Karma Konstruction

We built our home with Karma Konstruction and moved in April 1, 2014. There are numerous warranty issues which have not been handled.Since we moved in to our home April 1, 2015 we have communicated the various problems to Karma Konstruction numerous times through emails, texts, and phone calls. The first notification of deficiencies was emailed to them September 26, 2014. Many calls were placed to them since then to try and get the work done. There is a list of 9 things to be done. We were holding back money until they got done but the lawyer insisted we had to pay them as the rest was deemed warranty work. I have an email from Karma stating that all the issues on our list are warranty issues and they will complete them once the final payments were made. Now that they have been paid they are saying they are not warranty issues and we have to deal with it ourselves. We have been very patient with them, an example being that we were in our house for 15 months before they completed the septic mound and deck, both of which they said would be completed in 3 months. They do not return texts, phone calls, or emails. In this last instance I emailed them once, texted them once, and called 4 times before I received any response from them.Desired SettlementWe would like the list of warranty items to be completed by a third party competent contractor. Business Response Response to Complaint by [redacted]The possession of the home was April 1, 2014 and, through [redacted] warranty is offered for 1 year on materials and labour. We went through the 1st year with minimal warranty issues brought to our attention and we completed these in a timely manner. We still have an outstanding balance due on the house $2,580.75 plus interest as of today 205.20 on their home and have informed the [redacted] that we required payment in full prior to any more warranty work being done. This was also part of [redacted] of [redacted] instructions for [redacted] & [redacted]. [redacted] used the example of the septic system taking 15 months to complete and our response to that is as follows: [redacted] and [redacted] were friends with the owner of [redacted] and asked that we use them for excavating and septic system. We did as requested and proceeded with excavation and got the house to lock up stage. At this point [redacted] asked [redacted] to bring in some earth moving equipment to grade their 5 acre lot. Approximately a month later we had them start the septic system. [redacted] called us and asked us to get the a date of when the [redacted] would be paying their bill for the moving of dirt around the lot ( roughly $7,000.00 if I remember correctly), they also informed us they would not continue working on the septic system until they had been paid from [redacted] & [redacted] This took about a month to get sorted out but we assume they paid [redacted] When we heard the bill was paid we started contacting [redacted] to complete the job but were informed that they were to busy to complete the job. We paid [redacted] for the work they had done and started the search to find a new company to finish the job. We had a hard time getting another company to even come look at the project as it was a busy season and no one really wanted to take on a half done project. We came across [redacted] that would complete the project but it was at a premium cost, which we did not charge back to the [redacted]. [redacted] also ended up repairing some issues that [redacted] failed to install properly. [redacted] and [redacted] failing to pay their bill with [redacted] in a timely matter is the reason the septic system took so long. As for the deck they could not decide if they wanted to save some money and get a credit to do it themselves or have us complete the deck as per our contract. When they finally decided to allow us to do the deck it was already the start to the winter season. Then we spring came they were unsure of what material they wanted for decking but they did not want the [redacted] decking as per our contract. When they finally decided on a stamp concrete overlay product, the deck joisting had been done for close to a year. So again we were waiting on them to make a decision to to get the project done. Now for the so called warranty issues which they have already tried to go through [redacted] for and were denied as warranty issues. - The hardwood expands and contracts due to humidity level in the home. This was deemed a non warranty issues.- Some interior doors expanding and contracting from winter to summer. We adjusted and planed down any doors not closing properly prior to warranty lapsing. - Front door issue, the home owners purchased their front door from [redacted] as it was cheaper than the front door we quoted. We gave them a credit for the door and they purchased it separate from our contract. The reason the door was cheaper is because it was not metal clad, pre-painted, and the seals are not the best for our climates. If they had went with the door we quoted for more money all of these issues would have been solved. The home owners supplied the door and in doing so it is not covered under home warranty. It is not up to us to spend more money cladding and painting a door that should have been ordered that way.- [redacted] had been adjusted as well and sealed well at the time prior to warranty lapsing. [redacted] are not designed to create a 100% seal and with strong heavy winds, water can be pushed up under the seal. This is not a warranty issue.- Insulation in the ceiling of the garage. I had been out and discussed this issue with [redacted] on three occasions. Each and every time I explained that on an acreage with no trees around at all, in Saskatchewan, it can get very windy. This wind can move the blow in insulation around and [redacted] need to be checked on occasion. Now having said that, [redacted] and [redacted] called after a huge wind storm went through their area mid summer after their warranty had lapsed to inform me some soffit blew out at the front entrance of the home. I informed them I had some left over soffit from another job that I could use to fix it but this is normally an insurance issue. I fixed it at no charge to them. They later informed me of frost in the garage ceiling, again I told [redacted] how to repair it as they still had not paid for the rest of their home, and it is a wind issue not covered by warranty. If [redacted] or [redacted] had gone into the attic and moved the insulation back when they first noticed this issue it would be a non issue now. Wind can get into the vented soffits and drift just like snow. When building a home we would have no way of knowing if or when that [redacted] happen. We would have been more than willing to help [redacted] and [redacted] out if they had paid the amount owing or had legitimate warranty issues. They have also contacted our warranty providers and have been informed of the same. As for the last information the home owner supplied my statement is as follows:The home was inspected by [redacted] as are all homes in this area. They inspected the home through out the build process. During the pre-drywall after framing stage they inspect the vapor barrier and seal. No issues were found. In the building industry there are many opinions and of course you are going to find contractors who do things differently. I have been in the industry for 28 years and have completed the R2000 course. This home meets the R-2000 insulation specs and blow in insulation is still a good way to insulate a roof. The best way to insulate, especially on an acreage, is spray foam insulation but this was not in [redacted] and [redacted]'s budget. [redacted]Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)We did go through the first year warranty. In this time we emailed them a list of deficiencies that needed to be corrected. I have the first email dated September 26, 2014. Karma Konstruction continually told us they were coming to complete the list but never did. They kept putting it off until the warranty was expired. We attempted to assist Karma Konstruction with their accounting issues. As there were continued disputes, they chose to have a lawyer involved to resolve the issue. At that time a value was decided upon and we believed the matter to be resolved. There is no outstanding balance on the house - we have discussed with [redacted] of [redacted] (March 7, 2016). He agrees that the full contract price was paid and is not sure why Karma Konstruction is saying there is still money owing. Before the contract was paid in full, Karma Konstruction indicated that the items on our list were warranty items and once the contract was paid they could do the work under warranty. I have the email dated September 21, 2015 in which they indicated that the items on our list were in fact warranty items. We did not ask that [redacted] complete the septic; that was the builder's choice as they are friends with the owner of [redacted]. We only had [redacted] moving soil on our land and that was billed directly to us and was independent of the house build. The septic mound was part of the house contract and that was the builder's choice who to use as we were not being billed directly and it did not matter to us. I just spoke to the owner of [redacted] and he indicated that us not paying our own bill with them did not have anything to do with how long the septic system was taking. Any charges from [redacted] would not be our issue as this was still under the house contract.Once we took possession of the property, we continually asked Karma Konstruction to complete our deck. After several months of waiting, we thought we could finish the deck quicker than Karma Konstruction could, we requested what the credit would be if we completed the decking ourselves. They did not get back to us in a timely manner. After asking them numerous times for the amount, they finally told us what the credit would be. With the amount less than what we could purchase the material for, we immediately decided that is was not enough and would not be worth it for us to do it ourselves and that they could do it, and we told them this. We were never unsure of what material we wanted for the deck. We always planned on [redacted] as that was what the contract said. We had even gone in to the supplier and picked our colours for the [redacted] and railings. It was Karma Konstruction who asked us if we would let them do the stamp concrete as that was a product they are a supplier of and they wanted to do that instead. We then agreed to that, knowing it was a cheaper option for them.We were never denied the one year home warranty, as no formal request was ever made. We simply made an inquiry. However, due to the final construction activities taking longer than our one year warranty on labour and material and the contractor not willing to complete any warranty work until all construction activities were completed by them, we were not able to make a claim in time.The hardwood on the steps was the only location where there were irregularly large gaps due to poor workmanship, and was not changed to non-warranty by the contractor until now. This was not due to expanding and contracting as it was discovered immediately after moving in.Problems with interior doors came to light 1-2 months after taking possession. Neither the adjustment nor planing down of any of the doors in question took place at any time at our residence.When picking out our front door, we found the exact same door (brand and style) thousands of dollars cheaper than what their supplier was able to get it for. Karma approved us getting it from another supplier. Prior to us submitting, we provided Karma with the finalized order sheet to review to ensure that everything was accounted for like metal cladding. We thought this was done as a courtesy to us, and we were disappointed when we found out they never. This is something that we will have to live with and rectify on our own. Our problems lie with the framing and insulating of the door frame. We aren't sure there is any insulation, as the walls around the door have thick ice build-up on the inside of the house each winter. In the first year we also had a local certified Masonite contractor inspect the door. The assessment on a few of the issues was that it was poorly installed and they didn't believe a home builder even installed it.One attempt was made to adjust and seal the garage man doors; however there was no change to the issue when they left. This was never taken off our list, even after the contractor let the home warranty expire.On three occasions while the house was under warranty, Karma Konstruction informed us to move back the insulation in the attic. On three occasions I informed Karma Konstruction that I wanted them to find the root cause of the issue, as I was not expected to go up there every week to move around the insulation, further reducing its rating. Since then we have hired a third party home builder to inspect the issues in the attic. They informed us that our home builder used a construction method that has not been used in 20 years due to inconsistency in the final product. The only locations where there are issues (20-30) are where there was poor workmanship. If Karma Konstruction had gone into the attic to verify their issue when this was first addressed then it would be a non-issue now. At that time the final balance was not released to them as they had not completed all the construction activities let alone the outstanding warranty issues.The soffit warranty work occurred within the first year of possession in the summer months. After several weeks of having Karma promise to fix this issue, it wasn't completed until we mentioned we would hire someone else to fix it and charge Karma for the costs. This was only escalated due to having birds living in and running around the soffit in our house. This was never mentioned as a non-warranty item to us until now.Again, we have paid the full amount that was agreed upon and the issues we have are warranty issues as stated by Karma Konstruction in an email provided by them.Our understanding is that even if there is a building inspector, and a home builder with multiple years of experience, items will always get missed and mistakes will always get made; that is why there is New Home Warranty.Final Business Response Our response is quite simple [redacted] and [redacted] are more than welcome to use the balance outstanding that she refused to pay to do what ever they see fit. (Like the work they feel is warranty work) If they feel differently they are more then welcome to take legal action, as at that time we will also pursue the balance owing on the contact which we all have documentation for. We can also at that time have our experts in the industry justify what are and are not warranty issues as well as what are common practices for insulation. We were more than willing to help out throughout the whole building process but when processes are held up due to slow funding and lack of decisiveness, then projects get held up as well.