Frontier Builders Inc

Review: We purchased a new home from Frontier Builders in August of 2014. We had a survey of the property that called out multiple issues with the house (1. drainage grade had negative slope to house, 2. exposed nail heads on roof, roof flashing issues, 3. caulking, 4. well expelling red water, 5. faulty electrical circuitry, 6. radon mitigation, 7. tree was too close to the house, 8. fireplace was inoperable, 9. gaps in the air filter slot in the HVAC system, 10. torn weatherstrip on garage door, 11. no egress hardware for gate in back yard, painter missed some spots and left exposed ends on some exterior trim pieces, and 12. missing door stops inside the house). At the time of purchase the builder agreed to the following: 1 Finish final grade. 2. to have fireplace operational. 3. to fix electrical circuits in the home. 4. to mitigate radon. 5. to move tree to front yard away from the house. 6. to fix furnace air filter gap 7. to caulk nail heads and put in missing kickout flashing. 8 to fix weatherstrip on garage door. 9 to install egress hardware for back yard. 10. to touch up missing paint and paint chips. 11. to install door stops where missing. As of 24 April 2015, (9 months after purchase) They have completed items 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 to satisfactory standards. A serious point of contention right now is item 1, finish final grade in response to the negative drainage to the house. The builder's response to this was to enter the property with a drag blade on a tractor and make scrape marks for around an hour and then leave. I believe the property drained better before he started. So upon discussing on multiple occasions, nothing was done. I then decided to go to a local excavation company to get a dirt/grading contract to have the place graded. They did a decent job but left me with a lot of fine tuning with a landscape rake and shovel over 1/2 acre, between my father and I, it too six days to get the appropriate slope, drainage, and allow for drainage. The builder left the ditch edge too high so all water was running back to the property. The back yard had two significant low spots that acted as catch basins and formed lakes at the first snow melt. a small triangular piece also was completely flooded due to the ditch edge being too high in relation to the property. I showed the builder the photos I took of the standing water and told him why I was sloping the property the way I was. In addition the sidewalk that they poured from the front entry formed a dam that pooled water next to a basement window well. I asked them to please remove it and repour to allow that area to drain properly. The discussion ended with them agreeing verbally to pour a pad that would cover the subject area, and provide drainage to where the grass would begin. in addition to footing the bill for the dirt to establish property drainage. They came to the house, put gravel in, sloppily put an extension on the basement window, that had a 1" gap around it (corrugated made to fit) and did not fasten it to the foundation. Then they said the concrete and dirt was on me, and walked away from it. At that point I had no sidewalk to the driveway, just gravel where my sidewalk used to be (and still not sloped away from the house). After I came unglued over this they agreed to repour the slab, but not reimburse for the dirt that it took to build up for the slope to gain positive drainage from the house. The whole thing was so petty and spiteful, that I just refused on principle at that point. So now I am on my own to foot the bill for a new slab and the dirt to get my house to grade. I told them that I would take care of the interior portions of the house like caulking, door stops, and a warranty issue that would have cost them a visit from a flooring company. I was acting in good faith, and I have no prior beef with this company. $1500 in dirt and concrete is going to cost them a negative review with the Revdex.com, complaints with the VA and The Dept of Consumer Protection and a trip to small claims court. They brought a waver form with them today from a lawyer that spells out that I relieve them of all obligations if I agree to have the sidewalk poured. I told him it made no sense because the house is still under warranty (its a 2/10). I have found numerous other issues with the property as well: Settling in the basement (a small crack developing all along the West basement floor, A pressure switch on the water tank that amounted to a slow drizzle out of the water fixtures (I have replaced with a higher pressure switch). The front doorbell was not wired in, so we had visitors and never knew they were there, a dishwasher that was mounted with clear silicone that came off at the second use, a less than respectable job framing the basement walls (all toenailed, twisted lumber, breaks in top plates). It seems like every day we find something else that does not conform to good craftsmanship. They have also verbally agreed to provide blueprints to me on 8 separate occasions, and have not delivered. I am fearful at this point to even allow them to come in because of the animosity this drainage issue has created. I paid full price for this house, and asked for these considerations. In my opinion they are not outrageous and were agreed to by the builder, but never completed. I have a 2/10 warranty on the house, and wonder if I will have to go to court for every repair request. I would not recommend buying a house from Frontier builders unless you get every last detail of inspection remedy's and a contract in writing. This is not in my nature to make complaints like this, but they have driven me to this.Desired Settlement: I would be satisfied with what was verbally agreed upon; pour the slab to the specs that were discussed at the meeting with slope to meet the grass line, properly secure the basement window egress, and reimbursement for the dirt that allowed me to bring my property to grade and drain sufficiently.