The Geiszlers

Issues (in Timeline format:) 

The issue I pursued for repair in this timeline is I had an excessively squeaky hardwood floor in the kitchen that was noted and promised to be repaired but  took months to resolve with many screw ups by Riverside Homes Inc and it's subcontractors.

August 8- Checked out the two available houses in Hobbs Farm neighborhood by Riverside. I originally called the RMLS listing agent. He asked if I had a Buyers agent, I said "No" and was sent to a Buyers Agent referred to by the listing agent. A bit unusual but I hoped it would give me additional leverage on the purchase as they hopefully had a lower buyer agent rate worked out with the builder. Normally I don't use realtors because I don't like their fees and generally find them useless. So far Ralph Newman and Brett Day (my "Buyers Agents") have been good to work with but I wonder if some of their advice will cost me.

August 9- Entered into Realtor Agent agreement with Ralph Newman and Brett Day. Entered into Purchase Contract with Riverside Homes for Lot 180 Hobbs Farm which already had a completed Cedar Elevation D house with the sitting room (larger) master bedroom. I requested the binding arbitration clause to be removed and the removal of a statement in the contract saying Riverside would not make it subject to inspection. I was told by Ralph and Brett I could submit my repair requests before I purchased my home and that they would be taken care of but that Riverside Homes does not accept altered contracts.

August 11- Riverside Homes, Inc accepted the offer. 

August 14- House inspector inspected the house to note any issues. During inspection (which I was there for) the inspector and I noticed squeaks in the hardwood among other issues.

August 17- The inspector noted these items and I passed this on to the realtor, See Appendix A. I received email back from the Realtor saying Riverside would repair the squeaks and other items. The floor was never repaired when most of the other items were. I was told they were repaired but not allowed to reinspect the house to sign off.

~August 28-September 1- I will need to validate the date by looking at the walkthrough checklist. I met with Bill Wagoner to complete a walkthrough and stated among other things that we had noted the squeaky floors and had received confirmation they would be fixed. I said "Maybe they already have been as I see there is extra flooring in the Garage." He said "Yeah maybe so." Later he claims he always tells people squeaks are normal.

September 11- Closed on house. Moved that weekend (September 12-13th)  When I moved in I quickly noticed the squeaks still existed but didn't immediately start to try to get a remedy as:

1. My wife was 8 months pregnant 
2. We were in the middle of the move and I had through September 15th till my renters moved in.
3. I was doing lots of repairs on my old house (now becoming a rental) some before the renters moved in, some after

October 5- Opened warranty request with Riverside Homes. Report 5 consistent loud squeaks, See Appendix B. To put this in perspective I have 5 really loud consistent squeaks and 47 total squeaks in less than 300 sqft. I hadn't counted all the squeaks when I submitted the report otherwise I would have told them of all 47 squeaks. I have been working with Riverside who denied my warranty claim, See Appendix C, and passed the buck to the sub contractor Paulsons Floor Covering (who I should not have to deal with as I didn't hire them, my contract is with Riverside homes) to get this fixed.

October 8- Was provided from (Bill Wagoner of Riverside) name of Paulsons Floor Covering and Mark Jepsen as representative for the subcontractor installer. Provided name of product manufacturer (Dansk) and Distributor (The Cronin Company) from Mark Jepsen of Paulsons (after each company blamed the issue on someone else, because it couldn't be their fault, and is out ot of warranty.)

October 9- Contacted the realtor to try to address outside of warranty (since he was the one who said they agreed to fix the issues in email, See Appendix A.

October 14- I personally walked on every inch of the floor to see how many squeaks there really were. There was 5 extremely loud squeaks that I noted before and another 40+ pops and small squeaks. I marked them all with 3M painters tape that is rated safe for hardwood floors. Over time I have seen the minor squeaks and pops are not 100% consistent but there are always around 30 (remember this is only a 220 sqft kitchen, the whole house is carpet and vinyl otherwise.)

October 15- Dennis Hall of The Cronin Company and Dave Shortt of Paulson's Floor Coverings and one other representative from Cronin came out to "inspect" my floor. They validated the squeaks and pops. They put a meter on the floor and said the moisture was 14%. Dave Shortt read his inspection notes and said they only install if the floor is below 10%. Dennis said the squeaks will reduce some after the heater runs more during the winter and that some of the squeaks would disappear as the moisture comes down from the heater running. I told them I didn't believe it would be acceptable if all the squeaks return during summer when the heater isn't running and that some of the squeaks are so severe you can feel the movement of the floor, and asked how those squeaks would be resolved. They said they would get back to me after they discussed on their own. I asked them to include my realtor and myself when they report the issue. They sent to my realtor only, after 2 callbacks from me.

October 22- Left messages with Dave Shortt of Paulsons (as he told me I would be working with him on Oct 15 and he gave me his business card.) No call back No report sent. Also contacted the realtor.

October 27- Left message with Dave Shortt of Paulsons, no call back. No report to me. Also contacted the realtor.

October 29- Talked to Brett Day (realtor who works with Ralph.) He sent me Appendix D that was sent October 27th after my second call to Paulsons.

October 30- Called Brett Day and explained the solution was unacceptable to me that was recommended by Paulsons. Having 47 nails driven through the floor was not acceptable. Told him I would be hiring NWFA inspector if not resolved quickly.   

November 2- Was sent email from Realtors stating I would receive response. I let them know I already had a inspector scheduled for November 4th and that I needed a response before November 3rd at 2pm if Riverside and/or Paulsons Planned to resolve.

November 3- At 2:52pm Ralph called me and stated Riverside and Paulson would bring out a dehumidifier to resolve the issue. I stated I didn't believe this would resolve the issue since some of the floor squeaks and you can actually feel the floor move. Ralph stated that Riverside and/or Paulsons would remove the floor and do "whatever it took" to resolve including fixing any subflooring issues. I asked for Todd Boyce (regional representative for Riverside to state that in email.) I temporarily cancelled the inspector. At 3:10pm Bill Wagoner sent an email asking Mark Jepsen to arrange to drop off a dehumidifier and take moisture readings. Todd never sent the message that Ralph agreed he would send.

~November 11- Dave Shortt of Paulsons Floor Covering drops off dehumidifier. I called him afterwards as I was not home and he stated the humidity reading was 10.5% before the duhumidifier was started. Squeaky issue still just as bad as a month before.

November 25-  Dave Shortt took additional readings and pick up dehumidifier, minor reduction in humidity. No water in the pan where it suppose to gather the water it pulls by dehumidifying the air. Only had a couple drips in the pan over the entire two weeks. Floor squeaks are not improved at all. Dave Shortt commented that they would be resolving the issue.

December 2- Bill Wagoner of Riverside Homes and Dave Shortt of Paulsons looked at the floor. Bill said they would resolve this next week and determine who is paying, whether it be Pauslons or Riverside Homes. It seems like all involved are blaming everyone else about who's at fault for the delays and the actual issue. Bill says that Ralph Newman the realtor didn't tell them (I assume them is the people actually doing the repairs) about the list, although Ralph had it approved by someone at Riverside Homes saying they would fix it. Also they are guessing that the change in humidity and temperature caused the staples to pull out some hence causing the squeeks. Odd really though as Bill wanted Paulsons to pull up a board to insure it was nailed properly. What's funny is Bill left and the despite Dave recommending they pull a squeaky board the installer pulled a board that wasn't a squeaky one. That doesn't seem like a real valid test to me since I would want to check a board that is squeaking to determine if it was nailed properly. Then again,  I really don't care who's at fault or who pays for it (as long as it's not me.) 

December 14- Paulsons floor covering installers came out and replaced the floor. Floor looks great, feels solid. I hope it doesn't develop any squeaks as it acclimates. The installer did have to pull the baseboards and renailed them. One of the vertical (side) door trim pieces was broke and renailed on during the install. I didn't know if that would be able to be covered with putty and paint. Additionally there is a larger gap where the wood floor meets carpet. Hopefully that will be it and we can call this closed once those items are complete. I'll call off the BBB (Better Business Bureau and anyone with an active case on this once these minor annoyances are fixed.

December 22- Paulsons sent out a carpet guy who stretched the carpet the 1/2 inch so that you can't see the subfloor. John from Riverside came to caulk and putty the issues with the trim wood baseboards, etc... He discovered he could not remedy it all without replacing boards. So a day or two later the boards were dropped off. On the downside two squeaks where two boards come together was discovered in front of the sink around January 1st. It's likely due to movement in the subfloor (because Riverside Homes uses to thin of subfloor.) I doubt I'll even pursue having it resolved by Riverside because some things just aren't worth it eventually since they haven't been so responsive so far.

January 6- Repair person comes as per schedule John from Riverside Homes Inc told us. He leaves, frustrated shortly after starting because the wrong boards were delivered. Another person comes out from NW Doors from clear across town and determines it's the wrong trim he has again.

January 7- The correct trim is dropped off in the morning, The repair person comes again and replaces the broken boards. He does a good job in my opinion.

January 8- John comes out and touches up the paint. My wife is not super pleased because the wall color doesn't look to be an exact match. I use to be a painting contractor, so I inform her it not worth pursuing because any time a new batch of the same color is made up, it can be slightly off especially when painting just a patch on the existing color (I have experienced this myself, it doesn't look right, but without repainting an entire wall or continous section, or going back many times, there isn't a way to resolve this.)

Final: I won't be pulling my review or pulling it from any sites where I reviewed the builder or Paulsons. Regardless of the ultimate outcome, it took 4 months to get this resolved and I still consider that very average or below. Also considering I have 2 squeaks in the new floor in it's first month I don't consider a top notch finish either. Meaning my review is still a 2 out of 5. Riverside and Paulsons fixed what was required (after a lot of brow beating) but nothing was done to above average or excellent quality. No one ever once apologized for wasting hours of my time nor did anyone offer anything to make up for their past service and quality issues.