I have several complaints against Southern Homes and their respective warranty company.
First off, my home was built in 2007. (Moved into home Aug 2007). After approximately 6 months at new residence my wife and I noticed the grout in both master bedroom and hallway bathroom showers starting to crack. Tiles becoming loose and shifting to uneven positions. We also noticed that the caulking was cracking and peeling away. I understand that caulking and grout take abuse in a daily water environment, however, these showers were only 6 months old at the time.
At the same time, while the problems in the bathrooms were occurring, I noticed an "x" shaped crack in my concrete garage floor. By the way, the "x" shaped crack has caused a bird bath to take place. Also, 5 gallon paint bucket imprints are scattered among the floor. (Obviously the concrete was not completely dried and cured before it was being utilized by the contractor(s).)
Keeping stride with the cracks, my driveway has 4 significant cracks and the patio has a crack. I wonder if the main foundation has cracks in it. I am no expert on concrete but I do believe concrete should not crack that easy or this early in life of a home unless it was a poor construction job or bad batch of concrete.
Our home warranty has 10 years for structural integrity (concrete, walls, roof, etc.) and 1 year for bathrooms (tiling, showers, tubs, sinks, etc.)
So, at six months, the bathrooms were under warranty and we contacted Southern Homes and filled out a service request for repair. Southern Homes complied and sent a representative to inspect our complaints. First, the representative looked at both bathrooms and told my wife and myself that the caulking/grout were a maintenance issue. Which means it's the home owners responsibility to fix/repair the problem. But, we were only 6 months into the warranty. (If you buy a new vehicle, tv, or computer and it fails under warranty it's the dealer/retailer responsibility to replace or repair the item in question.) Not so, with Southern Homes.
After looking at the bathrooms, the same representative looked at the above mentioned cracks and stated that I had a 10 year structural warranty and to keep an eye on the size of the cracks. If they become 1/4" or larger then to notify Southern Homes again. In the meantime, I don't have the luxury or opportunity to seal, epoxy, or paint my floor. Not without spending extra money to have the cracks repaired and the floor leveled.
Moving on. Seven more months passed by and both bathrooms became worse. My wife called Southern Homes and complained majorly over the phone about the problem. Southern Homes sent the same above mentioned rep. to our home for another inspection. He acknowledged our complaints and finally sent the tile contractor to our home to fix the problems. Somewhere communication lapsed or was disregarded because the tile contractor was under the impression that he was only going to replace 4 or 5 tiles per bathroom. Needless to say, no repair work took place on our bathrooms.
Southern Homes then contacted their warranty company and asked if they could mediate the problem. We received a letter from the warranty company stating that they would be calling to schedule a "courtesy" appointment. The warranty rep. arrived and inspected the complaints. He asked a few questions and took some measurements from both bathrooms and left.
About three weeks later we receive a letter from Southern Homes with a copy of the warranty companys' report explaining that the bathrooms were in tolerance and Southern Homes had fulfilled their warranty obligation by sending a rep. the first time we filed a complaint. (Though nothing was done the first time.)
At this point, I am highly disgusted and disappointed in both Southern Homes and the warranty company. Except for the bathrooms, concrete driveway, garage, and patio; the rest of the home is great.
One last note. My wife called two seperate tile contractors to look at our bathrooms and give us an estimate to remodel the tiled showers and tub. Both cited that the bathroom tile work was shotty and unprofessional and that we should contact the home builder. We already pursued that option.
Pete
Winter Haven, Florida
U.S.A.