Building A House Protection

[barleyfarmer]

I'm building a house and is there something I can have written up at a lawyers or someplace to go to that I can have some kind of extended warranty put on?Reason I'm asking is because my general contractor that is building it keeps giving these bs timelines and costs!I asked lasts March is he could build for me and it was sure no problem 6 months max!I said I have to be in before winter not a problem!I get blueprints says he can do it for 200k,1428 sqft on walk out basement on top of a sandhill.I don't hear anything till June when I ask whats going on,be there in two weeks!Nothing!Meantime he starts on my buddy's shop with living quarters in it!I phone and it's right after I tin outside of shop coming to your place he says!Nothing till September I have melt down and he finally comes marks off basement and two days later they're digging,week later pours basement!Then nothing!My buddy goes to Vegas and I drive by shop and there's carpenter working inside his shop!I stop and ask about this just tinning outside and it's well there house sold so I have to finish this one part,be there next week!Shows up two weeks later to go over blueprints and then it's noway I can do this house for under 300k!I knew he was full of crap on the 200k!We'll be here tomorrow he says!I told him if he can't get it closed up before the snow hits don't start till spring it's mid-November already!Oh within a week your walls will be up 10 days roof will be on!I said again I don't want my house built in the winter because of snow and frozen ground in basement!No problem!Floor joists go on snow hits!They manage to get floor and roof done!We shoveled snow 4 times out of it!He did couple of times gives me a bill for $700 for snow removal!He brings a diesel frost fighter over to thaw basement!I spend $1200 on diesel for it it breaks down and basement is froze again!Now I had building inspector from city call looking for $1500 for inspection because she can't get ahold of him since December!He put on bill $1800 for inspection!I gave the guy 35k in December for basement and other crap!I want some kind of protection for my money with a extended warranty instead of the one year he told me!I think I'm going to have floor problems with cracks in the basement(in floor heating is going in) and possible warping of main floor.Might happen 2-3 years down the road!What options do I have here?I don't want to start chasing people to finish my house but I'm getting close to losing it!!

 

[somethingnuw]

sorry that happened to you dude... i don't think the winter build is too big of a deal... how cold it was when you poured your concrete and quality of the concrete would affect your floor... lumber in BC comes soaking and wet and it rains 24/7 sometimes... if your concerned heat the inside with electric heat before you drywall... if your vapor barrier goes up and you see excess moisture slice it open... i'd rather have a sliced open vapor barrier then moisture in behind it... but its so dry here in alberta... i don't think you have to worry... the water in your basement will just get absorbed into your concrete and as long as that doesn't ice over and crack the surface you should be ok

 

[fnDan]

I would call your lawyer. They have the ability to withhold funds and they typically withhold a certain percentage until you take possession for your protection in case a contractor isn't paid and decides to put a lien on your new home. I think we were lucky because my wife knew the lawyer we used very well and it was easy to have a quick conversation about issues.

That happened to us and it turned out the flooring/carpet supplier was going through a divorce and selling his company so he was looking for extra money where he could get it.
We had some problems with our builder. He dragged the start of construction out. We had one incident with inspection and I had to explain to the builder that he needed to let me know when I could arrange the inspection. He thought I would somehow know. I wasn't too upset about our experience because in the end he was only a month past his original move-in date and some friend in the neighborhood needed a house sitter. After the electrical was hooked up our first bill was almost $800. The contractors were leaving the 240 construction heaters on 24 hours.
We also found out what happens when a builder tries to rush the job and use contractors he's not familiar with. I went to check on our house and found the tile guy using a grinder to cut the door trim and one part of our cabinets in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure there is a tool for that. I called my builder right away and he ran over and kicked the guy out. This cost him some money because he had to bring the finish guy back in and replace it.
I had a couple of arguments with my builder and I am assuming that he felt pretty bad about it because he developed my whole basement even though we agreed on one room and a bathroom in the contract.
My neighbor had to clean up after the contractors because his builder said he would charge him extra for cleanup. I'm not sure how he was going to lay the hardwood down without cleaning up garbage and sawdust. We felt bad seeing this retired guy with a shop vac and masks cleaning his dream home.

 

[MATTIAC]

Any builder should have national home warranty when they are building new houses for others. I know in BC I had to have it to build. If you build your own house you don't need it though. So if he has warranty, your property will be protected from that for the 2-5-10 year that's in the clause. Also you should have a written contract that you both signed.

 

[Beels]

Any builder should have national home warranty when they are building new houses for others. I know in BC I had to have it to build. If you build your own house you don't need it though. So if he has warranty, your property will be protected from that for the 2-5-10 year that's in the clause. Also you should have a written contract that you both signed.

This...

Mine was supposed to start in June of '12 and we told we'd be in January '13. Basement never got dug until August '12 and they did the foundation in September. Then it sat for over a month. They had electric heaters plugged in to keep the basement and garage thawed and my January '13 power bill was $1200. I wasn't overly happy about the time frame being pushed back, but what can you do? All in all, ours took 9 months to complete, which seems pretty standard around here where there aren't any large builders banging them out 6 or 8 at a time.

 

[rsaint]

Any builder should have national home warranty when they are building new houses for others. I know in BC I had to have it to build. If you build your own house you don't need it though. So if he has warranty, your property will be protected from that for the 2-5-10 year that's in the clause. Also you should have a written contract that you both signed.

The 2-5-10 is just in effect in Alberta as of Feb 1 14 but as a home owner builder you dont need it but do to sell so just get it in the beggining is cheaper what i was told from the insurring companies.

 

[dogsmack]

Sounds like your builder was playing some number games.

Your buddies shop I would suspect is a much bigger building? If so cost to install against sq ft ratio would of been higher with the shop build, plus easier money in the summer. Easy Money! Compound the issues of "extras" due to winter work and he has accidently or by choice created the situation to open the door for extra billing due to weather. Without seeing the contract (I suspect one has been established however the conversation stating the 100K price hike after blueprint review makes me think otherwise) I can't really say how to proceed. The devil is in the details.

Worse yet is he is a smaller contractor, some are perfect but some are not. Reputation is everything on this one unless times get tough for the builder with money, be it divorce, gambling, addiction or economy then all bets are off. If you paid 35K deposit with the work you have had done already should be sitting pretty even as long as the work is sound. Again, small contractor and quality is an issue if you do not have the experience with construction ESPECIALLY concrete.

Do yourself a giant favor and get a lawyer, check with CMHC or who ever the hell deals with home warranty (your bank will know) and do some research.

Other option involves a couple of buddies, ski masks and baseball bats.

Best of luck, PM me if you got specifics as I am fairly experienced in heavy civil (concrete) construction and suffer through contractors avoiding contract obligations daily. I will help best I can as this SH!T really burns my A$$!

 

[maxandvin]

You are in a tough spot. Having a General Contractor build your new home typically, will not get you the Alberta Home Warranty, National or Blanket Home Warranty protection. You need to ask the question in advance to see if the GC is registered and has paid their fees. I am not saying that a contractor has to belong to one of these groups, lots of quality guys never need to worry about it. If you are only at a 35k investment, based on your experience to date you may be better served to cut your losses, fire the GC and hire a new firm. One of the biggest complications of winter concrete pours in housing is frost heave. If the excavation ground freezes, the heat in the basement fails or is insufficient, frost gets in the ground. Spring thaw comes along, frost leaves the ground and drives the footings and concrete walls in all sorts of crazy directions. In MOST cases engineers can design a repair for the damage but it will always leave you wondering. The actual concrete itself will very seldom fail in a residential application. Prior to pouring the concrete slab make sure that there is no frost left in the ground. There are lots of commercial solutions, like hydronic heating blankets to make this happen.
Hire carefully in the future!

 

[barleyfarmer]

I've been buying the materials so far and I'm in over 70k already!That's why I'm getting a little nervous!

 

[tater]

Think $200-$225 a sq ft should be decent estimate. I don't build houses but have asked few that I work with.

 

[sc800]

Couple questions? Do you have a signed contract with the GC? Are you approved for a mortgage on a draw system with your bank or are you paying cash as you go?

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk

 

[mick]

No contract? Stop it now. There are good people available that won't put you through this crap

 

[barleyfarmer]

Paying cash so far.Problem I have is I farm and I can't just couple years down the road if house is giving me grief dump it and move!It is annoying that my buddy and him are tight and when my buddy squaks he drops everything and runs there!Been trying to save friendship with my buddy but I have been hinting that all this ch!t the gc been doing for him is costing me money!Might have to just come right out and tell him his little tantrums and getting his way has cost me thousands of dollars unnecessary expense!Contractor has been saying it's no problem till build my house in winter so I think it should be no problem signing something the lawyer draws up!

 

[Beels]

Think $200-$225 a sq ft should be decent estimate. I don't build houses but have asked few that I work with.

I find that price per sq/ft thing a bit tough too. Lots of variables involved. Finished basement or not, ICF, high end cabinets / counter tops, fixtures. Your figure isn't far off at all, though.

 

[DaveB]

I've heard horror stories about the new home warranty....you DON'T want to use it. It is there to protect the builder, not the homeowner and getting them to pay anything will take lawyers and years. We just finished out place and I was a pain in the contractors butt because I want stuff done right NOW, not fixed later.

 

[Beels]

I've heard horror stories about the new home warranty....you DON'T want to use it. It is there to protect the builder, not the homeowner and getting them to pay anything will take lawyers and years. We just finished out place and I was a pain in the contractors butt because I want stuff done right NOW, not fixed later.

It's kind of odd, because CMHC requires it.

 

[mick]

I will say it again.....No contract--- stop the project now. I would suggest that you call someone that is in the business and have a walk through the complete project. You have listed a few concerns that are IMO are minor. The foundation will show problems(if there are any) in a few months as soon as the frost comes out of the ground, the framing/floor are not going to warp, the floor prep for the basement hasn't been done yet so that isn't a concern. Look at the big picture and do not dwell on minor issues, you don't seem to have faith in this GC so dump him, GC it yourself.

 

[gates559]

It's kind of odd, because CMHC requires it.

No they don't. I've built several with out it. New home warranty is a joke. Only good if the builder wants to maintain his reputation.

 

[DaveB]

It's kind of odd, because CMHC requires it.

They may require it, but I've heard that using it or actually getting new home warranty to pay anything is a PITA. (we didn't go through CMHC anyways)

 

[Beels]

No they don't. I've built several with out it. New home warranty is a joke. Only good if the builder wants to maintain his reputation.

Mine last year required it, but maybe that was TD.