Mrs. [redacted] has been in contact with
the Schumacher Homes [redacted] office about this concern. It was addressed by
the VP of Construction, and options for resolution were presented. Mrs. [redacted]
chose not go with any of those options. Cabinets are offered at several...
different levels and choices. They are displayed both in our model home and
design center. Schumacher Homes in not trying to hide anything with the make or
quality of any of our selections, including cabinets. The description in the
contract states the cabinets Mrs. [redacted] selected are our maple door selection.
The standard size of the cabinets is 30” high, and is described on the plans on the cabinet page. The plans are reviewed at design meetings and our pre-construction meeting.
There are opportunities from the point of sale through color selections meetings
and pre-construction meetings to select something other than standard options.
As much as we would like to be able to foresee what our customers may want, we
can only go by what they decide and include in their contract. At this time the cabinets are not
installed, but will be soon, so our hope is that once they are installed Mrs. [redacted] will like
what she sees. If not, we can re-visit the option of building a wood soffit as already presented. As for Mrs. [redacted]'s desired settlement we can only provide what both the [redacted]'s and Schumacher Homes of Louisiana have agreed to in the contract. This includes the 30" wall cabinets and the pedestal sink that is an included feature in our homes. Attached is a copy of the included features page signed by the [redacted]'s, which shows the pedestal sink.
We would like to continue to work directly with Mrs. [redacted] to work though any issues or concerns.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I spoke with [redacted] on Monday January 12th and he assured me I would hear back about the rest of the listed items either later that day or the next by him or [redacted]. Neither has responded, after multiple attempts and multiple different ways trying to contact them. It is now 8 days later and I have no way of knowing what is going on. I have not heard back about the $1325.00, if it was sent or when it might be. I have heard nothing about the backsplash that we continually asked about and was deleted by the Schumacher company. I have not heard from the fireplace vendor about possible set-up either. I fear it may be summer before this happens and then the fireplace is no damn good. No attic steps or window replacements have been installed or communicated to me. There is still work to be done and we closed almost a month ago. This is getting absurd and we are continually using our own finances and times to pick up the slack of this, so-called, professional company.
Regards,
[redacted]
Do not build with schmacher homes. They will be perfectly accommodating and customer service oriented right up until you sign the contract. 1st of all, we were scared into signing the contract before we were ready due to promises of a large price increase and decreased promotion value happening the next day (this was at the end of the month). Once we signed, we couldn't get schumacher to email us back on any issues, and all of a sudden the pricing started to change. Everything is an upgrade, even after you sign. For one small example, at the pre construction meeting we were told the garage door is standard, but if you want an opener for the garage door that is an upgrade. Want a remote to use that garage opener?....another upgrade and more money. Oh, then they never mentioned we would have to put in a costly storm water management system due to local codes, never came up until pre construction when they know you are too far along to turn back. Another example was schumacher quoting us 17'500 to do a driveway. I had to get local bids and am getting it done for around 10000. The latest kicker is they put an allowance of 10000 for a septic system in our quote, telling us this was more or less accurate. After almost a month of the septic quote being " out for bid" they come back and tell us it is now 16500 just to install and more to plan and pull permits. When I complained, she said you can add to your allowance or get your own quote. Great customer service and accountability there right? Typical bait and switch sales technique as we are too far along to turn back and use a reputable builder with some integrity. My advice... Steer clear of schumacher unless you want to be gouged and poorly treated every step of the way...after they have your money that is. I could say more, but no time as now I apparently have to get quotes myself to make up for their " underestimate" (or sales tactic if you ask me) on the septci system. The office I worked with was in Ravenna, Ohio for a build in erie, pa.
I followed up with our [redacted] General Manager and offer the following response to the attached complaint:
1. Our warranty procedure for homeowners to follow is for the homeowners to call our [redacted] office to schedule service. Unfortunately the homeowner in this case called our...
construction manager (CM) and informed him of the plumbing leak. Our CM called a plumber to repair the leak and a drywall contractor to repair the drywall. Until the homeowner called into the office on 12/15/15, we were not aware that a painter would be needed. We contacted a painter immediately, but based on the short notice, all painters already had yearend work scheduled. We will complete this work although not in the time frame that the homeowner anticipated.2. Our CM discussed the vent with the building inspector based on the homeowner's concerns. Per the inspector, the vent was installed according to code and was passed on the building inspections.
3. The pex piping was installed according to code and passed building inspections.
4. The base board in the Dining Room was listed on the Homeowner Orientation as needing to be straightened. Our CM agreed to straighten the baseboard; however, the homeowner did not want anyone else back in the house and signed off on it. If the homeowner has changed his mind, we will gladly schedule a repair and complete.
5. This is the first time we have learned about the un-level toilet in the main bath. We will be happy to schedule this repair.
Please review this information and let us know how the homeowner would like for us to proceed with the repairs.
Our house began being built in the fall of 2013. It was "what they considered" completed in February of 2014. We had issues that we call them on, and there were some attempts to correct the issues. Well just recently we discovered the cement board siding had some areas cracking and breaking, it is almost to the date only 3 years since the siding was put on the house, yet the Schumacher rep in Lafayette Louisiana says that this is not covered under warranty. I really screwed up by hiring this company.
Revdex.com:
The company have fixed the driveway, consider this resolved.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]
I completed building my Schumacher home 01/2016, the general contractor was a nightmare. I still to this day two months later have holes in my yard from the well line being put in, my electrical bill has been over $900.00 because of faulty a/c unit/electrical work and just today found out the well inspection was never complete. this issue has placed my family health and well being at risk. This was the worse experience I have ever had.
Schumachef Homes wish I would of dug alittle deeper in checking out this company.... very un organized with builder and contractor relationship. ...my concrete walls had to be removed.....taking over a month. .due to a set back requirement and a 2 foot elevation mistake...allways short on materials...roof half done but doors were installed and water ruined 2 doors......not enough felt paper..would not let first tile guy come back...work was so bad in master shower had to take out and redo....contractor's are forced to bid so low on work they cant afford skilled labor to due quality work. .... warranty work is very very very slow..trying to get a door problem solved since May 2016....
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]
As it has already been stated, I have a 10 year warranty. I know it is easy to say it is expired or it doesn't relate to this repair. The fact of the matter is that this roof leak happened due to poor design and poor structure.
I have gone through this with Schumacher from day one with issues on the house and every time they want to pass the buck and not correct their mistakes. Just like a garage floor that was poured 2 inches higher in spots and the door won't seat properly at the bottom. Instead of tearing out mistake, they try to do a cheap fix that doesn't work. Now it is the roof. Or a french door that was installed improperly and got turned upside down to correct mistake and now needs to be replaced. I could go on and on with issues that just get passed on to the home owner to correct. It is shameful that you pay for a house to be built correctly and you are penalized by shoddy work.
Sick of the run around and sick of no responsibility ever being taken by them. I am used to their answers and I am used to nothing being fixed. Hey thanks for the roofer number. I will get right on getting him out and me having to pay to correct your shoddy work to start with.
I met with the homeowner last week at his home. We measured everything out. We are short on square footage of the concrete. I told him we would make the correction. He was appreciative of that. While I was there I also took care of a couple of other minor issues he was...
having.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
The construction of this home has taken longer than normal. With the tremendous growth of new construction in the [redacted] area (#1 housing market in the entire country), the availability of quality subcontractors is at a premium. I do not mean this as an excuse, rather a factor for the extended...
time. It Is our responsibility to complete this job timely. We will do that for the customer. Prior to the final closing, we will review the overall timeframe and make the appropriate adjustments for the delay to the homeowner.
Please review this information and let me know if you have any further questions.
I could not be unhappier with my experience thus far with Schumacher Homes, Inc. April 24th, 2015 marked the Maturity Date for my construction loan. Over a year ago, I started what I hoped would be the culmination of a dream. My home is still not complete. I have had to extend my Construction loan resulting in additional costs.
I signed my contract with Schumacher Homes in January of 2014. We closed on the Construction Loan on April 24th, 2014. I spoke with the County and they received the signed application for building permit on July 7th, 2014. Why it took from the end of April until the first part of July to get the permits in to the County I do not know. They received the signed Septic Permit on July 21st. It was put in the system on July 25th, 2014. The permits were then picked up on August 1st. As of today we are a week shy of 10 full months beyond that, and the house continues to sit.
I believe that when I signed my contract, I had the same reasonable expectations that any new homeowner would. The house would be done correctly, and in a timely manner. I felt good knowing I had a reputable, national builder, overseeing my project. I certainly didn't expect that a year of my life would be dedicated to getting this Home built. I have inquired with other builders, spoken to friends and colleagues, and all agree that 6 months is more than enough time to complete a 1900 Sq/ft home. Yes, that’s correct, 1900 Sq/ft. I have more than patient, more than fair, the result of which seems to be only my continued financial burden and inconvenience. Now, at almost 10 months in, have I finally decided that I am being take advantage of and that I’m not going to tolerate it anymore.
On September 11th 2015, over a month after the permits were picked up, Ground was broken on my property. The foundation was poured a full month later on October 12th, 2014. It was a full 2 months before the framers started work on December 13th, 2014. Over 4 months, just to start to get the “appearance” of a home on my property.
One of the largest inconveniences has been the electrical Contractor. Shortly after I walked the property with Schumacher to stake the location of the home, I made arrangements with the Electrical Service Provider in my area, as instructed, to get temporary power to the property. This was done and immediately paid for. From that point, all that need be done is notify them of the Temporary Pole placement on the property, and they would schedule hooking up the power. After several months of waiting they finally placed the pole. However, it was in the wrong location, on the opposite side of the property. I hounded the construction manager, emailed, called, and still the Electricians would not come and move the pole. Once framing began, they framers had to use generator power. The whole house was framed, roofed, and sided using only generators. The electrician did not move the pole until he was actually on sight again, to do his work on the inside of the house. By this time the house was dried in. The Service Provider explained to me that they needed a 4-5 week lead time to set up permanent power to the house and that since the house was wired and ready to receive power, setting up temporary power now would be a waste of time and money in additional service charges. So I went ahead and scheduled permanent power. I was informed that at this stage, the contractors generally don’t have their own generators and that I would need to buy one. I had to spend $750.00 on a generator to prevent any further delays and keep the project moving forward, all because the Electrician on the job could not inconvenience himself enough to come move a pole. The generator hasn’t stopped the project from moving at the speed of rust. The house still does not have power as the Electrician still has work to perform before the service provider can inspect it to see that it meets all their requirements prior to one of their technicians connecting permanent power to the house.
Not long ago, the Construction Manager quit, siting that he could no longer in good conscience work under the General Manager. The General Manager called me and asked me “What’s going on with your house?” Are you kidding me?! Isn’t it your job to know?! This is indicative of the lack of oversight and attention that I feel my project has had over the past 11 months. We met at the job site and to his shock, many items were built incorrectly and not to plan. By this time the Electrical, plumbing, and Sheetrock contractors had been there and done their work. So some of this work had to be torn out and rebuilt resulting in further delays. This is constitutes nothing short of poor project management and oversight, bordering on very little at all. The G.M. let the Construction manager just run with it. The Construction manager got a framing crew he trusted, and just let them run with it, and now because of lack of quality control and oversight, we have to back track and correct. All of this resulting in additional cost and inconvenience for me.
To his credit, The G.M. did make an effort to appease me by giving me a 42” bar in the kitchen, and additional stonework floor to ceiling at the fireplace as opposed to just the mantle height at no cost to me. The very least he could do for the mistakes made and the subsequent delays resulting.
That being said, I think that Schumacher Homes to this point has lost nothing to this point. They aren’t making more money off of me by the concessions given and gratefully accepted, but not gaining from me does not equate to a loss. At present, they are still getting the contracted price of the home. They lose nothing. To date I have been the only one inconvenienced by this whole process. At this point I don’t feel that Schumacher is going to give my home, the place where I hope to live the rest of my life, adequate consideration or attention, until they have something to lose. I have spoken with the “National Administrator” at Schumacher. She seemed to be sympathetic and understanding. Apparently her experience with her own home build was less than desirable. I cannot say if she owns a Schumacher Home. My recollection of the conversation was, in summary, she spent about 6 months being unhappy about it, but then came to love the new home. Frankly, I am paying over $220,000.00 for this tiny house, and I don’t think myself, or anyone for that matter, should have to be unhappy about it for one single day.
At this point, I cannot in good conscience recommend this builder to any prospective home buyer.
Most horrible builder!! The construction was so poor that we are finding issues in the house even after 2 years of occupying the house. We know that these reviews or forums will not harm the company in anyway because most of the people are like sheep - blindly follow the sheep infront of them! I wish that at least the CEO reads these comments once and sincerely believe that customers are writing these reviews after having real bad experiences and not just for fun! It's not about earning money and not worrying about anything else since a beggar also earns money but he earns it "sincerely" and not cheating others!!
We are anticipating an August completion date. Our general manger has provided
the homeowner several concessions based on the delays of completion, including
tile installation changes, iron stair parts and septic design
changes.
I have reviewed your complaint. Schumacher Homes of Texas, Inc. will refund your money as requested. I have sent this request to the Houston office and sent a request for your refund to our accounting department to process a check back to you. The check will be mailed to you in the next few day.
I...
am sorry that your experience with Schumacher Homes of Texas, Inc. was not more positive.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
1. The siding repair near the porch posts is scheduled for July 31st NOT the 30th (just to point out yet again Schumachers attention to detail).
2. Vacation? At this point I am furious. What vacation? There has never been any mention of vacation to Schumacher, EVER! Again, another excuse/lie.
3. The shelf brackets for the kitchen cabinets have yet to arrive to our home, we were told by the GM that those would be mailed to us weeks ago.
4. Today, our basement door, which did work properly, no longer latches closed. This was reported to [redacted] today, 7/14/14. I can only assume that door is the beginning of our home falling apart, with that being said, how long will it take to be repaired?
Just to restate the main point, March 8th was our "Schumacher Guaranteed Completion Date". We are now OVER 4 MONTHS past the date that was "promised" that our home would be completed. We have been told nothing but bogus excuses and now for the excuse to be given that things will be completed when, "the [redacted] return from vacation" is at the very least insulting but goes on to prove our point that this company is ignorant, incompetent and the void of customer service as they know nothing of what is actually happening at their build sites.
[redacted]
Mrs.
[redacted] emailed me late last Thursday evening with concerns of the progress of
the home. I responded to her email on Friday a.m. letting her know we are
working diligently on the completion of the home. We are waiting on the
electric meter installation. There was an apparent issue with the utility
provider in installing the meter... [redacted] snow was working with the electrician to
resolve the issue. Some of the items in the home [redacted] has backed contractors
off from completing until the power is on to avoid additional trips of trades
coming out the home multiple times needlessly. I advised Mrs [redacted] that I
would visit the home on Tuesday and update them
following.
I
visited the home on Tuesday late afternoon. I received a voicemail on Tuesday
evening from Mr. [redacted].
I
contacted Mr. [redacted] on Wednesday morning before 9am. I updated him that
[redacted] was waiting on a call back from the supervisor at the utility regulator,
with a time he can meet the electrician on site….and resolve any issue. I
also spoke to Mr. [redacted] and explained that I understood Mrs. [redacted] has
concerns that some of her concerns were not being ta[redacted] care of, and I stated I
had sent them and email addressing them… and he stated they understood our plan
and didn’t have issue with it. He wanted to know if he needed to contact his
utility company any further. I let him know once we get clarification and the
issue resolved, if we need him to call his provider again, we will let him
know.
I’ve
updated [redacted] that I had spo[redacted] to Mr. [redacted]… and then almost immediately
[redacted] is getting additional calls from Mrs [redacted] that no one is
communicating to her. I’ve forwarded the email communication I most recently
had with Mrs. [redacted] to [redacted].
Last
week I had emailed you an update thinking we would have the home substantially
complete last week, and final city inspection in process this week. Given the
delay with the meter, I’m looking at substantial completion and inspections
completing by the middle of the month. We are all aware their loan expires
later in the month and are working toward getting the home completed and closed
as quickly as possible.
I signed my contract in March 2014 and started my own chronology just for my own reference. This was my fourth house built during my life, so I was not new to the building process. I too looked at their model and a few houses under construction and decided to go with the model with some changes. Realize this was not a cheap house and is over 2700 sq ft. I wrestled with the idea of posting my entire chronology, but decided that I should. I have read many comments that are not very helpful about how awful the builder is, but that doesn’t really help a person trying to decide to go forward with them or not. So please read the chronology. Schumacher thinks they did fine and are proud of what they did. I disagree and could not recommend them. Decide for yourself.
By the way, I didn’t include any names. But if there is any question about the validity of anything stated, I have names, emails, pictures, etc that I can post.
3/27/2014 – Contract signed with contingency for sale of house. I also asked, from back on 3/9, about the site cost since we had changed plans from original. I don’t think Schumacher ever went back on site to re-shoot the corners for correct block and grade costs.
4/22/2014 – Release signed, expectation is pre-con will be scheduled as soon as design selections are done
4/26/2014 – Design meeting and all items selected. Expectation is it will take about 3 weeks to get the drawings back.
5/3/2014 – Sent appliance list for pricing and inclusion on contract.
5/19/2014 – Still no date for the CAD drawings.
5/22/2014 – Almost a month but the drawings are back. Now told I need to do site plan, septic and well permit. I did not know that, I thought these were coordinated by Schumacher. Now working hard to get all of this done.
5/23/2014 – Confirmed the appliances
6/27/2014 – After completing the site plan, septic permit, HOA approval and miscellaneous requirements, the pre-con was completed. Expectation is the drawings should be back in a few weeks and then the permit and construction can start.
7/1/2014 – Informed Schumacher the dishwasher was not correct, even though it was the one listed on 5/3 and confirmed on 5/23. Said a change order would be issued to reflect the right one.
7/17/2014 – Status is that CAD should have the drawings done the next week. House should be started by the beginning to middle of August.
7/23/2014 – After requesting a status on the drawings numerous times, they are finally done. I went by the office and reviewed the plans that day. Told the permit was being applied for. One change order to move a window to the center of the wall from the edge in one of the bedrooms. No charge. Still no change order for the appliance dishwasher.
8/8/2014 – After repeated requests for a status of the start date I received a message that stated the building permit was applied for and will start as soon as they get it. The excavator has been scheduled. I then called the builder and excavator and he was not scheduled. I asked why the permit was just applied for when I was told it was applied for on the 7/23. Told they couldn’t get the permit until ‘Ops released’. That was news to me. Was then told that the GM would call me Monday to discuss. Also told it was typical that they start construction 45 days from pre-con.
8/8/2014 – Received 2 change orders, they were 100 and 101, but they were both the same saying the window needed to be moved. Still no change order for the appliance dishwasher. I sent both change orders back signed with a note.
8/11/2014 – GM called around lunch time and said he would look in to why the house was not started. He acted like it was a permit issue from the county. I knew that it still had not been applied for. Said he would call back that afternoon or tomorrow by lunch with an update.
8/12/2014 – No call from GM, left a message
8/15/2014 – No call from GM, left a message. Called the Regional Manager and explained my frustration based on expectations and lack of communications. He said my description of what had happened was unacceptable and that Schumacher prided themselves in communicating with the customer. Said he would look in to it at once. Received a voice mail from the GM at 7 PM apologizing for not calling me and they would be starting the house in August, but had no date. Said further follow up should be with my builder.
8/18/2014 – Sent email inquiring about the change orders (duplicate and one missing). No response
8/18/2014 – Regional Sales Manager stated they would start in August
8/19/2014 – Excavator will start this week
8/21/2014 – Excavator will start Friday (8/22)
8/22/2014 – Excavator was delayed due to another job. Will start early next week. It is now 45 days from pre-con and escrow funded.
8/26/2014 – During the last few weeks, no word from the GM or answer to the change orders. In fact, no communication with the office at all. Has now been over 4 months since contract and release were signed. If I had known it would take this long, I would have not signed with Schumacher.
8/26/2014 – Excavator started on property in the afternoon
9/1/2014 – Footers dug today. Official Start of Construction. 52 days after pre-con and escrow.
9/4/2014 – General Manager removed from position, Regional Sales Manager acting GM
9/8/2014 – Footers still not complete and not poured. Rain has delayed work. Sad that August was perfect weather but Schumacher did nothing. Talked to Regional Manager (acting GM), asked if he could give me an estimated completion date, said around early February.
9/15/2014 – Rain this week. House still not started. Footers will have to be re-dug.
9/29/2014 – Footers dug and poured, foundation walls completed today. Change orders need to be reviewed. Foundation wall at Master bedroom is 3 feet higher than drawings, just as I thought back when initial costs were defined.
10/3/2014 – Change orders finally ok except for dishwasher, still waiting for that. Stucco was done poorly and they are re-doing it. Inspection passed.
10/9/2014 – Stucco re-done and looks good. Rough grade started, gravel fill in garage, but still has to finish Rough grade.
10/10/2014 – Rough grade finished. Due to the back wall (foundation) being higher than planned (due to not re-shooting for estimate), the plan for the patio and stairs will not work. Submitted alternative to have it as a deck and is being reviewed. I don’t think I should pay a change order cost since the patio could not be built as drawn.
10/18/2014 – Foundation walls have been done almost 3 weeks and framing has not started. 33% of construction time has elapsed and only foundation walls done.
10/23/2014 – Framing all week. Walls are up, trusses should be delivered today. Builder says still on target for early February.
11/03/2014 – Framing delayed due to materials not being on site, still waiting for composite. Septic still not started. Reason for material being delayed and not enough is blamed on a poor estimator that did not estimate the material correctly and has been fired.
11/07/2014 – Nothing really done this week. Waiting on material again. Roof ¾ done and exposed to rain, been that way for 10 days. Framing is now been in progress for 3 weeks and not done (Not Framers fault, waiting on material). Not what you would expect from a quality builder. My estimate is that they are about 3 weeks behind schedule. And this is after I was told that this house is being expedited. Change order requested for back deck change still not done.
11/14/2014 – Material finally delivered and framing done except for some of the deck (still not enough material delivered!). Supposed to be a lot of activity next week. Shingles, garage floor poured, septic installed, windows and doors. Plumber and Gas Company to meet with me Monday.
11/17/2014 – Rain today. Framing, windows and shingles should have been done before this, now the house is exposed again to weather and more delays. Doubt septic will be done any time soon (should have been done weeks ago). Based on continued delays of material and vendors, now estimate that are at least 4 weeks behind.
11/21/2014 – Shingles were delivered and started, but of course not enough were delivered. Blamed the bad estimator again. So more shingles will not be delivered until Monday. Septic still not started. Windows and doors did not show up this week, said they were ordered. How we can still be waiting for them after the builder knew when we would need them is beyond belief. This delays the HVAC and other items from starting. Roofers did the front porch composite. They nailed the stair treads instead of screws. It will need to be re-done.
In reading this you are probably thinking this is embellished. What builder could perform so poorly? I promise I have not embellished anything, and in fact, have left some things out for the sake of brevity.
Other notes: - I found that the final drawings of the house had been modified and some electrical had been changed, I was not told and no revision was noted. GM said he did not know how this could have happened. Builder said I would get what was in original drawing. – Change order for the deck has been 6 weeks and nothing back, if they can’t even do this, tells you about their commitment about how they can design a house fast.
11/24/2014 – Shingles delivered but no roofers, maybe tomorrow. At this point there is no date for the windows and doors. House continues to sit exposed to elements after over a month since framing started. I know the house has to be behind schedule, but no word from builder. Nothing Schumacher has stated as far as house dates and process has happened. I could never recommend Schumacher.
11/25/2014 – Roof was in progress and should be done. The new GM called late in the day to introduce himself and give me a status. All POs have been reviewed and corrected, which was caused by a bad estimate. Windows and Doors NOT here until 12/04. Stated that the PO was sent to the vendor but the vendor did not order anything. Another week of no activity. Said they would do all possible to finish by end of February, which is Guarantee Date or pay penalty. I have little confidence.
12/5/2014 – HVAC and plumbing in progress, garage floor poured. But still no windows and doors. Further behind schedule. Still no word on the septic, which should have been done months ago. GM called late and said the windows/doors did not come in but they are on a truck. But no one knows where the truck is. Driveway in front of garage is a muddy mess, excavator never finished the last section of construction driveway or rough grade in front of garage, so it is a swamp that gets tracked in to the house and over the composite deck.
12/09/2014 – Electricians started today, HVAC continues
12/10/2014 – Hooray! Windows and doors finally here and install has started. All is on site except 4 panel slider.
12/12/2014 – Windows and doors installation done except for slider. Schumacher doesn’t get draw until all are installed. HVAC almost done, plumbing done, electrical underway. Propane tank delivered. Waiting for excavator to install septic and bury tank.
12/17/2014 – Still waiting on slider, new date is January 1st. Still waiting on excavator to finish grade, install septic and bury propane. HVAC done. Plumbing and electrical done except for a few minor issues, including ordering a new shower pan because the old one was wrong. Framing of TV niche wrong. Still waiting for deck to be done. Haven’t heard a date for the well.
12/19/2014 – Siding started. Inside fireplace in.
12/30/2014 – Siding continues and looking good. But they are short on material, after I was told all of the POs were reviewed and fixed. Slider still not in, front of house still a muddy mess. Framer still has not done boxed range vent and other items. Shower tub still not fixed. Outside fireplace in but has a 1’ square switch on the front, not acceptable. The fireplace is also a ventless instead of direct vent per contract.
1/3/2015 – Shower tub fixed, siding mostly done. Insulation mostly done. No Slider (waiting two months), no septic, mud everywhere due to poor grading, framer not started range vent, or outside deck. Fireplace not addressed.
1/7/2015 – Met with Builder and GM, said insulation should be done tomorrow as well as some other minor stuff to get ready for dry wall, which will hopefully start Friday. No date for the slider, but GM stated this will not hold up progress. Fireplace will be looked at. Estimated completion is still end of February, but will be close and depends partially on weather.
1/10/2015 – Nothing really done this week. Drywall was supposed to start today, but nothing. Framer has not fixed items, like boxing the vented range. I would think this has to be done before dry wall. Has been dry all week, but no septic. Outside fireplace not addressed. I see no way for the house to be done by end of February.
1/13/2015 – Dry wall underway. Range hood framed and fireplace niche fixed. No word on outside fireplace or septic. Slider supposed to be shipped end of week.
1/17/2015 – Dry wall completed, well has been drilled. NO SLIDER (NOW WAITING TWO MONTHS), NO SEPTIC, NO CHANGE IN THE FIREPLACE, NO BACK DECK (AS THE MATERIAL HAS SAT IN THE MUD FOR A MONTH)
1/24/2015 – Deck is almost complete, short some composite since the wrong color was delivered. Nothing done on fireplace. Excavator called and said he would be out next week. It has been dry all week but rain expected this weekend, so will be wet again. So more excuses that it is wet, when they don’t show up when it is dry. Slider installed but is not correct. Supposed to be a 4 panel slider that opens in the middle. We have been waiting months for this custom slider to be built. But a 2 panel slider was installed with a fixed panel on each side. So three separate stock pieces, of which only one panel (of the 2 panel slider) opens. These are stock sliders and not custom. In addition, the installation was very poor, with hacked cuts that are not straight and look terrible. Not acceptable and the GM and Area VP were alerted. Schumacher should be embarrassed.
1/29/2015 – Today marks the Anticipated Date for completion. Schumacher defines this in the contract as the commitment date which is 150 days from start of construction. Start of construction is defined as footers dug. The interesting point is that when the footers were dug, Schumacher already stated they could not meet that date. Why put a date in the contract that cannot be met? Of course, there is no penalty, so they can put in anything they want to get the customer to sign.
1/30/2015 – Deck is complete. Trim person (only 1 guy) on site most of the week. Installing interior doors, baseboards and casing of windows. Couldn’t finish since dry wall vendor didn’t jam 4 windows, didn’t round 8 corners and didn’t finish one opening. Trim person scheduled to continue next week with beams and cabinets, probably at least 1.5 weeks left. Nothing done on fireplace. As expected, rain so excavator didn’t come. When it is dry he has higher priorities, then when it rains he says he can’t come. Nothing done on slider. Schumacher said it was the right one, we said we didn’t want it, waiting all week for them to tell us options. Garage door installed.
2/5/2015 – Schumacher states the slider installed is what was paid for, but I said we were told it would be a four panel with center opening. Said I was willing to pay more and to show me options. We were finally told a slider like we want is available, but still waiting to know time to order and price. Fireplace control finally fixed. No excavator even though it is now drying out, no date given. Trim continues to move forward, but delays include the drywall still not done as noted above, waiting for hardware to finish stair balusters, and no scaffolding to build beams.
Schumacher requested the trim draw, but since the drywall and trim is not done, I said no.
Schumacher finally admitted they will not meet the Guarantee Completion Date and now have said the date will be 3/20. That is 50 days past the Anticipated Date and 20 days past the Guarantee Date.
2/13/2015 – Trim continues (only 1 person) and is nearing completion. Excavator finally came on site Friday and started grade for driveway, drainage and buried septic and propane tanks. Waiting for county to flag drain field. Don’t know why they waited until now to call the county. New slider was ordered and will take 3 weeks to come in. Slider was ordered on 2/11 and takes 3 weeks to make. No other work done. I think 3/20 is ambitious for completion based on progress.
Found out that we have a new Customer Coordinator (this is the person that handles the change orders, including allocations) and draws. With that change we have had the following people change during the course of our contract. Sales Person, GM, Customer Coordinator and two builders (but not ours). This seems like a lot of change for one office.
2/21/2015 – Poor weather and very cold this week, little could be done. Trim done except for a few baseboard corners. Tile and wood flooring delivered. Painters started interior today. Front of house is now a muddy mess again. When floors go in the mud will be everywhere.
2/28/2015 – Today is the Guarantee Move In Date, 150 days from start of construction and a $1000 penalty. Date is estimated at 3/20/2015, which will be very tight.
This week the wood floors were installed. Work is in progress on the tile floors (2 bathrooms and laundry room) and master shower. All about 75% done. Painting prime done in all rooms. Two drywall corners still need to be done, some trim and still waiting for the new slider. Snow this week so no progress on septic field or further grading.
3/2/2015 – Many of the tasks and vendors that should have been on site and making progress just isn’t happening. I feel the 3/20 date is in real jeopardy, especially the septic. Sent an email to the VP, GM and builder that was fairly harsh in my disappointment. Got back emails and calls saying they would do everything they could to complete on the new date (3/20) and gave me a list of activities that would be done this week. We will see, but I have heard it before.
Still no date for slider, here is a recap of the windows and doors saga:
The doors and windows were delayed due to the order not going in. They should have gone in by mid November. GM stated they should be in on December 4th. The windows and doors were finally installed on December 10th, but was told the 4 panel slider would be a week or two more. Was then told the slider would be delivered after January 1st. The slider was finally installed on January 24th. Two months late! But not the slider we were told during the sale. We were told it would be a 4 panel center open similar to the model. What was installed was a 3 piece slider, with two fixed panels and a single 2 panel slider in the middle, which meant only one of the 4 panels opened. I stated this was not acceptable and wanted options, including saying I would pay extra for the right one. It took two more weeks to get options and another week to order it. Much to my amazement, I get no credit for the wrong slider and had to pay for a second slider. I was asked what I wanted to do with the first slider since I owned it, I had a couple of ideas. What the [redacted] am I going to do with it? So the slider will end up costing me over $4400. It was ordered on February 11th with a 3 week lead time. That 3 weeks is up on today (3/2), but no news on a date.
3/3/2015 – The construction driveway has been an issue I have documented since October. As I stated, the last 30 feet or so of the construction driveway was never constructed. And when the water drains off the roof, causes a mud lake in front of the house. I even threatened last month to not pay draw 4 until this was fixed and you said I could not delay the draw for that reason.
No vehicles have been able to get to the front of the garage or front door for over a month, and now (yesterday) a truck delivering the stone for the fireplaces got stuck at the top of the driveway. When I left they were manually carrying the stone down the driveway and stacking it both inside and outside the house. I can only imagine the mess I will see today. I also assume they had to get a wrecker to pull the truck out.
I will be heading out there shortly to take pictures of the driveway and damage done to my neighbor’s property. I don’t know how much more damage was done since I left before the truck was pulled out.
My fear now is that no vehicles may be able to get down the driveway (well, maybe down but not back out).
3/5/2015 - Finally got a delivery date on the slider, not until 3/11 and no install date yet. That is only 7 business days before the completion date (third completion date). Once slider is installed, need to finish siding, trim and paint around slider.
3/7/2015 – Several items started or completed this week. Water line from well installed. Plumbing mostly done (need hookup to water heater). HVAC done, except gas to lower deck and some minor items. Electricians started and well under way. Interior painting continues. Only 2 weeks left, lots still has to be done.
Septic field put in today, waiting for inspection on Monday.
Customer Coordinator they recently hired just quit, now have a new person, but they have been at Schumacher, so not a new employee.
3/9/2015 – Septic inspected and completed. Electric is done except generator, pendants, appliances and puc lights. There were supposed to be 12 puc lights as part of the shelving in the great room. Electricians stated there was no PO for this or installation defined. Another issue with POs being issued wrong.
Stone installed on front of house.
3/12/2015 – Driveway finally fixed with new gravel, railings going in, stone on fireplace inside and out.
3/14/2015 – SLIDER INSTALLED!!! Gutters going in, painting continues.
3/16/2015 – Electric done, painting continues, gas run to lower deck, trim continues. But no generator, fridge or counter for desk. House was supposed to be done last month, so how can these not be there? Real doubtful house will be done Friday
3/18/2015 – Trim done except for around bottom of some cabinets, waiting for material. Electric and gas to house done. Driveway formed, painting started on exterior. Final grade in progress. House will not be done by 3/20 Friday. Builder now says 3/25, next Wednesday.
3/20/2015 – Driveway formed but not poured, they said Monday. There is no reason it could not have been poured today or Saturday. Now even if the house is done 3/25 Wednesday, I cannot drive a moving truck on it, so I can’t move in.
Seed and straw done.
Even though the gas company has run the gas line to the house, no one seems to know who or how to hook the gas to the generator. Surely I can’t be the first person to install a generator.
Seems that once the date is extended then everyone figures they have more time and all slows down.
3/21/2015 – No one really did much on Friday or Saturday, you would think more activity would occur since they must be done on the 25th and they have already missed three dates.
Noticed today the painters painted the garage door windows and there is a large dent in the garage door! Who paints over freakin windows!! There are also scratches on some of the wood floor in the great room, just as I thought there would be, even though Schumacher said they would be protected. The refrigerator was finally delivered, but it looks like they bashed and scraped some corners in the house, they just don’t care.
3/24/2015 – House is scheduled to be done tomorrow! Driveway poured yesterday, stairs in progress. Inspector said we need stairs (should be done), crawl space door and verification of GFI for 2nd bathroom and kitchen island. That will give us the C/O for power to be turned on. Still finishing painting. Items outstanding include some trim, range hood cover, fireplace trim, and mirrors. The other minor things will be on the punch list.
3/25/2015 – On the date they are supposed to be done, none of the outstanding items were done. The range cover could not go on because of the way the tile was done. So the tile needs to be removed and re-done. And the range would not push back to the wall because the mns installing the gas put the gas pipe too high, so the range hits it. Still no fireplace guys or the cut off. And place is a mess outside and in the garage, will probably just clean it up myself.
3/29/2015 – Many items of significance outstanding. Garage and grounds are not cleaned and are a mess, cant park cars in garage. Mini-split not wired, fireplaces not on, dishwasher not working, mirrors not in, vent hood cover not done.
4/5/2015 – Following are items of significance since moving in:
- After back and forth with HVAC and Electrician on who should wire the mini split, Schumacher hired another electrician to do it. It is wired, but now holes in dry wall in garage that need to be fixed
- Range vent hood will not fit. Tile has to be removed and redone
- Fireplace surround on inside fireplace will not fit, stone has to be changed
- Generator was not wired, electricians wired it and generator start up yesterday.
- 3 cracks in new driveway, waiting to see how this will be addressed.
- Floor is not level in house. Waiting for someone to assess how much it is off and where in the house in addition to back wall of Master Bedroom and Great Room.
- After back and forth with HVAC, they finally agreed that outside fireplace needs a cut-off valve, waiting for install
- Around 15 more items that are more minor that need to be done
4/8/2015 – Although at the closing on 3/26 Schumacher stated that their goal was to complete all outstanding items in 14 days, even though they have 21 days, nothing has really been done. By today the deck boards were to be replaced, the fireplace fixed, and the tile over the range done. But by mid-day, no one is here. Very poor customer service, especially when at the closing we were told the Schumacher would not abandon us just because we have paid them all the money. This is not a company anyone should do business with.
4/13/2015 – Deck boards were replaced on front porch and railings fixed. Now stone has to be fixed that were removed on porch for deck boards. Generator person asked why the mini-split was not on the generator, told him the electricians said it couldn’t be. Generator person said it was no problem. So Schumacher had another electrician come out and fix it. Schumacher also looked at the floor and acknowledged it was sloped at the back left of the house, but no issue existed other than the slight slope. They agreed to screen under back deck as compensation for the slope. I agreed reluctantly because there is no real solution to fix the floor and now I have to live with it. SUCH POOR QUALITY. Tile guys took out tile around the range cover so the cover would fit correctly, but the re-tile looks very bad and will have to be re-done again.
Found out this morning that our builder is no longer with the company, this now means every person we dealt with during the process has left/fired. I just want to make sure we get through this final stretch and get everything fixed.
4/15/2015 – Stone person arrived yesterday, best solution to fix inside fireplace was to cut stone, now house is covered with stone dust. Someone is supposed to arrive this morning to clean. Nothing else done, list is still long and 21 days is tomorrow.
4/20/2015 – Screen under deck done. Soffit vents installed. After trim around garage was fixed, garage door will now not close. They didn’t even try to close it before they left. Will now have to be re-done.
4/21/2015 – Garage door was adjusted and trim re-applied. Floors, screens done.
5/7/2015 - Now 6 weeks since we closed and moved in. Schumacher said they would have punch list done with 21 days, but many items still outstanding with no date. This includes the tile re-done around range cover, Dentils for front door (this has been outstanding for 6 months), gas cutoff for outdoor fireplace (outstanding for 4 months), cracks in driveway (sub said he would be out weeks ago, no word from him), damage to culvert during construction, and numerous painting needs caused by fixes after construction done. In addition, the fireplace front finally arrived, but it has been redesigned and will not fit, they are looking for an old one. The garage panel that was dented came in but does not line up with the rest of the door. Waiting to see if door has to be replaced, that will take at least a month.
I told Schumacher that I must have a plan with dates by next Wednesday or I will escalate to owners of Schumacher (Paul and Bill), will submit a complaint to the Revdex.com and will post all of my chronology on social media.
I CHALLENEGE ANY EXCUTIVE FROM SCHUMACHER TO COME TO MY HOUSE AND WALK THROUGH IT AND TELL ME THEY ARE PROUND OF THE JOB SCHUMACHER DID.
5/15/2015 – Now 7 weeks since close and punch list still not finished. Painting, tile and gas cutoff done. Still waiting for driveway fix, door dentils, garage door and road culvert to be fixed. I was also promised that the garage would be pressure washed since it was used as a work room for all the trades and had everything ground in to the floor. They didn’t have a pressure washer, so they just hand scrubbed it, which did nothing.
5/16/2015 – Super Dave (concrete) was supposed to be here today to fix the driveway. Promise after promise but no action. Of course no one showed. Wrote an email to the builder, GM and VP that I was done with them and now escalating to Bill and Paul Schumacher, Revdex.com and social. I am done with them.
5/18/2015 – Was informed by GM that Dave would be here Monday at 11 AM. No one asked if it was convenient for me, and I have already waited for him and he does not show up. I have dirt being delivered Monday to fix the poor grading, so I said no. This morning the dirt was delivered very early, so called the GM to tell him Dave could come anytime during the day if possible. Said he would call me back later in the day and let me know. Now 5:30 PM and no call back.
Outstanding issues still include the damaged road culvert, dentils, garage door and driveway. But I am tired of accepting sub-pad work, which I believe I was forced to in order to get the house done, this includes floors out of level, damaged culvert, final grade not done, driveway cracks and cleanup not done ( I cleaned up the garage and debris from the grounds myself). I asked for $8,000 in compensation for all of this as outlined in the letter below.
Area VP was forwarded the letter and attachment I sent to Paul and Bill Schumacher. So they don’t handle it (not even sure they saw it), but the VP does. Waiting for his call now.
Talked to Area VP, bottom line is I got a lot of excuses, from all driveways crack to no floor is level. Didn’t really accomplish anything. He said he was proud of the house they built. So I will publish all my information to the web.
5/19/2015 – [redacted] the concrete guy came by after being forced to by the builder. Just made excuses and ground and caulked the cracks (3). A new house that looks old. I don’t have much faith this fix will last over time, but nothing I can do but wait and see.
5/20/2015 – Door dentils were finally supposed to be installed today and culvert fixed. At 5:30 PM received a text that only 1 door dentil came in and they expect the other one tomorrow, I doubt it. And the culvert will now be done by Friday, more excuses, more delays.
5/23/2015 – Culvert was supposed to be done by Friday and door dentils installed, but not done and no message as to why. So it doesn’t matter which GM, Builder, Customer Coordinator they have, the story is always the same. Still waiting.
5/27/2015 – No word from Schumacher, they have just gone silent. I finally talked to the builder late today and as I thought, only 1 dentil was ordered and now waiting for the second. They are not fixing the culvert until the dentil comes in. I am waiting for the conclusion of this before I post all of this on the web.
5/29/2015 – Schumacher now saying Monday for the dentils and rock. No date for the garage door. Monday will be 67 days since close and punch list still not done.
6/1/2015 – Door dentils and culvert by road fixed today. Only the garage door panel is left from the punch list. Door panel is being made, no date yet.
6/4/2015 – Paint left by builder for door was not the right color (I asked for it to be left so I could paint it myself rather than wait for painters). Looks like the color mix by [redacted] was wrong, not Schumacher’s fault. We got more paint at [redacted] and is was right.
6/8/2015 – Still waiting for a date on the garage door. Also sent my first warranty request in. Back stairs outside of garage were attached to the foundation using a few small nails, it pulled out and the stairs are unstable. Also, 7 of the 18 windows either will not open or are very hard to open and need to be adjusted.
6/11/2015 – It has now been 5 weeks since the replacement garage door panel did not line up. No date on when it will be in or installed. No word back about warranty items.
I have decided to post this on the web, but will update it in the future if more issues arise.
Mrs. [redacted] has been in contact with
the Schumacher Homes [redacted] office about this concern. It was addressed by
the VP of Construction, and options for resolution were presented. Mrs. [redacted]
chose not go with any of those options. Cabinets are offered at several...
different levels and choices. They are displayed both in our model home and
design center. Schumacher Homes in not trying to hide anything with the make or
quality of any of our selections, including cabinets. The description in the
contract states the cabinets Mrs. [redacted] selected are our maple door selection.
The standard size of the cabinets is 30” high, and is described on the plans on the cabinet page. The plans are reviewed at design meetings and our pre-construction meeting.
There are opportunities from the point of sale through color selections meetings
and pre-construction meetings to select something other than standard options.
As much as we would like to be able to foresee what our customers may want, we
can only go by what they decide and include in their contract. At this time the cabinets are not
installed, but will be soon, so our hope is that once they are installed Mrs. [redacted] will like
what she sees. If not, we can re-visit the option of building a wood soffit as already presented. As for Mrs. [redacted]'s desired settlement we can only provide what both the [redacted]'s and Schumacher Homes of Louisiana have agreed to in the contract. This includes the 30" wall cabinets and the pedestal sink that is an included feature in our homes. Attached is a copy of the included features page signed by the [redacted]'s, which shows the pedestal sink.
We would like to continue to work directly with Mrs. [redacted] to work though any issues or concerns.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I spoke with [redacted] on Monday January 12th and he assured me I would hear back about the rest of the listed items either later that day or the next by him or [redacted]. Neither has responded, after multiple attempts and multiple different ways trying to contact them. It is now 8 days later and I have no way of knowing what is going on. I have not heard back about the $1325.00, if it was sent or when it might be. I have heard nothing about the backsplash that we continually asked about and was deleted by the Schumacher company. I have not heard from the fireplace vendor about possible set-up either. I fear it may be summer before this happens and then the fireplace is no damn good. No attic steps or window replacements have been installed or communicated to me. There is still work to be done and we closed almost a month ago. This is getting absurd and we are continually using our own finances and times to pick up the slack of this, so-called, professional company.
Regards,
[redacted]
Do not build with schmacher homes. They will be perfectly accommodating and customer service oriented right up until you sign the contract. 1st of all, we were scared into signing the contract before we were ready due to promises of a large price increase and decreased promotion value happening the next day (this was at the end of the month). Once we signed, we couldn't get schumacher to email us back on any issues, and all of a sudden the pricing started to change. Everything is an upgrade, even after you sign. For one small example, at the pre construction meeting we were told the garage door is standard, but if you want an opener for the garage door that is an upgrade. Want a remote to use that garage opener?....another upgrade and more money. Oh, then they never mentioned we would have to put in a costly storm water management system due to local codes, never came up until pre construction when they know you are too far along to turn back. Another example was schumacher quoting us 17'500 to do a driveway. I had to get local bids and am getting it done for around 10000. The latest kicker is they put an allowance of 10000 for a septic system in our quote, telling us this was more or less accurate. After almost a month of the septic quote being " out for bid" they come back and tell us it is now 16500 just to install and more to plan and pull permits. When I complained, she said you can add to your allowance or get your own quote. Great customer service and accountability there right? Typical bait and switch sales technique as we are too far along to turn back and use a reputable builder with some integrity. My advice... Steer clear of schumacher unless you want to be gouged and poorly treated every step of the way...after they have your money that is. I could say more, but no time as now I apparently have to get quotes myself to make up for their " underestimate" (or sales tactic if you ask me) on the septci system. The office I worked with was in Ravenna, Ohio for a build in erie, pa.
I followed up with our [redacted] General Manager and offer the following response to the attached complaint:
1. Our warranty procedure for homeowners to follow is for the homeowners to call our [redacted] office to schedule service. Unfortunately the homeowner in this case called our...
construction manager (CM) and informed him of the plumbing leak. Our CM called a plumber to repair the leak and a drywall contractor to repair the drywall. Until the homeowner called into the office on 12/15/15, we were not aware that a painter would be needed. We contacted a painter immediately, but based on the short notice, all painters already had yearend work scheduled. We will complete this work although not in the time frame that the homeowner anticipated.2. Our CM discussed the vent with the building inspector based on the homeowner's concerns. Per the inspector, the vent was installed according to code and was passed on the building inspections.
3. The pex piping was installed according to code and passed building inspections.
4. The base board in the Dining Room was listed on the Homeowner Orientation as needing to be straightened. Our CM agreed to straighten the baseboard; however, the homeowner did not want anyone else back in the house and signed off on it. If the homeowner has changed his mind, we will gladly schedule a repair and complete.
5. This is the first time we have learned about the un-level toilet in the main bath. We will be happy to schedule this repair.
Please review this information and let us know how the homeowner would like for us to proceed with the repairs.
Our house began being built in the fall of 2013. It was "what they considered" completed in February of 2014. We had issues that we call them on, and there were some attempts to correct the issues. Well just recently we discovered the cement board siding had some areas cracking and breaking, it is almost to the date only 3 years since the siding was put on the house, yet the Schumacher rep in Lafayette Louisiana says that this is not covered under warranty. I really screwed up by hiring this company.
Revdex.com:
The company have fixed the driveway, consider this resolved.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]
I completed building my Schumacher home 01/2016, the general contractor was a nightmare. I still to this day two months later have holes in my yard from the well line being put in, my electrical bill has been over $900.00 because of faulty a/c unit/electrical work and just today found out the well inspection was never complete. this issue has placed my family health and well being at risk. This was the worse experience I have ever had.
Schumachef Homes wish I would of dug alittle deeper in checking out this company.... very un organized with builder and contractor relationship. ...my concrete walls had to be removed.....taking over a month. .due to a set back requirement and a 2 foot elevation mistake...allways short on materials...roof half done but doors were installed and water ruined 2 doors......not enough felt paper..would not let first tile guy come back...work was so bad in master shower had to take out and redo....contractor's are forced to bid so low on work they cant afford skilled labor to due quality work. .... warranty work is very very very slow..trying to get a door problem solved since May 2016....
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]
As it has already been stated, I have a 10 year warranty. I know it is easy to say it is expired or it doesn't relate to this repair. The fact of the matter is that this roof leak happened due to poor design and poor structure.
I have gone through this with Schumacher from day one with issues on the house and every time they want to pass the buck and not correct their mistakes. Just like a garage floor that was poured 2 inches higher in spots and the door won't seat properly at the bottom. Instead of tearing out mistake, they try to do a cheap fix that doesn't work. Now it is the roof. Or a french door that was installed improperly and got turned upside down to correct mistake and now needs to be replaced. I could go on and on with issues that just get passed on to the home owner to correct. It is shameful that you pay for a house to be built correctly and you are penalized by shoddy work.
Sick of the run around and sick of no responsibility ever being taken by them. I am used to their answers and I am used to nothing being fixed. Hey thanks for the roofer number. I will get right on getting him out and me having to pay to correct your shoddy work to start with.
I met with the homeowner last week at his home. We measured everything out. We are short on square footage of the concrete. I told him we would make the correction. He was appreciative of that. While I was there I also took care of a couple of other minor issues he was...
having.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks
[redacted]
The construction of this home has taken longer than normal. With the tremendous growth of new construction in the [redacted] area (#1 housing market in the entire country), the availability of quality subcontractors is at a premium. I do not mean this as an excuse, rather a factor for the extended...
time. It Is our responsibility to complete this job timely. We will do that for the customer. Prior to the final closing, we will review the overall timeframe and make the appropriate adjustments for the delay to the homeowner.
Please review this information and let me know if you have any further questions.
I could not be unhappier with my experience thus far with Schumacher Homes, Inc. April 24th, 2015 marked the Maturity Date for my construction loan. Over a year ago, I started what I hoped would be the culmination of a dream. My home is still not complete. I have had to extend my Construction loan resulting in additional costs.
I signed my contract with Schumacher Homes in January of 2014. We closed on the Construction Loan on April 24th, 2014. I spoke with the County and they received the signed application for building permit on July 7th, 2014. Why it took from the end of April until the first part of July to get the permits in to the County I do not know. They received the signed Septic Permit on July 21st. It was put in the system on July 25th, 2014. The permits were then picked up on August 1st. As of today we are a week shy of 10 full months beyond that, and the house continues to sit.
I believe that when I signed my contract, I had the same reasonable expectations that any new homeowner would. The house would be done correctly, and in a timely manner. I felt good knowing I had a reputable, national builder, overseeing my project. I certainly didn't expect that a year of my life would be dedicated to getting this Home built. I have inquired with other builders, spoken to friends and colleagues, and all agree that 6 months is more than enough time to complete a 1900 Sq/ft home. Yes, that’s correct, 1900 Sq/ft. I have more than patient, more than fair, the result of which seems to be only my continued financial burden and inconvenience. Now, at almost 10 months in, have I finally decided that I am being take advantage of and that I’m not going to tolerate it anymore.
On September 11th 2015, over a month after the permits were picked up, Ground was broken on my property. The foundation was poured a full month later on October 12th, 2014. It was a full 2 months before the framers started work on December 13th, 2014. Over 4 months, just to start to get the “appearance” of a home on my property.
One of the largest inconveniences has been the electrical Contractor. Shortly after I walked the property with Schumacher to stake the location of the home, I made arrangements with the Electrical Service Provider in my area, as instructed, to get temporary power to the property. This was done and immediately paid for. From that point, all that need be done is notify them of the Temporary Pole placement on the property, and they would schedule hooking up the power. After several months of waiting they finally placed the pole. However, it was in the wrong location, on the opposite side of the property. I hounded the construction manager, emailed, called, and still the Electricians would not come and move the pole. Once framing began, they framers had to use generator power. The whole house was framed, roofed, and sided using only generators. The electrician did not move the pole until he was actually on sight again, to do his work on the inside of the house. By this time the house was dried in. The Service Provider explained to me that they needed a 4-5 week lead time to set up permanent power to the house and that since the house was wired and ready to receive power, setting up temporary power now would be a waste of time and money in additional service charges. So I went ahead and scheduled permanent power. I was informed that at this stage, the contractors generally don’t have their own generators and that I would need to buy one. I had to spend $750.00 on a generator to prevent any further delays and keep the project moving forward, all because the Electrician on the job could not inconvenience himself enough to come move a pole. The generator hasn’t stopped the project from moving at the speed of rust. The house still does not have power as the Electrician still has work to perform before the service provider can inspect it to see that it meets all their requirements prior to one of their technicians connecting permanent power to the house.
Not long ago, the Construction Manager quit, siting that he could no longer in good conscience work under the General Manager. The General Manager called me and asked me “What’s going on with your house?” Are you kidding me?! Isn’t it your job to know?! This is indicative of the lack of oversight and attention that I feel my project has had over the past 11 months. We met at the job site and to his shock, many items were built incorrectly and not to plan. By this time the Electrical, plumbing, and Sheetrock contractors had been there and done their work. So some of this work had to be torn out and rebuilt resulting in further delays. This is constitutes nothing short of poor project management and oversight, bordering on very little at all. The G.M. let the Construction manager just run with it. The Construction manager got a framing crew he trusted, and just let them run with it, and now because of lack of quality control and oversight, we have to back track and correct. All of this resulting in additional cost and inconvenience for me.
To his credit, The G.M. did make an effort to appease me by giving me a 42” bar in the kitchen, and additional stonework floor to ceiling at the fireplace as opposed to just the mantle height at no cost to me. The very least he could do for the mistakes made and the subsequent delays resulting.
That being said, I think that Schumacher Homes to this point has lost nothing to this point. They aren’t making more money off of me by the concessions given and gratefully accepted, but not gaining from me does not equate to a loss. At present, they are still getting the contracted price of the home. They lose nothing. To date I have been the only one inconvenienced by this whole process. At this point I don’t feel that Schumacher is going to give my home, the place where I hope to live the rest of my life, adequate consideration or attention, until they have something to lose. I have spoken with the “National Administrator” at Schumacher. She seemed to be sympathetic and understanding. Apparently her experience with her own home build was less than desirable. I cannot say if she owns a Schumacher Home. My recollection of the conversation was, in summary, she spent about 6 months being unhappy about it, but then came to love the new home. Frankly, I am paying over $220,000.00 for this tiny house, and I don’t think myself, or anyone for that matter, should have to be unhappy about it for one single day.
At this point, I cannot in good conscience recommend this builder to any prospective home buyer.
Most horrible builder!! The construction was so poor that we are finding issues in the house even after 2 years of occupying the house. We know that these reviews or forums will not harm the company in anyway because most of the people are like sheep - blindly follow the sheep infront of them! I wish that at least the CEO reads these comments once and sincerely believe that customers are writing these reviews after having real bad experiences and not just for fun! It's not about earning money and not worrying about anything else since a beggar also earns money but he earns it "sincerely" and not cheating others!!
We are anticipating an August completion date. Our general manger has provided
the homeowner several concessions based on the delays of completion, including
tile installation changes, iron stair parts and septic design
changes.
I have reviewed your complaint. Schumacher Homes of Texas, Inc. will refund your money as requested. I have sent this request to the Houston office and sent a request for your refund to our accounting department to process a check back to you. The check will be mailed to you in the next few day.
I...
am sorry that your experience with Schumacher Homes of Texas, Inc. was not more positive.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
1. The siding repair near the porch posts is scheduled for July 31st NOT the 30th (just to point out yet again Schumachers attention to detail).
2. Vacation? At this point I am furious. What vacation? There has never been any mention of vacation to Schumacher, EVER! Again, another excuse/lie.
3. The shelf brackets for the kitchen cabinets have yet to arrive to our home, we were told by the GM that those would be mailed to us weeks ago.
4. Today, our basement door, which did work properly, no longer latches closed. This was reported to [redacted] today, 7/14/14. I can only assume that door is the beginning of our home falling apart, with that being said, how long will it take to be repaired?
Just to restate the main point, March 8th was our "Schumacher Guaranteed Completion Date". We are now OVER 4 MONTHS past the date that was "promised" that our home would be completed. We have been told nothing but bogus excuses and now for the excuse to be given that things will be completed when, "the [redacted] return from vacation" is at the very least insulting but goes on to prove our point that this company is ignorant, incompetent and the void of customer service as they know nothing of what is actually happening at their build sites.
[redacted]
Mrs.
[redacted] emailed me late last Thursday evening with concerns of the progress of
the home. I responded to her email on Friday a.m. letting her know we are
working diligently on the completion of the home. We are waiting on the
electric meter installation. There was an apparent issue with the utility
provider in installing the meter... [redacted] snow was working with the electrician to
resolve the issue. Some of the items in the home [redacted] has backed contractors
off from completing until the power is on to avoid additional trips of trades
coming out the home multiple times needlessly. I advised Mrs [redacted] that I
would visit the home on Tuesday and update them
following.
I
visited the home on Tuesday late afternoon. I received a voicemail on Tuesday
evening from Mr. [redacted].
I
contacted Mr. [redacted] on Wednesday morning before 9am. I updated him that
[redacted] was waiting on a call back from the supervisor at the utility regulator,
with a time he can meet the electrician on site….and resolve any issue. I
also spoke to Mr. [redacted] and explained that I understood Mrs. [redacted] has
concerns that some of her concerns were not being ta[redacted] care of, and I stated I
had sent them and email addressing them… and he stated they understood our plan
and didn’t have issue with it. He wanted to know if he needed to contact his
utility company any further. I let him know once we get clarification and the
issue resolved, if we need him to call his provider again, we will let him
know.
I’ve
updated [redacted] that I had spo[redacted] to Mr. [redacted]… and then almost immediately
[redacted] is getting additional calls from Mrs [redacted] that no one is
communicating to her. I’ve forwarded the email communication I most recently
had with Mrs. [redacted] to [redacted].
Last
week I had emailed you an update thinking we would have the home substantially
complete last week, and final city inspection in process this week. Given the
delay with the meter, I’m looking at substantial completion and inspections
completing by the middle of the month. We are all aware their loan expires
later in the month and are working toward getting the home completed and closed
as quickly as possible.
I signed my contract in March 2014 and started my own chronology just for my own reference. This was my fourth house built during my life, so I was not new to the building process. I too looked at their model and a few houses under construction and decided to go with the model with some changes. Realize this was not a cheap house and is over 2700 sq ft. I wrestled with the idea of posting my entire chronology, but decided that I should. I have read many comments that are not very helpful about how awful the builder is, but that doesn’t really help a person trying to decide to go forward with them or not. So please read the chronology. Schumacher thinks they did fine and are proud of what they did. I disagree and could not recommend them. Decide for yourself.
ns installing the gas put the gas pipe too high, so the range hits it. Still no fireplace guys or the cut off. And place is a mess outside and in the garage, will probably just clean it up myself.
By the way, I didn’t include any names. But if there is any question about the validity of anything stated, I have names, emails, pictures, etc that I can post.
3/27/2014 – Contract signed with contingency for sale of house. I also asked, from back on 3/9, about the site cost since we had changed plans from original. I don’t think Schumacher ever went back on site to re-shoot the corners for correct block and grade costs.
4/22/2014 – Release signed, expectation is pre-con will be scheduled as soon as design selections are done
4/26/2014 – Design meeting and all items selected. Expectation is it will take about 3 weeks to get the drawings back.
5/3/2014 – Sent appliance list for pricing and inclusion on contract.
5/19/2014 – Still no date for the CAD drawings.
5/22/2014 – Almost a month but the drawings are back. Now told I need to do site plan, septic and well permit. I did not know that, I thought these were coordinated by Schumacher. Now working hard to get all of this done.
5/23/2014 – Confirmed the appliances
6/27/2014 – After completing the site plan, septic permit, HOA approval and miscellaneous requirements, the pre-con was completed. Expectation is the drawings should be back in a few weeks and then the permit and construction can start.
7/1/2014 – Informed Schumacher the dishwasher was not correct, even though it was the one listed on 5/3 and confirmed on 5/23. Said a change order would be issued to reflect the right one.
7/17/2014 – Status is that CAD should have the drawings done the next week. House should be started by the beginning to middle of August.
7/23/2014 – After requesting a status on the drawings numerous times, they are finally done. I went by the office and reviewed the plans that day. Told the permit was being applied for. One change order to move a window to the center of the wall from the edge in one of the bedrooms. No charge. Still no change order for the appliance dishwasher.
8/8/2014 – After repeated requests for a status of the start date I received a message that stated the building permit was applied for and will start as soon as they get it. The excavator has been scheduled. I then called the builder and excavator and he was not scheduled. I asked why the permit was just applied for when I was told it was applied for on the 7/23. Told they couldn’t get the permit until ‘Ops released’. That was news to me. Was then told that the GM would call me Monday to discuss. Also told it was typical that they start construction 45 days from pre-con.
8/8/2014 – Received 2 change orders, they were 100 and 101, but they were both the same saying the window needed to be moved. Still no change order for the appliance dishwasher. I sent both change orders back signed with a note.
8/11/2014 – GM called around lunch time and said he would look in to why the house was not started. He acted like it was a permit issue from the county. I knew that it still had not been applied for. Said he would call back that afternoon or tomorrow by lunch with an update.
8/12/2014 – No call from GM, left a message
8/15/2014 – No call from GM, left a message. Called the Regional Manager and explained my frustration based on expectations and lack of communications. He said my description of what had happened was unacceptable and that Schumacher prided themselves in communicating with the customer. Said he would look in to it at once. Received a voice mail from the GM at 7 PM apologizing for not calling me and they would be starting the house in August, but had no date. Said further follow up should be with my builder.
8/18/2014 – Sent email inquiring about the change orders (duplicate and one missing). No response
8/18/2014 – Regional Sales Manager stated they would start in August
8/19/2014 – Excavator will start this week
8/21/2014 – Excavator will start Friday (8/22)
8/22/2014 – Excavator was delayed due to another job. Will start early next week. It is now 45 days from pre-con and escrow funded.
8/26/2014 – During the last few weeks, no word from the GM or answer to the change orders. In fact, no communication with the office at all. Has now been over 4 months since contract and release were signed. If I had known it would take this long, I would have not signed with Schumacher.
8/26/2014 – Excavator started on property in the afternoon
9/1/2014 – Footers dug today. Official Start of Construction. 52 days after pre-con and escrow.
9/4/2014 – General Manager removed from position, Regional Sales Manager acting GM
9/8/2014 – Footers still not complete and not poured. Rain has delayed work. Sad that August was perfect weather but Schumacher did nothing. Talked to Regional Manager (acting GM), asked if he could give me an estimated completion date, said around early February.
9/15/2014 – Rain this week. House still not started. Footers will have to be re-dug.
9/29/2014 – Footers dug and poured, foundation walls completed today. Change orders need to be reviewed. Foundation wall at Master bedroom is 3 feet higher than drawings, just as I thought back when initial costs were defined.
10/3/2014 – Change orders finally ok except for dishwasher, still waiting for that. Stucco was done poorly and they are re-doing it. Inspection passed.
10/9/2014 – Stucco re-done and looks good. Rough grade started, gravel fill in garage, but still has to finish Rough grade.
10/10/2014 – Rough grade finished. Due to the back wall (foundation) being higher than planned (due to not re-shooting for estimate), the plan for the patio and stairs will not work. Submitted alternative to have it as a deck and is being reviewed. I don’t think I should pay a change order cost since the patio could not be built as drawn.
10/18/2014 – Foundation walls have been done almost 3 weeks and framing has not started. 33% of construction time has elapsed and only foundation walls done.
10/23/2014 – Framing all week. Walls are up, trusses should be delivered today. Builder says still on target for early February.
11/03/2014 – Framing delayed due to materials not being on site, still waiting for composite. Septic still not started. Reason for material being delayed and not enough is blamed on a poor estimator that did not estimate the material correctly and has been fired.
11/07/2014 – Nothing really done this week. Waiting on material again. Roof ¾ done and exposed to rain, been that way for 10 days. Framing is now been in progress for 3 weeks and not done (Not Framers fault, waiting on material). Not what you would expect from a quality builder. My estimate is that they are about 3 weeks behind schedule. And this is after I was told that this house is being expedited. Change order requested for back deck change still not done.
11/14/2014 – Material finally delivered and framing done except for some of the deck (still not enough material delivered!). Supposed to be a lot of activity next week. Shingles, garage floor poured, septic installed, windows and doors. Plumber and Gas Company to meet with me Monday.
11/17/2014 – Rain today. Framing, windows and shingles should have been done before this, now the house is exposed again to weather and more delays. Doubt septic will be done any time soon (should have been done weeks ago). Based on continued delays of material and vendors, now estimate that are at least 4 weeks behind.
11/21/2014 – Shingles were delivered and started, but of course not enough were delivered. Blamed the bad estimator again. So more shingles will not be delivered until Monday. Septic still not started. Windows and doors did not show up this week, said they were ordered. How we can still be waiting for them after the builder knew when we would need them is beyond belief. This delays the HVAC and other items from starting. Roofers did the front porch composite. They nailed the stair treads instead of screws. It will need to be re-done.
In reading this you are probably thinking this is embellished. What builder could perform so poorly? I promise I have not embellished anything, and in fact, have left some things out for the sake of brevity.
Other notes: - I found that the final drawings of the house had been modified and some electrical had been changed, I was not told and no revision was noted. GM said he did not know how this could have happened. Builder said I would get what was in original drawing. – Change order for the deck has been 6 weeks and nothing back, if they can’t even do this, tells you about their commitment about how they can design a house fast.
11/24/2014 – Shingles delivered but no roofers, maybe tomorrow. At this point there is no date for the windows and doors. House continues to sit exposed to elements after over a month since framing started. I know the house has to be behind schedule, but no word from builder. Nothing Schumacher has stated as far as house dates and process has happened. I could never recommend Schumacher.
11/25/2014 – Roof was in progress and should be done. The new GM called late in the day to introduce himself and give me a status. All POs have been reviewed and corrected, which was caused by a bad estimate. Windows and Doors NOT here until 12/04. Stated that the PO was sent to the vendor but the vendor did not order anything. Another week of no activity. Said they would do all possible to finish by end of February, which is Guarantee Date or pay penalty. I have little confidence.
12/5/2014 – HVAC and plumbing in progress, garage floor poured. But still no windows and doors. Further behind schedule. Still no word on the septic, which should have been done months ago. GM called late and said the windows/doors did not come in but they are on a truck. But no one knows where the truck is. Driveway in front of garage is a muddy mess, excavator never finished the last section of construction driveway or rough grade in front of garage, so it is a swamp that gets tracked in to the house and over the composite deck.
12/09/2014 – Electricians started today, HVAC continues
12/10/2014 – Hooray! Windows and doors finally here and install has started. All is on site except 4 panel slider.
12/12/2014 – Windows and doors installation done except for slider. Schumacher doesn’t get draw until all are installed. HVAC almost done, plumbing done, electrical underway. Propane tank delivered. Waiting for excavator to install septic and bury tank.
12/17/2014 – Still waiting on slider, new date is January 1st. Still waiting on excavator to finish grade, install septic and bury propane. HVAC done. Plumbing and electrical done except for a few minor issues, including ordering a new shower pan because the old one was wrong. Framing of TV niche wrong. Still waiting for deck to be done. Haven’t heard a date for the well.
12/19/2014 – Siding started. Inside fireplace in.
12/30/2014 – Siding continues and looking good. But they are short on material, after I was told all of the POs were reviewed and fixed. Slider still not in, front of house still a muddy mess. Framer still has not done boxed range vent and other items. Shower tub still not fixed. Outside fireplace in but has a 1’ square switch on the front, not acceptable. The fireplace is also a ventless instead of direct vent per contract.
1/3/2015 – Shower tub fixed, siding mostly done. Insulation mostly done. No Slider (waiting two months), no septic, mud everywhere due to poor grading, framer not started range vent, or outside deck. Fireplace not addressed.
1/7/2015 – Met with Builder and GM, said insulation should be done tomorrow as well as some other minor stuff to get ready for dry wall, which will hopefully start Friday. No date for the slider, but GM stated this will not hold up progress. Fireplace will be looked at. Estimated completion is still end of February, but will be close and depends partially on weather.
1/10/2015 – Nothing really done this week. Drywall was supposed to start today, but nothing. Framer has not fixed items, like boxing the vented range. I would think this has to be done before dry wall. Has been dry all week, but no septic. Outside fireplace not addressed. I see no way for the house to be done by end of February.
1/13/2015 – Dry wall underway. Range hood framed and fireplace niche fixed. No word on outside fireplace or septic. Slider supposed to be shipped end of week.
1/17/2015 – Dry wall completed, well has been drilled. NO SLIDER (NOW WAITING TWO MONTHS), NO SEPTIC, NO CHANGE IN THE FIREPLACE, NO BACK DECK (AS THE MATERIAL HAS SAT IN THE MUD FOR A MONTH)
1/24/2015 – Deck is almost complete, short some composite since the wrong color was delivered. Nothing done on fireplace. Excavator called and said he would be out next week. It has been dry all week but rain expected this weekend, so will be wet again. So more excuses that it is wet, when they don’t show up when it is dry. Slider installed but is not correct. Supposed to be a 4 panel slider that opens in the middle. We have been waiting months for this custom slider to be built. But a 2 panel slider was installed with a fixed panel on each side. So three separate stock pieces, of which only one panel (of the 2 panel slider) opens. These are stock sliders and not custom. In addition, the installation was very poor, with hacked cuts that are not straight and look terrible. Not acceptable and the GM and Area VP were alerted. Schumacher should be embarrassed.
1/29/2015 – Today marks the Anticipated Date for completion. Schumacher defines this in the contract as the commitment date which is 150 days from start of construction. Start of construction is defined as footers dug. The interesting point is that when the footers were dug, Schumacher already stated they could not meet that date. Why put a date in the contract that cannot be met? Of course, there is no penalty, so they can put in anything they want to get the customer to sign.
1/30/2015 – Deck is complete. Trim person (only 1 guy) on site most of the week. Installing interior doors, baseboards and casing of windows. Couldn’t finish since dry wall vendor didn’t jam 4 windows, didn’t round 8 corners and didn’t finish one opening. Trim person scheduled to continue next week with beams and cabinets, probably at least 1.5 weeks left. Nothing done on fireplace. As expected, rain so excavator didn’t come. When it is dry he has higher priorities, then when it rains he says he can’t come. Nothing done on slider. Schumacher said it was the right one, we said we didn’t want it, waiting all week for them to tell us options. Garage door installed.
2/5/2015 – Schumacher states the slider installed is what was paid for, but I said we were told it would be a four panel with center opening. Said I was willing to pay more and to show me options. We were finally told a slider like we want is available, but still waiting to know time to order and price. Fireplace control finally fixed. No excavator even though it is now drying out, no date given. Trim continues to move forward, but delays include the drywall still not done as noted above, waiting for hardware to finish stair balusters, and no scaffolding to build beams.
Schumacher requested the trim draw, but since the drywall and trim is not done, I said no.
Schumacher finally admitted they will not meet the Guarantee Completion Date and now have said the date will be 3/20. That is 50 days past the Anticipated Date and 20 days past the Guarantee Date.
2/13/2015 – Trim continues (only 1 person) and is nearing completion. Excavator finally came on site Friday and started grade for driveway, drainage and buried septic and propane tanks. Waiting for county to flag drain field. Don’t know why they waited until now to call the county. New slider was ordered and will take 3 weeks to come in. Slider was ordered on 2/11 and takes 3 weeks to make. No other work done. I think 3/20 is ambitious for completion based on progress.
Found out that we have a new Customer Coordinator (this is the person that handles the change orders, including allocations) and draws. With that change we have had the following people change during the course of our contract. Sales Person, GM, Customer Coordinator and two builders (but not ours). This seems like a lot of change for one office.
2/21/2015 – Poor weather and very cold this week, little could be done. Trim done except for a few baseboard corners. Tile and wood flooring delivered. Painters started interior today. Front of house is now a muddy mess again. When floors go in the mud will be everywhere.
2/28/2015 – Today is the Guarantee Move In Date, 150 days from start of construction and a $1000 penalty. Date is estimated at 3/20/2015, which will be very tight.
This week the wood floors were installed. Work is in progress on the tile floors (2 bathrooms and laundry room) and master shower. All about 75% done. Painting prime done in all rooms. Two drywall corners still need to be done, some trim and still waiting for the new slider. Snow this week so no progress on septic field or further grading.
3/2/2015 – Many of the tasks and vendors that should have been on site and making progress just isn’t happening. I feel the 3/20 date is in real jeopardy, especially the septic. Sent an email to the VP, GM and builder that was fairly harsh in my disappointment. Got back emails and calls saying they would do everything they could to complete on the new date (3/20) and gave me a list of activities that would be done this week. We will see, but I have heard it before.
Still no date for slider, here is a recap of the windows and doors saga:
The doors and windows were delayed due to the order not going in. They should have gone in by mid November. GM stated they should be in on December 4th. The windows and doors were finally installed on December 10th, but was told the 4 panel slider would be a week or two more. Was then told the slider would be delivered after January 1st. The slider was finally installed on January 24th. Two months late! But not the slider we were told during the sale. We were told it would be a 4 panel center open similar to the model. What was installed was a 3 piece slider, with two fixed panels and a single 2 panel slider in the middle, which meant only one of the 4 panels opened. I stated this was not acceptable and wanted options, including saying I would pay extra for the right one. It took two more weeks to get options and another week to order it. Much to my amazement, I get no credit for the wrong slider and had to pay for a second slider. I was asked what I wanted to do with the first slider since I owned it, I had a couple of ideas. What the [redacted] am I going to do with it? So the slider will end up costing me over $4400. It was ordered on February 11th with a 3 week lead time. That 3 weeks is up on today (3/2), but no news on a date.
3/3/2015 – The construction driveway has been an issue I have documented since October. As I stated, the last 30 feet or so of the construction driveway was never constructed. And when the water drains off the roof, causes a mud lake in front of the house. I even threatened last month to not pay draw 4 until this was fixed and you said I could not delay the draw for that reason.
No vehicles have been able to get to the front of the garage or front door for over a month, and now (yesterday) a truck delivering the stone for the fireplaces got stuck at the top of the driveway. When I left they were manually carrying the stone down the driveway and stacking it both inside and outside the house. I can only imagine the mess I will see today. I also assume they had to get a wrecker to pull the truck out.
I will be heading out there shortly to take pictures of the driveway and damage done to my neighbor’s property. I don’t know how much more damage was done since I left before the truck was pulled out.
My fear now is that no vehicles may be able to get down the driveway (well, maybe down but not back out).
3/5/2015 - Finally got a delivery date on the slider, not until 3/11 and no install date yet. That is only 7 business days before the completion date (third completion date). Once slider is installed, need to finish siding, trim and paint around slider.
3/7/2015 – Several items started or completed this week. Water line from well installed. Plumbing mostly done (need hookup to water heater). HVAC done, except gas to lower deck and some minor items. Electricians started and well under way. Interior painting continues. Only 2 weeks left, lots still has to be done.
Septic field put in today, waiting for inspection on Monday.
Customer Coordinator they recently hired just quit, now have a new person, but they have been at Schumacher, so not a new employee.
3/9/2015 – Septic inspected and completed. Electric is done except generator, pendants, appliances and puc lights. There were supposed to be 12 puc lights as part of the shelving in the great room. Electricians stated there was no PO for this or installation defined. Another issue with POs being issued wrong.
Stone installed on front of house.
3/12/2015 – Driveway finally fixed with new gravel, railings going in, stone on fireplace inside and out.
3/14/2015 – SLIDER INSTALLED!!! Gutters going in, painting continues.
3/16/2015 – Electric done, painting continues, gas run to lower deck, trim continues. But no generator, fridge or counter for desk. House was supposed to be done last month, so how can these not be there? Real doubtful house will be done Friday
3/18/2015 – Trim done except for around bottom of some cabinets, waiting for material. Electric and gas to house done. Driveway formed, painting started on exterior. Final grade in progress. House will not be done by 3/20 Friday. Builder now says 3/25, next Wednesday.
3/20/2015 – Driveway formed but not poured, they said Monday. There is no reason it could not have been poured today or Saturday. Now even if the house is done 3/25 Wednesday, I cannot drive a moving truck on it, so I can’t move in.
Seed and straw done.
Even though the gas company has run the gas line to the house, no one seems to know who or how to hook the gas to the generator. Surely I can’t be the first person to install a generator.
Seems that once the date is extended then everyone figures they have more time and all slows down.
3/21/2015 – No one really did much on Friday or Saturday, you would think more activity would occur since they must be done on the 25th and they have already missed three dates.
Noticed today the painters painted the garage door windows and there is a large dent in the garage door! Who paints over freakin windows!! There are also scratches on some of the wood floor in the great room, just as I thought there would be, even though Schumacher said they would be protected. The refrigerator was finally delivered, but it looks like they bashed and scraped some corners in the house, they just don’t care.
3/24/2015 – House is scheduled to be done tomorrow! Driveway poured yesterday, stairs in progress. Inspector said we need stairs (should be done), crawl space door and verification of GFI for 2nd bathroom and kitchen island. That will give us the C/O for power to be turned on. Still finishing painting. Items outstanding include some trim, range hood cover, fireplace trim, and mirrors. The other minor things will be on the punch list.
3/25/2015 – On the date they are supposed to be done, none of the outstanding items were done. The range cover could not go on because of the way the tile was done. So the tile needs to be removed and re-done. And the range would not push back to the wall because the m
3/29/2015 – Many items of significance outstanding. Garage and grounds are not cleaned and are a mess, cant park cars in garage. Mini-split not wired, fireplaces not on, dishwasher not working, mirrors not in, vent hood cover not done.
4/5/2015 – Following are items of significance since moving in:
- After back and forth with HVAC and Electrician on who should wire the mini split, Schumacher hired another electrician to do it. It is wired, but now holes in dry wall in garage that need to be fixed
- Range vent hood will not fit. Tile has to be removed and redone
- Fireplace surround on inside fireplace will not fit, stone has to be changed
- Generator was not wired, electricians wired it and generator start up yesterday.
- 3 cracks in new driveway, waiting to see how this will be addressed.
- Floor is not level in house. Waiting for someone to assess how much it is off and where in the house in addition to back wall of Master Bedroom and Great Room.
- After back and forth with HVAC, they finally agreed that outside fireplace needs a cut-off valve, waiting for install
- Around 15 more items that are more minor that need to be done
4/8/2015 – Although at the closing on 3/26 Schumacher stated that their goal was to complete all outstanding items in 14 days, even though they have 21 days, nothing has really been done. By today the deck boards were to be replaced, the fireplace fixed, and the tile over the range done. But by mid-day, no one is here. Very poor customer service, especially when at the closing we were told the Schumacher would not abandon us just because we have paid them all the money. This is not a company anyone should do business with.
4/13/2015 – Deck boards were replaced on front porch and railings fixed. Now stone has to be fixed that were removed on porch for deck boards. Generator person asked why the mini-split was not on the generator, told him the electricians said it couldn’t be. Generator person said it was no problem. So Schumacher had another electrician come out and fix it. Schumacher also looked at the floor and acknowledged it was sloped at the back left of the house, but no issue existed other than the slight slope. They agreed to screen under back deck as compensation for the slope. I agreed reluctantly because there is no real solution to fix the floor and now I have to live with it. SUCH POOR QUALITY. Tile guys took out tile around the range cover so the cover would fit correctly, but the re-tile looks very bad and will have to be re-done again.
Found out this morning that our builder is no longer with the company, this now means every person we dealt with during the process has left/fired. I just want to make sure we get through this final stretch and get everything fixed.
4/15/2015 – Stone person arrived yesterday, best solution to fix inside fireplace was to cut stone, now house is covered with stone dust. Someone is supposed to arrive this morning to clean. Nothing else done, list is still long and 21 days is tomorrow.
4/20/2015 – Screen under deck done. Soffit vents installed. After trim around garage was fixed, garage door will now not close. They didn’t even try to close it before they left. Will now have to be re-done.
4/21/2015 – Garage door was adjusted and trim re-applied. Floors, screens done.
5/7/2015 - Now 6 weeks since we closed and moved in. Schumacher said they would have punch list done with 21 days, but many items still outstanding with no date. This includes the tile re-done around range cover, Dentils for front door (this has been outstanding for 6 months), gas cutoff for outdoor fireplace (outstanding for 4 months), cracks in driveway (sub said he would be out weeks ago, no word from him), damage to culvert during construction, and numerous painting needs caused by fixes after construction done. In addition, the fireplace front finally arrived, but it has been redesigned and will not fit, they are looking for an old one. The garage panel that was dented came in but does not line up with the rest of the door. Waiting to see if door has to be replaced, that will take at least a month.
I told Schumacher that I must have a plan with dates by next Wednesday or I will escalate to owners of Schumacher (Paul and Bill), will submit a complaint to the Revdex.com and will post all of my chronology on social media.
I CHALLENEGE ANY EXCUTIVE FROM SCHUMACHER TO COME TO MY HOUSE AND WALK THROUGH IT AND TELL ME THEY ARE PROUND OF THE JOB SCHUMACHER DID.
5/15/2015 – Now 7 weeks since close and punch list still not finished. Painting, tile and gas cutoff done. Still waiting for driveway fix, door dentils, garage door and road culvert to be fixed. I was also promised that the garage would be pressure washed since it was used as a work room for all the trades and had everything ground in to the floor. They didn’t have a pressure washer, so they just hand scrubbed it, which did nothing.
5/16/2015 – Super Dave (concrete) was supposed to be here today to fix the driveway. Promise after promise but no action. Of course no one showed. Wrote an email to the builder, GM and VP that I was done with them and now escalating to Bill and Paul Schumacher, Revdex.com and social. I am done with them.
5/18/2015 – Was informed by GM that Dave would be here Monday at 11 AM. No one asked if it was convenient for me, and I have already waited for him and he does not show up. I have dirt being delivered Monday to fix the poor grading, so I said no. This morning the dirt was delivered very early, so called the GM to tell him Dave could come anytime during the day if possible. Said he would call me back later in the day and let me know. Now 5:30 PM and no call back.
Outstanding issues still include the damaged road culvert, dentils, garage door and driveway. But I am tired of accepting sub-pad work, which I believe I was forced to in order to get the house done, this includes floors out of level, damaged culvert, final grade not done, driveway cracks and cleanup not done ( I cleaned up the garage and debris from the grounds myself). I asked for $8,000 in compensation for all of this as outlined in the letter below.
Area VP was forwarded the letter and attachment I sent to Paul and Bill Schumacher. So they don’t handle it (not even sure they saw it), but the VP does. Waiting for his call now.
Talked to Area VP, bottom line is I got a lot of excuses, from all driveways crack to no floor is level. Didn’t really accomplish anything. He said he was proud of the house they built. So I will publish all my information to the web.
5/19/2015 – [redacted] the concrete guy came by after being forced to by the builder. Just made excuses and ground and caulked the cracks (3). A new house that looks old. I don’t have much faith this fix will last over time, but nothing I can do but wait and see.
5/20/2015 – Door dentils were finally supposed to be installed today and culvert fixed. At 5:30 PM received a text that only 1 door dentil came in and they expect the other one tomorrow, I doubt it. And the culvert will now be done by Friday, more excuses, more delays.
5/23/2015 – Culvert was supposed to be done by Friday and door dentils installed, but not done and no message as to why. So it doesn’t matter which GM, Builder, Customer Coordinator they have, the story is always the same. Still waiting.
5/27/2015 – No word from Schumacher, they have just gone silent. I finally talked to the builder late today and as I thought, only 1 dentil was ordered and now waiting for the second. They are not fixing the culvert until the dentil comes in. I am waiting for the conclusion of this before I post all of this on the web.
5/29/2015 – Schumacher now saying Monday for the dentils and rock. No date for the garage door. Monday will be 67 days since close and punch list still not done.
6/1/2015 – Door dentils and culvert by road fixed today. Only the garage door panel is left from the punch list. Door panel is being made, no date yet.
6/4/2015 – Paint left by builder for door was not the right color (I asked for it to be left so I could paint it myself rather than wait for painters). Looks like the color mix by [redacted] was wrong, not Schumacher’s fault. We got more paint at [redacted] and is was right.
6/8/2015 – Still waiting for a date on the garage door. Also sent my first warranty request in. Back stairs outside of garage were attached to the foundation using a few small nails, it pulled out and the stairs are unstable. Also, 7 of the 18 windows either will not open or are very hard to open and need to be adjusted.
6/11/2015 – It has now been 5 weeks since the replacement garage door panel did not line up. No date on when it will be in or installed. No word back about warranty items.
I have decided to post this on the web, but will update it in the future if more issues arise.