Viking Construction, Inc.

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:
The response by Viking homes is a form letter, they have not addressed all the issues in my warranty claims, and there are structural issues they have not even addressed at allThe loud snapping, cracking noises we have heard on three
occasions now, that has to be the foundation, the noise is not coming from the walls, nor the attic areaNothing has been done concerning the HVAC issues, nothing has been done concerning the landscaping, nothing has been done concerning the blistering cracking concrete, nothing had been done concerning the warped sidingAll they have done is a few cosmetic low cost issues with the closets and countertopsTheir response is a joke, a slap in the face, and an absolute falsity
Thank you
Sincerely
*** ***
Sincerely,*** ***

Occasionally homes can lose traction in the building process for many various reasons.  This is certainly not something we at Viking desire to have happen with any of our homes, but occasionally it can happen. Many factors can affect the outcome of achieving a closing date.  Inclement...

weather is a large one in which we have limited control of.  Another important factor is being able to hire experienced contractors that provide the quality of work home buyers have come to expect with our homes.  Also, in a time of high demand within the building industry having quality building product available can sometimes create unexpected delays.  In the instance of the [redacted] home, the start of the home was an unfortunate perfect storm of all of the above mentioned items.  Timing not cooperating with severe winter weather, qualified labor and availability of needed building products.  There was a delay at foundation due to inclement weather, an additional delay following foundation to ensure a proficient framer was available to complete work and lastly we faced an issue with late delivery of sheetrock.  This situation is most definitely not desirable for our buyers or for us as a builder.  However, we do take pride in providing our buyers with the home they are anticipating. Rushing the process or providing less than desirable materials or labor to 'get the job done' would not provide our buyers the home they are expecting from us.  We understand how difficult and upsetting this situation is to an excited soon to be homeowner looking forward getting settled and being 'home'.  We just want to ensure we are providing our buyers with the comfortable home they are purchasing from Viking.  We appreciate the buyer's continued patience with all of the undesirable hurdles faced while achieving a quality completed home for them.

The lot on which the home is placed was very high  up from the side walk and street. We did in fact cut down the lot about 2' to lower the house down. We are required to keep storm water runoff on the lot where the home is built. Taking this into consideration we could not lower it any further...

because the home next door has an established grade and lowering the home and foundation any more would mean that water would flow towards the house which is a Code violation. Simply putting a step at the homes sidewalk would not make a difference as we would have had to  lower the garage floor as well which would mean lowering the foundation as well which we could not do. The home next door has a similar slope to their driveway as do several homes in the development.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: Attached is an E-mail sent to Ryan O[redacted] on May, 25 2017 concerning this matter.  First the dates Freds appliance have given to Viking are Wrong and well documented, the original call for the dishwasher to Freds  was made on 9-15-15. We also had a front panel replaced on our oven which was damaged so Freds needs to look closer at their reported service dates.  Since this has been an ongoing proplem since the very first time the dishwasher was turned on, after we moved into our newly built house by Congtractor and forman/builder Viking homes it completely makes sense that the curcuit board would be completely fried at original turn on especially since well documented Freds appliance repair had to replace DRAIN PUMP, WASH PUMP, AND DRAIN HOSE on a brand new dishwasher unit that I paid an upgrade charge on originally in store.  On 5-16-2016 I called Freds appliance repair and Joe B[redacted] returned for a fourth visit complaining that the dishwasher was NOT getting hot enough to actually clean the dishes he gave me a song and dance about using proper products and letting my hot water run first all of which I was already doing with no resulotion. I realized when I was visiting my neighbor she had the same exact dishwasher with none of the proplems with hot water and getting the dishes clean I had. I called Sears Home repair for a second opinion.  Pat from Sears stated that the dishwasher had a fried curcuit board and was usless to repair because of the cost out weighing the price of a new dishwasher.  Ryan Owner of Viking in his rebuttle states that I should go through the manufactures warranty this would be ideal if your Subcontractor Freds appliance hadnt lied to me and the one year warranty was expired during this whole process.  As my Contractor Viking homes is responsible for the End product of delivering a sound product to his customers.  If I wanted to deal with subcontranctors I would have build myself and been the General contractor on my own project.  Instead I hired your company to do that for me.  Also the RWC warranty we have through Viking has no relavence to this matter I agree with you on that so you cannot use that as a scapegoat.  I believe it is your responsibility to work out the details with Freds appliance your subcontractor since I was lied to by them about the main problem with this defunct brand new dishwasher, since I am only the consumer who has tried to get this issue fixed through the proper channels with no avail and infact was lied to.  You as probably their biggest contracted account locally CAN GET THIS RESOLVED FOR ME.O
Sincerely
[redacted]

Revdex.com Complaint Number [redacted] [redacted]
[redacted]   We are denying this claim for the following reasons:   The first service call that was made was to address the fact that the dishwasher continued to run with the door open. This...

service call was on 9/14/2015. Joe B[redacted], the technician for Fred’s Appliance, states in his report that the unit required a new drain pump and a new wash pump. At that the time of that service call, the unit did not power up and after speaking with Joe on 5/31/2017 he said that at no time did he state that the dishwasher was wired improperly.   The parts were then ordered and installed on 10/5/2015. At which time Joe states a leak was found in the drain hose. He returned to install the new drain hose on 10/29/2015 and states in his report that the unit checked out ok. The next service call was on 5/16/2016 stating that the dishwasher was not heating the water and not cleaning the dishes. At that time, Joe states in his report that the unit checked out ok and the water was heating properly.   Your message states that Sears said it was “probably bad wiring and that the circuit board was fried.” However, we have no evidence of this and all of our reports from Fred’s Appliance stated that the dishwasher was functioning properly.   According to the RWC warranty provided to you by Viking Builders, Section 1, paragraph D “What Your Limited Warranty Does Not Cover”, Item #15- Appliances and Equipment in your home.   Your appliances are covered by the manufacturer’s warranty which was provided to you and not the RWC provided by Viking. I believe that the best course of action for you is to pursue this matter directly with the manufacturer.   Sincerely,     Ryan O[redacted] Member Viking Builders, LLC

Viking Builders LLC did in fact build Mr. [redacted] home conforming to all national, state and local codes.  All warranty claims submitted by Mr. [redacted] have been processed and handled by our Warranty Department in a timely manner.  There are no structural issues with the home in question.

Viking built Mr. [redacted] a home in Pasco and it closed on August 28th, 2012.  On January 23rd, 2017, Mr. [redacted] emailed Viking and let us know that he used Deicer on his driveway and the concrete was now having some problems.  One day later, Viking professionally responded stating that this...

was not a warrantable item and referenced the RWC warranty.  I believe that Viking has responded professionally since the day Mr. [redacted] closed on his home for all items that are and are not warrantable.  For the items that were warrantable, Viking provided that service with professionalism and in the shortest timeframe possible.  We at Viking Builders, LLC believe we use industry standard techniques and products of similar quality to that of other common home builders in our industry.  Viking has been building homes for over 7 years in Pasco, and we believe we have proven a strong track record of meeting our client’s expectations.  Viking Builders, LLC also provides and pays for a third party warranty from RWC Warranty Company on homes built in Pasco.  This warranty book provides each and every home owner in Pasco with defined items that are covered and also a list of items that are not covered.  The RWC Limited Warranty Book states that driveways are not covered.  The RWC warranty Book also has a section that explains in details the proper steps that an owner must take when there is a warranty issue and also if there is a dispute between the owner and builder on a warranty issue, then Arbitration is the sole recourse.  I would ask that Mr. [redacted] follow the steps that he agreed to when purchasing the home and that are listed in the RWC on situations involving warrantable items in his home. This Revdex.com complaint that Mr. [redacted] is stating goes above a warrantable item as the RWC book clearly explains what is warrantable and gives an avenue for resolving disputes.  Mr. [redacted] is obviously unhappy with the current state of his concrete driveway, and has stated that he was going to share his experience on social media, Revdex.com and any other outlet as he believes that logic proves there is a defect in the concrete Viking had poured for his driveway.  However, Viking has not been provided with any professional documentation showcasing any wrong doing when pouring the concrete or the concrete itself.  Mr. [redacted] is attempting to hurt the reputation of Viking based on items that are not covered under warranty and based on the condition of this concrete driveway that may have been caused by variables outside of Viking’s control. In emails from Mr. [redacted], he clearly states that he has used Deicer on his concrete.  Also, many cities use “ice melting” products on their roads and freeways that can drip onto driveways after picking up this material on a car after traveling on these roads.  In articles related to concrete, it states these deicers tend to do damage to many items including cars and concrete and that it is recommend to use sand for traction.  There are preventative and maintenance methods that can be used to assist in the protecing concrete.  For example, when salt is accumulated on cars, you can hose off the salt before parking and driving on concrete.  Also, sealing concrete with commercial sealer may also help against harsh winter environments. In conclusion, Viking believes we have provided Mr. [redacted] with a house and driveway that met the codes of the construction up to industry standards and we also believe that we provided Mr. [redacted] with professional service and timely responses to all questions to items whether warrantable or not warrantable.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I am not necessarily rejecting the response.  I invite anyone from viking to come and park in our driveway, It will become clear very quickly that this was not an ideal situation.  I agree that many homes in the neighborhood have a slope to their driveways, but the DO NOT compare to ours.  We should have been giving correct information about the how the driveway would be when we addressed this during the framing stages.  We would have walked away from the home at that time.  I do need someone from Viking to come to inspect the crack that goes the entire width of the driveway.  We would like to be home to ensure someone actually came to look. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:1. I don't desire to berate, talk negatively or otherwise harm Viking or their reputation as a builder as is stated in their response. I want what they claim they provide, Quality. Failing that at least give me the respect to answer and address the problem not hide behind a warranty. They are in the area mere hundreds of feet from my home, building additional homes on a daily basis, talking to me would not be a hardship. 2. An entity such as Viking, can provide quality and still have a defective product in one area on one occasion. Such as a quality house and defective concrete driveway. The claim that what happened to my driveway this year is "normal" can only be called laughable. Concrete I poured and treated this year as well has nowhere near the same level of damage from the deicer. I don't dispute that some damage may occur that's. After then breaking a bone. The utter disintegration of the concrete is not normal it should break off in sheets.3. To tell a customer that you consider a matter closed and offer no further response is in poor taste and reflects poorly on the values of the employees and how they represent the from what I have experienced reasonable owner of a successful company. It also indicates they don't respect a customer enough to respond to my concerns as such I raised them to the next level the Revdex.com.4. After being told that the damage was normal, I investigated other driveways in the area, both Viking homes and others. By far mine has more damage. I looked at concrete in place 20+ years that I personally treated with three same deicer that didn't do what this concrete did. As they told me the damage was normal I stated I would be proud then to share pictures of my driveway along with their name as the installers. If it's normal they have nothing to be ashamed of, if not then I understand their dislike for that suggestion. I have not nor do I intend to post any such pictures. Damaging Vikings reputation again, isn't my goal, it also ultimately causes me harm in devaluing my home further.  
5. If their warranty as they claim truly absolves them of any wrongdoing for using concrete that doesn't last As it should. Like a builder dream homes would reasonably like to be known for then maybe they want to look into preventing the potential issue. Maybe they would like to look at my property and see first hand the severity of the damage and the bucket of concrete that has been remov in the future ed in the last month. The lack of regard for the issue is what motivated me to complain. If you have nothing to hide then why hide from an issue? 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Review: We purchased a Viking Home in August of 2013. When we moved in, the yard appeared to be leveled and in satisfactory condition. It was too late in the year to do any landscaping. After the snow melted, we quickly realized that the side and back yards were not properly packed down and there was extreme settling, to the point that we had standing water (roughly a foot on the side yard) up against the foundation, and a portion of our backyard, up against our neighbors fence, had become a small pond, roughly 6 inches deep in places. We first contacted Viking Construction about this problem several months ago. A gentleman came out almost a month later, on April 9th, to look at the issue and said it was no problem, but that we would not be the priority because they had already started building other homes. It is now June 9th...two months later and still nothing has been done ,except for two small piles of dirt that have been brought in several weeks ago. One is on our property, one is not, and there is no where near enough to level the yard and solve the problem. I have called several times to find out the timeline and each time have been given a verbal apology and told that it should be done "within the week." That has happened several weeks. Most recently, it was supposed to be completed by Friday June 6th. Still nothing has changed. At this point, our yard is overrun by weeds that we can hardly keep up with and so to put in grass is going to be even more expensive than it would have been when we wanted to have it done a couple of months ago. We had family in town in April to help us build a fence, which they were unable to do because the yard was not level, so now we must do it alone, with an 8 month old baby in tow.Desired Settlement: We would like the yard filled and leveled as soon as possible and to be given a date by which this will take place. We would also like to know the reparations that will be made for the inconvenience and extreme added cost we will have (weed removal, lots of extra water to plant grass in the middle of summer, etc.) due to Viking Constructions inability to complete was was called "not a problem" by their own employee. A satisfactory response, would be Viking Construction leveling the yard and having the weeds removed and landscaped with grass, as this would not have been an issue if it had been completed in a timely manner when we made first contact. We will have final approval over the work that is done.

Business

Response:

The home in question was purchased in August of 2013 according to the contract it was front yard Irrigation and hydroseed only. The rear yard was graded to code, so as to not allow water to run back to the home. Additionally the rear yard was scraped of all vegetation and graded. I have inspected the property and found that lack of maintenance on the part of the homeowner has allowed weeds to take over the lot. Also the area is rough graded only. Viking Construction is not responsible for the home owner not installing irrigation,rock raking and hydroseeding, By not doing these things the weather from fall,winter and spring has washed dirt away from some areas and caused the subsequent silt to settle in other areas causing some minor ponding. It is the homeowners responsibility to have the landscape and irrigation installed, had this been done 10 months ago when the home was purchased this would not even be an issue. Therefore Viking Construction Inc. considers this matter closed and will take no further action regarding this.

Review: During a recent rainstorm, we noticed that our basement had flooded due to oversaturation of a window well. When we went outside to look at where it was coming in, we noticed that our grading along the side of the house was in fact flat to slightly sloped toward the home, causing water to rush into the window well. Since our home is only 11 months old, we contacted Viking Construction to resolve the problem via warranty. When their head contractor, Harold, came out he stated that a small 4 inch high pile of dirt caused the water diversion and stated that Viking would not cover the damage. I told him that was ridiculous and contacted the President, [redacted], who told me that they would not cover it and stated "you get your attorney and I will get mine."

The following day, I contacted the city building inspector, [redacted], who came out to take a look at the damage. After inspecting the property, he stated that it was in fact 100% Viking Constructions fault since they did not properly grade the dirt on the impacted side of the home. Furthermore, he noticed that the concrete to the basement did not have a damp sealant applied and that was in clear violation of current building codes. After the inspector left, I contacted Viking to notify them that he stated that it was their fault, however, I was informed by the receptionist that all matters in regard to this issue need to go through their attorney's office.Desired Settlement: After this, I will no longer deal directly with Viking. I will have sub contractors bid the required job(s) and file a claim through their builders policy

Review: Upon completion of the building of our home in September , 2014, Viking made a contractural agreement to complete several unfinished items in the home. [redacted], a Viking employee, signed the contract during the final walk through. One of the items on that contract was an agreement that Viking would complete the staining process on the wood deck at the back of our home (which had been installed with some stained wood pieces and some unstained pieces. It looks ridiculous). The contract verbiage states the finishing will be completed as soon as weather permits. It has been a total of 9 months since that contract was signed, with MANY days of favorable weather, during which time this project could have been completed.

Viking Homes has been contacted about this issue on at least six separate occasions. [redacted] was contacted by phone in October, 2014, when he assured us it would be arranged. Winter came, and efforts were made to contact Viking in Spring 2015, through numerous written warranty requests, multiple phone conversations with the warranty dept staff [redacted], and written correspondences with Viking warranty staff [redacted]. All of the efforts we made were responded to and acknowledged, and each time we have been promised the issue would be rectified, but today, nine months later, no effort to complete this contractural obligation.Desired Settlement: Viking must complete the job. Now that the deck has weathered for a full nine months with only partial stain, the deck now appears two different colors, with wood that has been affected differently in the stained locations than the unstained. If the company is unable to aesthetically match the new stain color to the previously stained wood, they should be responsible for refinishing or rebuilding the entire deck to ensure a consistent, professional product with an appearance consistent with that of a newly built and professionally finished custom home.

Business

Response:

The deck is not complete, We acknowledge this fact. [redacted]. is meeting with the home owner on 7/3 to make a plan of action to get this completed for the homeowner. We hope to have it completed by 7/9 weather permitting

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business' response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

Revdex.com,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,