL]

Oh I know someone who is not going to like these posts. Once again I will state the houses built here meet code but there is a huge gap between code and "high" quality. However the codes are pretty darn good as compared to other areas of the country. But then again the selling prices reflect that fact. Pay the subcontractors more and the quality might go up but so will the price of the house. It is a production line here. It seems it is common to get through the bugs in the first year by calling home warranty. Maybe those resales are not such a bad idea. Let the first guy find the bugs ?
We thought at one point that we may like to upgrade to a larger house and garage. But we really don’t want to go through this again so we may just stay where we are.

[villagerjack]

Oh I know someone who is not going to like these posts. Once again I will state the houses built here meet code but there is a huge gap between code and "high" quality. However the codes are pretty darn good as compared to other areas of the country. But then again the selling prices reflect that fact. Pay the subcontractors more and the quality might go up but so will the price of the house. It is a production line here. It seems it is common to get through the bugs in the first year by calling home warranty. Maybe those resales are not such a bad idea. Let the first guy find the bugs ?

Reading his post it does not appear that any of the problems were related to the actual construction of the home but it’s appliances, sprinklers and heat pumps etc. all of which were corrected, a fact not pointed out in the original “ vent “.

[B-flat]

Bruce, I’d be mighty upset too, these problems should NOT happen. I’m a relative newcomer to TV we rented for 2 months this past winter and when at the Chatam pool were flabbergasted how quickly the Souillere Villas were being constructed. We left on March 1st, I returned in mid May to purchase a CYV that was built in 2002. At that time the Souilliere Villas were already being marketed. I have to believe quality of workmanship can slip with such rapid construction.

Wishing you the best! Hang in there my Rhode Island and Village neighbor!

[pbkmaine]

Everyone I know has had similar problems with new builds, even when they have built it themselves. It’s one of the big reasons I have never wanted to build a house or buy one new. Give me one that’s been broken in a bit.

[BRN_RI_FL]

Everyone I know has had similar problems with new builds, even when they have built it themselves. It’s one of the big reasons I have never wanted to build a house or buy one new. Give me one that’s been broken in a bit.

I realize that just because it’s a new house doesn’t mean you won’t have problems. But what really bothers me is the couple of errors that could have resulted in a fire. I’ve attached a pic of the melted stove wires and the vent blockage. The repair guy said that the melted wires are usually caused by not tightening the connections sufficiently causing sparks.

[pbkmaine]

Wow. Very worrying.

[Nucky]

Bruce, the advice I like and I like all who have helped you but VillageTinkerererer is the one that holds the key to getting to the finish line with these problems.

Are the neighbors having the same problems? Maybe just a shoddy contractor?

[BRN_RI_FL]

They sent a notice around Phillips Villas re my builder and the vent problem. Others with the same builder were checking to make sure they didn’t have a screen in their vents.

[manaboutown]

My concern is no construction company I know of builds a house faster. They go up almost as fast as army barracks went up during WWII.

[villagerjack]

My concern is no construction company I know of builds a house faster. They go up almost as fast as army barracks went up during WWII.

Maybe Immissed it? The CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS were ?

[villagerjack]

My concern is no construction company I know of builds a house faster. They go up almost as fast as army barracks went up during WWII.

I was in the Army in 1960 and slept in WW11 Barracks. They seemed OK to me. What were the problems you saw with these Barracks?

[villagerjack]

My concern is no construction company I know of builds a house faster. They go up almost as fast as army barracks went up during WWII.

Perhaps you can help others with your knowledge of construction times? How can you tell if a home is being built too quickly? Is there a formula?

[manaboutown]

Perhaps you can help others with your knowledge of construction times? How can you tell if a home is being built too quickly? Is there a formula?

Well, for one thing, the concrete needs time to cure.

When it comes to construction, cooking and intimate physical activity, faster is not better.

[manaboutown]

I was in the Army in 1960 and slept in WW11 Barracks. They seemed OK to me. What were the problems you saw with these Barracks?

I was stationed at Ft. Jackson, SC in 1965. The barracks were terrible, uninsulated firetraps. Soft coal was burned to warm the shower water. Of course burning it seriously polluted the environment. We did morning pushups in a low lying cloud of coal smoke. If a man blew his nose into a handkerchief lots of black soot was deposited into the cloth. Ugh!

Freezing in the winter and sweltering in the summer. the barracks were not insulated, heated or cooled. It was a dump!

[patfla06]

I can imagine how upset you were with these problems.
You would think a new house wouldn’t have so many
issues.

I hope all is okay now.

[villagerjack]

Well, for one thing, the concrete needs time to cure.

When it comes to construction, cooking and intimate physical activity, faster is not better.


How long do the Villages Builders cure concrete for ?

[villagerjack]

I was stationed at Ft. Jackson, SC in 1965. The barracks were terrible, uninsulated firetraps. Soft coal was burned to warm the shower water. Of course burning it seriously polluted the environment. We did morning pushups in a low lying cloud of coal smoke. If a man blew his nose into a handkerchief lots of black soot was deposited into the cloth. Ugh!

Freezing in the winter and sweltering in the summer. the barracks were not insulated, heated or cooled. It was a dump!


Quote from Infantry Museum. “During the 1940s, Fort Benning rapidly expanded to meet the demands of the WWII military buildup. These “series 700” buildings were intended to last only as long as the war, but they proved to be so solidly constructed, they were kept in use well into the 1990s.”

Coal was the fuel used by most homes including the apartment building I lived in so I did not notice and difference and never blew black stuff from my nose although I did plenty of pushups. Someone was on Fire Duty every night shoveling coal so even if there was a fire I doubt anyone would be trapped.

[retiredguy123]

My concern is no construction company I know of builds a house faster. They go up almost as fast as army barracks went up during WWII.
One of the builders told me that some of the workers on the houses are paid on a piecemeal basis, not by the hour. That may explain why they go up so fast. Although, I am impressed with the overall quality of the construction as compared with other new construction I have seen.

[graciegirl]

One of the builders told me that some of the workers on the houses are paid on a piecemeal basis, not by the hour. That may explain why they go up so fast. Although, I am impressed with the overall quality of the construction as compared with other new construction I have seen.

If you talk to the people who are building your house, which we did, every day, they will tell you the same story. They have been with the builder (and there are many builder teams) for a long time. In our case with both the house in Hadley and the one we live in now, both builders had been with the Morses for many years. When we had the walk through on Hadley, I gave the builder our list, some caulking that was missing. Pole lamp not working, slider not moving easily and other things and in MINUTES there were teams there repairing things. We had an issue in the garage of a sagging platform under the water tank and it was fixed after seven years.

I doubt your assessment about "piecemeal payments". It is huge organization with very comfortable funding and it runs like a well oiled machine. On the day you commit to build, you are given a closing date, and if you don't come up with financing you will be fined. The reason is that each team is scheduled. The concrete, the framers, the electrical, the sprayers of the wood for termites, the inspectors, the drywall...etc. The materials are delivered the night before and the team is on duty next day early. We had sixteen men on the roof on one of the hottest days in July, from seven to seven... when they were roofing our home. They are built fast, but not sloppily. We are not new to building homes and we are more than satisfied.

[BRN_RI_FL]

I can imagine how upset you were with these problems.
You would think a new house wouldn’t have so many
issues.

I hope all is okay now.

Yeah, all is ok now. Thanks. What set me off yesterday was the same water leak (as told to my neighbor by the plumber) that had to be repaired twice during a short period of time. Still love The Villages, just didn’t expect all of these problems during the first fifteen months. Hopefully that’s it for a while. And no complaints about the warranty office. Although there was a bit of a problem coordinating the air conditioning guy (he provided the correct vent) and the roofer (he installed it). Eventually I got the builder to call me (I went through my Villages realtor) and he made it happen quickly.

[l2ridehd]

One of the biggest reasons I did not buy a new home was not being able to be here during that all important first year when all the building issues show up. There is no way you can buy, go back North for a year, only coming down for short vacations and weekends and identify all the necessary repairs required. For the problems to show up, things need to be used on a daily basis.

If I was planning to be here full time during that all important first year then I might consider new, but if not if, I would only buy a few year old resale. And one that had a full time person living there.

[Nucky]

Concrete sets in 24 to 48 hours. It cures in 28 days. After 48 hours and most likely less because of the heat the builders are correct to start framing and are doing no harm whatsoever to the slab.

The speed of a house being constructed has zero to do with the quality of the finished product. Constant supervision of the workers is the key to keeping the work from being shoddy. Just like any other employee, some builders will take shortcuts because time is money. Old world craftsmanship is finished or at least very rare.

Imagine this at the sales office. Sir, we can build your Patio Villa the way we normally do and it will cost $180,000 plus the bond or we can build it slower for $200,000. What would be the choice of most people? Habitat For Humanity has the world record....In December of 2002, the Shelby County, Alabama chapter of Habitat for Humanity shattered the world record for the fastest home construction when volunteers helped construct a three bedroom home in Montevallo in an astonishing time of three hours, 26 minutes, and 34 seconds.

[villagerjack]

If you talk to the people who are building your house, which we did, every day, they will tell you the same story. They have been with the builder (and there are many builder teams) for a long time. In our case with both the house in Hadley and the one we live in now, both builders had been with the Morses for many years. When we had the walk through on Hadley, I gave the builder our list, some caulking that was missing. Pole lamp not working, slider not moving easily and other things and in MINUTES there were teams there repairing things. We had an issue in the garage of a sagging platform under the water tank and it was fixed after seven years.

I doubt your assessment about "piecemeal payments". It is huge organization with very comfortable funding and it runs like a well oiled machine. On the day you commit to build, you are given a closing date, and if you don't come up with financing you will be fined. The reason is that each team is scheduled. The concrete, the framers, the electrical, the sprayers of the wood for termites, the inspectors, the drywall...etc. The materials are delivered the night before and the team is on duty next day early. We had sixteen men on the roof on one of the hottest days in July, from seven to seven... when they were roofing our home. They are built fast, but not sloppily. We are not new to building homes and we are more than satisfied.

I agree Gracie. Most of the comments about how homes are built are just guesses, heresay and not backed up by facts. I too live in a quality built home and my ounchlist of smaller items was taken care of in days.

[billethkid]

We thought at one point that we may like to upgrade to a larger house and garage. But we really don’t want to go through this again so we may just stay where we are.

You would be in error to conclude that what happened in your new home happens in all new homes, which it does not.

Hence needlessly cheating yourself out of doing something you might like to do.

It is all about statistics and luck of the draw.
Once upon a time in the major appliance industry the goal was to get the complaint rate DOWN TO one per 125 units.....:shocked:
This from 2014:
Repair experts: Modern appliances aren't lasting as long as previous models - Lifestyle - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH (http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/home_and_garden/2014/08/03/fancy--fragile.html)

[Bogie Shooter]

I just want to vent a bit with this thread. First it was a bad heat pump that resulted in a high electric bill when we weren’t there. Then it was a water leak (outside the house) that resulted in a high water bill when we weren’t there. Then it was the dryer vent that was erroneously fitted with a screen and was 100% blocked. Then it was loose electrical connections on the stove that resulted in burned wire casings and a non-operable stove. Then it was the foggy glass on the microwave that I finally managed to get replaced after being denied twice. Today we received a call from the water company about high water useage, again while we were in RI. The plumber (Mike Scott Plumbing) came out and the repair was in the exact same place as the last time it was repaired. There will be another high water bill. So much for buying a new house to avoid problems in buying an older one. I guess I should consider myself lucky that my house didn’t burn as a result of a couple of these mistakes.

I guess what is missing from this OP,,,is all problems were corrected.

[villagerjack]

Concrete sets in 24 to 48 hours. It cures in 28 days. After 48 hours and most likely less because of the heat the builders are correct to start framing and are doing no harm whatsoever to the slab.

The speed of a house being constructed has zero to do with the quality of the finished product. Constant supervision of the workers is the key to keeping the work from being shoddy. Just like any other employee, some builders will take shortcuts because time is money. Old world craftsmanship is finished or at least very rare.

Imagine this at the sales office. Sir, we can build your Patio Villa the way we normally do and it will cost $180,000 plus the bond or we can build it slower for $200,000. What would be the choice of most people? Habitat For Humanity has the world record....In December of 2002, the Shelby County, Alabama chapter of Habitat for Humanity shattered the world record for the fastest home construction when volunteers helped construct a three bedroom home in Montevallo in an astonishing time of three hours, 26 minutes, and 34 seconds.

Thank you for a well thought out post with facts. Having financed hundreds of builders during my career, I am very satisfied with the end product I purchased and the fact that The Villages and their builders stand behind their product, even in many cases beyond the Warranty period.

[villagerjack]

I guess what is missing from this OP,,,is all problems were corrected.

Yes, every single one was taken care of which would have made this thread a lot shorter had that fact been noted in the original submission. But the post did provide an opportunity for non expert experts to to criticize the The Villages, a favorite pastime for some. So we have that.

[villagetinker]

We had our house built (2013, we bought the lot and built). We were up North, and TV sent photos of the construction weekly. House was completed in 80 days! We were very happy with the overall construction. About 11 months after the house was built, we had a home inspection (Frank DeAngelo) who found a few items that needed correction. He contacted home warranty and all repairs completed in 2 weeks. All of these were minor with the exception of some missing insulation in a vertical wall at the lanai. The problems that we had with the house in the following years have all been low voltage wiring (alarm system, built in speakers, and garage door sensors) and in all cases the wiring connections were not done correctly. (I am a retired professional electrical engineer with a lot of experience in low voltage wiring.) I had some of this 'repaired' under warranty, the rest I did myself.
On the bright side, we had NO damage during IRMA only 2 bottle brush trees fell over and I was able to re-stake these, so bottom line, very happy with the construction.

[vintageogauge]

16 months and just a few minor fixes found by DeAngelo boys, same with all of the neighbors on our street. I'm happy with the quality of our home and would not hesitate in buying another one. Our builder was actually an employee of TV, many of them are private companies that are building who I'm sure want to make a decent profit on each home and might try to take a few shortcuts, TV employed builders are most likely salary and incentives, just my guess.

[krash]

Our new home that we bought back in 2007 also had problems of leaking pipes behind walls, leaking window sills, and a box of shingles left on the roof that were not discovered until we wanted to enclose our lanai. The guest bathroom tub did not drain, and we found chunks of garbage and construction debris in the pipe.
We tore out the cheap carpet to install tile, and found under the carpet were a dozen cigarette butts and some food greasy wrappers. It finally dawned on us why stains were appearing although we never spilled anything. When we took out the formica counters, we found more cigarette butts, soda cans, chicken bones, food wrappers, and lots of dead cockroaches on the floor behind the cabinets.
Quality control is definitely lacking.


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[rustyp]

Those resales are looking better after every negative post. Another added benefit to a resale is with a little homework you may be able to find out if there are any of those problem children or convicted felons living in the neighborhood. Doesn't guarantee who moves in on the next sale but at least you start out in the right direction.

[ColdNoMore]

16 months and just a few minor fixes found by DeAngelo boys, same with all of the neighbors on our street. I'm happy with the quality of our home and would not hesitate in buying another one. Our builder was actually an employee of TV, many of them are private companies that are building who I'm sure want to make a decent profit on each home and might try to take a few shortcuts, TV employed builders are most likely salary and incentives, just my guess.

My "guess" is that the vast majority of actual construction workers...are paid hourly.

[graciegirl]

My "guess" is that the vast majority of actual construction workers...are paid hourly.

Could be. And they are employed and seem to stay in their jobs. Sumter County enjoys their presence. We appreciate their efforts. It is hot, hard work for most of the year and I applaud them.

[Bogie Shooter]

Our new home that we bought back in 2007 also had problems of leaking pipes behind walls, leaking window sills, and a box of shingles left on the roof that were not discovered until we wanted to enclose our lanai. The guest bathroom tub did not drain, and we found chunks of garbage and construction debris in the pipe.
We tore out the cheap carpet to install tile, and found under the carpet were a dozen cigarette butts and some food greasy wrappers. It finally dawned on us why stains were appearing although we never spilled anything. When we took out the formica counters, we found more cigarette butts, soda cans, chicken bones, food wrappers, and lots of dead cockroaches on the floor behind the cabinets.
Quality control is definitely lacking.


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was...…….your story is 11 years old.

[New Englander]

Our new home that we bought back in 2007 also had problems of leaking pipes behind walls, leaking window sills, and a box of shingles left on the roof that were not discovered until we wanted to enclose our lanai. The guest bathroom tub did not drain, and we found chunks of garbage and construction debris in the pipe.
We tore out the cheap carpet to install tile, and found under the carpet were a dozen cigarette butts and some food greasy wrappers. It finally dawned on us why stains were appearing although we never spilled anything. When we took out the formica counters, we found more cigarette butts, soda cans, chicken bones, food wrappers, and lots of dead cockroaches on the floor behind the cabinets.
Quality control is definitely lacking.


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Holy Moly :22yikes:

[krash]

was...…….your story is 11 years old.Granted, it did take place 11 years ago, BUT, it WAS a newly built house. Don't you think these things are still going on?

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[retiredguy123]

If you talk to the people who are building your house, which we did, every day, they will tell you the same story. They have been with the builder (and there are many builder teams) for a long time. In our case with both the house in Hadley and the one we live in now, both builders had been with the Morses for many years. When we had the walk through on Hadley, I gave the builder our list, some caulking that was missing. Pole lamp not working, slider not moving easily and other things and in MINUTES there were teams there repairing things. We had an issue in the garage of a sagging platform under the water tank and it was fixed after seven years.

I doubt your assessment about "piecemeal payments". It is huge organization with very comfortable funding and it runs like a well oiled machine. On the day you commit to build, you are given a closing date, and if you don't come up with financing you will be fined. The reason is that each team is scheduled. The concrete, the framers, the electrical, the sprayers of the wood for termites, the inspectors, the drywall...etc. The materials are delivered the night before and the team is on duty next day early. We had sixteen men on the roof on one of the hottest days in July, from seven to seven... when they were roofing our home. They are built fast, but not sloppily. We are not new to building homes and we are more than satisfied.
My comment about piecemeal work came from an ECI electrician who came to my house during warranty to fix several crooked and loose outlets, switches and fixtures. I told him that, when I install something, it is straight and tight. He told me that the people who install the electrical devices are paid for each device they install, not hourly.

[Chatbrat]

Residential contractors bid per box--employees are paid hourly--@ least thats the way it was in NJ

[Bogie Shooter]

Granted, it did take place 11 years ago, BUT, it WAS a newly built house. Don't you think these things are still going on?

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Probably not.

[krash]

Probably not.



Really...... Why? What has changed?


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[maureenod]

Our new home that we bought back in 2007 also had problems of leaking pipes behind walls, leaking window sills, and a box of shingles left on the roof that were not discovered until we wanted to enclose our lanai. The guest bathroom tub did not drain, and we found chunks of garbage and construction debris in the pipe.
We tore out the cheap carpet to install tile, and found under the carpet were a dozen cigarette butts and some food greasy wrappers. It finally dawned on us why stains were appearing although we never spilled anything. When we took out the formica counters, we found more cigarette butts, soda cans, chicken bones, food wrappers, and lots of dead cockroaches on the floor behind the cabinets.
Quality control is definitely lacking.


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With all the rubbish behind kitchen cabinets, especially sofa cans, cabinets would not fit. Nearly everyone has replaced carpet and, i believe, no one has posted finding rubbish under carpet. Me thinks you are making the whole story up.

[mulligan]

Residential contractors bid per box--employees are paid hourly--@ least thats the way it was in NJ

That's NOT the way it's done here, in sunny Fla. , where the people who do the electrical work don't even need to be licensed. Only 1 person in the company office needs a license.

[thetruth]

We bought new 3 years ago. Not sure if it has changed but we got good service from both the builder and the home warranty people.
SUGGESTION-if I recall you have a one year warranty with two years on the plumbing. For about $500 you can hire a licensed home insector close to the end of the first year to point out any issues he/she can find in your construction.

[retiredguy123]

We bought new 3 years ago. Not sure if it has changed but we got good service from both the builder and the home warranty people.
SUGGESTION-if I recall you have a one year warranty with two years on the plumbing. For about $500 you can hire a licensed home insector close to the end of the first year to point out any issues he/she can find in your construction.
The 2 year warranty is only for the building "systems". It will not cover individual plumbing fixtures, such as toilets, sinks, faucets, etc. Those are only warranted for 1 year.

[redwitch]

Bruce, you had some serious bad luck. Most new construction here has minor repairs in the first year. The biggest issues are with the lawns and drainage and good luck getting home warranty to do anything about that.

Yes, the homes go up incredibly fast. TV and its builders have it down to a fine art. Since they don’t like coming back and doing more than minor touch ups, they do their best to get it right the first time. Succeed more often than not. If you decide to move, don’t be afraid of a new build. What happened to you is rare.

[graciegirl]

With all the rubbish behind kitchen cabinets, especially sofa cans, cabinets would not fit. Nearly everyone has replaced carpet and, i believe, no one has posted finding rubbish under carpet. Me thinks you are making the whole story up.

They broom swept every evening when our home was bring built. I am skeptical too. Everyone reading this who are concerned should go in the evening and walk through homes under construction in the new areas. I bet you won't find cigarette buts and sandwiches. We occasionally still look at new homes being built just out of curiosity.

[vintageogauge]

My "guess" is that the vast majority of actual construction workers...are paid hourly.

I was referring to the actual assigned TV employed Builder, not his or her workers.

[krash]

For those of you who don't believe the cigarette butt and garbage.... did YOU yourself physically rip out your carpets and formica, or have it done by the contractor? WE did the ripping out, and I'm telling you what I found. I don't give a hoot if you are thinking I made this up or not. I have nothing to gain or lose. I am just telling you about MY experience 11 years ago.

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[vintageogauge]

There were builders in here 11 years ago that were tossed out due to problems arising and yours might have been one of those builders. I do remember Liberty Park having a lot of problems with a particular builder and that would have been around 11 years ago I believe. In February of 07 there were a ton of homes heavily damaged and water soaked by the tornado and because of that when we were looking we were not interested in any homes that were standing prior to the tornado, who knows what the repairs could be hiding in those homes.

[Boomer]

Our new home that we bought back in 2007 also had problems of leaking pipes behind walls, leaking window sills, and a box of shingles left on the roof that were not discovered until we wanted to enclose our lanai. The guest bathroom tub did not drain, and we found chunks of garbage and construction debris in the pipe.
We tore out the cheap carpet to install tile, and found under the carpet were a dozen cigarette butts and some food greasy wrappers. It finally dawned on us why stains were appearing although we never spilled anything. When we took out the formica counters, we found more cigarette butts, soda cans, chicken bones, food wrappers, and lots of dead cockroaches on the floor behind the cabinets.
Quality control is definitely lacking.


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With all the rubbish behind kitchen cabinets, especially sofa cans, cabinets would not fit. Nearly everyone has replaced carpet and, i believe, no one has posted finding rubbish under carpet. Me thinks you are making the whole story up.

They broom swept every evening when our home was bring built. I am skeptical too. Everyone reading this who are concerned should go in the evening and walk through homes under construction in the new areas. I bet you won't find cigarette buts and sandwiches. We occasionally still look at new homes being built just out of curiosity.



Oh my! I see here that the TOTV Kangaroo Court is in session.

krash, I also see you joined in 2007, which is the same year I did. If you read TOTV on a regular basis, you have probably observed how predictable it is that someone who says something considered "negative" about TV -- in any way, at all -- comes under an almost immediate personal attack. krash, may I present your defense, pro bono.

(At this point. Boomer gets up and walks over to address the jury.)

"Ladies and Gentleman of the TOTV Jury, I am asking you to think a little further about what has been reported about the mess revealed in a 2007 build.

Let's look at a little TV history: If you will recall, 2007 was the height of the bubble. (2007 was the year I was in TV, for the first time. That was when a sales rep in an open house in Amelia told us we had to BUY NOW or we would be sooooooo sorry.)

In 2007 TV could not build houses fast enough. Retirees coming in had been able to sell their houses, in other places, in record time, for record prices, and were coming on down, cash-in-hand.

In fact, 2007 was just at the tail end of the days when buyers were being given a half hour to make up their minds -- or it was on to the next person on the list. (I think it was a half hour -- might have been a little longer, but not much.)

TVers who wanted to change houses could sell fast, too. Sometimes on Sundays, people would peek in at new builds to try to see if they wanted to get on the hot list.

2007 was a building frenzy. Just imagine the pressure those contractors and crews were under. Maybe there were even extra contractors being brought in.

If you really think about it, there most certainly could have been a few houses where things like our OP has described -- in detail -- happened.

(If I may digress:

I have a memory of watching bricklayers working on a house up north. Those guys did not know that I could read what some of them were writing, in a little mortar, underneath those bricks -- writing things about their buddies who were working close to them -- and making sure it was seen by said buddy. That was all being done in innocent fun -- hurt nothing -- but just imagine when the archeologists unearth that house. Yeah. I know. Not the same as garbage, but interesting to know about -- to me anyway.)

My point is that I think our OP is telling the truth. It is an incident trapped in time. That does not mean it happened on every house.

I hope the TOTV Jury will reconsider. There was no need to try and convict. I think reasonable doubt should be in play here. How can there be a conviction that is not beyond reasonable doubt?"


Addendum: We eventually bought a house. 7 years later than 2007.

[ColdNoMore]

Oh my! I see here that the TOTV Kangaroo Court is in session.

krash, I also see you joined in 2007, which is the same year I did. If you read TOTV on a regular basis, you have probably observed how predictable it is that someone who says something considered "negative" about TV -- in any way, at all -- comes under an almost immediate personal attack. krash, may I present your defense, pro bono.

But, but, but, isn't any (even perceived) criticism of TV/'Da Family' considered at a minimum Un-American...and at worst blasphemous? :oops:

While I will defer to your much longer experience here in TV, we were told on our first renting here a little less than 10 years ago that..."resistance is futile, you WILL be assimilated."

Or something like that. :D

My hats off to you though counselor, for your valiant attempt...at providing a more balanced viewpoint. :ho:

[rustyp]

But, but, but, isn't any (even perceived) criticism of TV/'Da Family' considered at a minimum Un-American...and at worst blasphemous? :oops:

While I will defer to your much longer experience here in TV, we were told on our first renting here a little less than 10 years ago that..."resistance is futile, you WILL be assimilated."

Or something like that. :D

My hats off to you though counselor, for your valiant attempt...at providing a more balanced viewpoint. :ho:

If you ruffle da feathers long enough you get lucky and the some of the defenders go on sabbatical for a few days allowing other points of view and experience equal time.

[krash]

Thanks to those that defended my comments.... to be safe and not rock the boat, I guess it would behoove me to write of meatloaf recipes.... but then again, there are those that insist upon brown gravy and those that swear by ketchup topping. (Do I dare spell it catsup? )

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

[Boomer]

Thanks to those that defended my comments.... to be safe and not rock the boat, I guess it would behoove me to write of meatloaf recipes.... but then again, there are those that insist upon brown gravy and those that swear by ketchup topping. (Do I dare spell it catsup? )

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk


You're very welcome, krash.

And I love that you read my yesterday's meatloaf snobbery post, too, and can have a little fun along with me. (I remember when TOTV was a whole lot of fun. (sigh) )

Thank you. :)

[Kenswing]

Thanks to those that defended my comments.... to be safe and not rock the boat, I guess it would behoove me to write of meatloaf recipes.... but then again, there are those that insist upon brown gravy and those that swear by ketchup topping. (Do I dare spell it catsup? )

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

That seems to be the new way of TOTV. Anything that is posted will be challenged by one faction or another.

[Bogie Shooter]

Oh my! I see here that the TOTV Kangaroo Court is in session.

krash, I also see you joined in 2007, which is the same year I did. If you read TOTV on a regular basis, you have probably observed how predictable it is that someone who says something considered "negative" about TV -- in any way, at all -- comes under an almost immediate personal attack. krash, may I present your defense, pro bono.

(At this point. Boomer gets up and walks over to address the jury.)

"Ladies and Gentleman of the TOTV Jury, I am asking you to think a little further about what has been reported about the mess revealed in a 2007 build.

Let's look at a little TV history: If you will recall, 2007 was the height of the bubble. (2007 was the year I was in TV, for the first time. That was when a sales rep in an open house in Amelia told us we had to BUY NOW or we would be sooooooo sorry.)

In 2007 TV could not build houses fast enough. Retirees coming in had been able to sell their houses, in other places, in record time, for record prices, and were coming on down, cash-in-hand.

In fact, 2007 was just at the tail end of the days when buyers were being given a half hour to make up their minds -- or it was on to the next person on the list. (I think it was a half hour -- might have been a little longer, but not much.)

TVers who wanted to change houses could sell fast, too. Sometimes on Sundays, people would peek in at new builds to try to see if they wanted to get on the hot list.

2007 was a building frenzy. Just imagine the pressure those contractors and crews were under. Maybe there were even extra contractors being brought in.

If you really think about it, there most certainly could have been a few houses where things like our OP has described -- in detail -- happened.

(If I may digress:

I have a memory of watching bricklayers working on a house up north. Those guys did not know that I could read what some of them were writing, in a little mortar, underneath those bricks -- writing things about their buddies who were working close to them -- and making sure it was seen by said buddy. That was all being done in innocent fun -- hurt nothing -- but just imagine when the archeologists unearth that house. Yeah. I know. Not the same as garbage, but interesting to know about -- to me anyway.)

My point is that I think our OP is telling the truth. It is an incident trapped in time. That does not mean it happened on every house.

I hope the TOTV Jury will reconsider. There was no need to try and convict. I think reasonable doubt should be in play here. How can there be a conviction that is not beyond reasonable doubt?"


Addendum: We eventually bought a house. 7 years later than 2007.

Thanks for the history.
I believe OP but it was 11 years ago. Does it really have anything to do with today's builders?

[graciegirl]

That seems to be the new way of TOTV. Anything that is posted will be challenged by one faction or another.

I think that has always been so. One by one, the voices for and against have been silenced. I won't forget muncle and skyguy and Bonnie and Richard and Ruthie and Donna and Andrea and Bill.

Many screen names became real people and friends and even though many of us disagreed on this forum, we didn't disagree and we had real respect and affection for each other off the forum. I can name two men who posted today with whom I have very different views on today's issues and yet I respect them deeply and have great affection for them and feel the same back from them. It is nice to be of an age that affection can be said and decency assumed.

I hope the debates don't stop and I hope the Morses don't change so I will always think they are a great bunch of hard working people who have created one of the nicest places on this earth.

Most of us are old enough to not take any wooden nickels. It isn't our first rodeo and we know the water on our leg is not rain.

[Chatbrat]

In NJ I was the licensed contractor, in Fl they have journeymen's licenses that are issued by the county; however, a journeyman in Fl must work for an electrical contractor--none of my men were licensed by the state of NJ, if they held a license they could not work on my commercial.union jobs

With a NJ Electrical contractor license, you were either an employer or a worker--A NJ electrical contractor could touch any tools on a union job

[CFrance]

In NJ I was the licensed contractor, in Fl they have journeymen's licenses that are issued by the county; however, a journeyman in Fl must work for an electrical contractor--none of my men were licensed by the state of NJ, if they held a license they could not work on my commercial.union jobs

With a NJ Electrical contractor license, you were either an employer or a worker--A NJ electrical contractor could touch any tools on a union job
I'm confused... is the NJ way better than the FL way? And why?

[fw102807]

Thanks to those that defended my comments.... to be safe and not rock the boat, I guess it would behoove me to write of meatloaf recipes.... but then again, there are those that insist upon brown gravy and those that swear by ketchup topping. (Do I dare spell it catsup? )

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

I didn't want to comment as I have been slammed on this before but my husband is a builder and we found that the basic structure of our house is solid but the trim work was poor. Molding that was not mitered correctly, plumbing that did not line up, electrical wires that were pulled too tight. Our kitchen cabinets were ready to fall off the wall. I don't argue anymore.

[graciegirl]

Thanks to those that defended my comments.... to be safe and not rock the boat, I guess it would behoove me to write of meatloaf recipes.... but then again, there are those that insist upon brown gravy and those that swear by ketchup topping. (Do I dare spell it catsup? )

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

You can say and post anything as long as the guidelines on this forum are not broached. When I began to post on this forum more than ten years ago and had visited for the first time for a couple of days, visiting friends here who LOVED THIS PLACE...in fact they were NUTS ABOUT THIS PLACE. We went home and had to admit I was pretty impressed but something had to be too good to be true. I read some posts critical of the building and I asked what was wrong with the builder and the homes? Who was the builder? Did anybody ever talk to this guy Morse? How could we be sure that homes were built o.k. with people saying what I read. I was hit with an avalanche of offended people. They called me a troll, they asked what my agenda was, they were really annoyed with me. I was terribly taken back. I thought I had asked a fair question. I remember saying these exact words; "For Pete's sake, I just asked a simple question.

People responded to me without hesitation and told me I was wrong and stupid too. Except for a few, who patiently tried to point out why they liked the homes and this place. They are still my friends. Thank you for your kindness.

It appears we have lots of company who feel good about it here. I think they build a great home. In lower Paradise.

[Chatbrat]

NJ & FL the same as far as residential construction--electrical wise in NJ we left a little more slack for screw ups --in this area with massive cookie cutter construction, inches add up

[PoolBrews]

We purchased a new home on 9/1/2018 - a little over a year ago. This is our 2nd home in The Villages -our 1st was a resale built in 2001, and this was the 1st new construction of my LIFE. The experience couldn't have been better. We did live here the full year, and the day after we closed, I tore out all the carpet and installed vinyl plank flooring. I found no issues anywhere with regard to anything under the carpet that shouldn't have been there.

We did have a number of minor issues over the course of our 1st year, but home warranty took care of everything very quickly and to our complete satisfaction. Based on this, I would have no issue going through this process again.

Maybe I got lucky, but I felt it important to share how it can go well as opposed to seeing only posts on how it can go bad.

[tagjr1]

I realize that just because it’s a new house doesn’t mean you won’t have problems. But what really bothers me is the couple of errors that could have resulted in a fire. I’ve attached a pic of the melted stove wires and the vent blockage. The repair guy said that the melted wires are usually caused by not tightening the connections sufficiently causing sparks.

That seems like an awful lot of
dryer lint for a "new" house not used full time?

[BRN_RI_FL]

That seems like an awful lot of
dryer lint for a "new" house not used full time?

So how do you suggest it got there?

[Chatbrat]

The person who cleans our dryer vent--recommends cleaning every 2 years

[graciegirl]

The person who cleans our dryer vent--recommends cleaning every 2 years

Not for us. We wash stuff a lot. I mean a LOT. We are lint makers at our house. He told us we should have it done more than once a year. Love to keep that pair of Maytags chuggin'. There are three of us and we change clothes a lot.

[New Englander]

I'm in a patio villa. My dryer vent is right on the side of my house about a foot off the ground. Three months ago I cleaned it out very easily.
What I don't understand is why they put a vent that needs regular cleaning up on a roof? Can someone explain?

[CFrance]

I'm in a patio villa. My dryer vent is right on the side of my house about a foot off the ground. Three months ago I cleaned it out very easily.
What I don't understand is why they put a vent that needs regular cleaning up on a roof? Can someone explain?
Maybe because of where the laundry room is located vis-a-vis another room. Our laundry room was on the inside, other side of the master bathroom, so the vent could not go directly outside.

[BRN_RI_FL]

Our laundry room is on an outside wall. Could have gone through the side of the house rather than through the roof.

The roofing guy said to have it cleaned once and watch how it is done. After that he said that it is very easy to do yourself and doesn’t require you to get up on the roof.

However to reiterate a major point, screens are not permitted on a laundry room vent. Frank the inspector warned us that the continued use with a screen could start a fire.

[thomp679]

For those of you who don't believe the cigarette butt and garbage.... did YOU yourself physically rip out your carpets and formica, or have it done by the contractor? WE did the ripping out, and I'm telling you what I found. I don't give a hoot if you are thinking I made this up or not. I have nothing to gain or lose. I am just telling you about MY experience 11 years ago.

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

:bigbow: :bigbow: :bigbow:

Well krash, I couldn't agree more. Realize, one of your naysayers claimed to have had 16 workers on their roof for 12 hours. That was either one expensive roof or maybe they took their team smoke and lunch breaks up there. Lucky for them, the home was clean swept that night so the butts and wrappers were removed.

[dodsonpam]

My house flooded from clogged sewer lines 6 months after I moved in. There have been similar problems in this neighborhood. One house flooded before the people moved in. Several have had to have the sewer lines snaked. My house flooded so badly that I had to move out for 1 1/2 months. My new hardwood floors had to be torn out, all baseboards removed and a long cleanup and rebuild. No help from anyone connected with The Villages. I was told I don't know how to flush a toilet. In spite of the house being warranted, it was an insurance claim. Building too fast to clean up properly.