Cardel Construction (New Home) rant

[InRich]

So I recently purchased a Cardel home in Calgary. I paid half a million dollars for the home and it is in the midst of being framed... We've obviously had quite a bit of snow in the last few days and I had up to a foot of snow build up on BOTH levels of my home... The roofs still not there...

but anyway

I went there the day it snowed and thought ok well what a mess, I'm sure they'll clean or sweep it in the morning. I came back the next day and the bastards continued to frame around the snow, they did nothing to clean it... I couldn't believe it. I went back yesterday because I knew there was a chinook coming, and yet again, no clean up, and a ton of snow, so I went out there with a buddy and some shovels and started removing it myself... it took us 2 hours but there was still a lot of snow we couldn't get out. So today the whole house is soaked, and I mean soaked, there's a good quater inch worth of puddles EVERYWHERE!

I contacted the builder with my concerns, they told me not to worry, everyone builds in the winter etc etc, blah blah blah.

Should I be worried about anything? warping, rot? So far, my experience with Cardel is a 2/5. I don't think I'll be building with them again. I never understood why people get so stressed about building new houses. I thought it was going to be fun, but, now i know...

ya know, you pay half a mill for something, then you find out the guys working on the home are recently hired outta the news paper and working for 24/hour framing houses.... thats nice.

[nonlinear]

don't worry, the snow won't interfere with the framing. when it does, the guys will clear it off. framing is about structure, not aesthetics. it will be fine.

[aristocrat]

dont worry about it, lots of companies build year round here, if not all. I worked for a construction company in edmonton called Sarasota homes and it was a regular occurence.

do trees not get wet in the winter/rain?

[Masked Bandit]

I'm sorry to hear that Cardel got some more money out of someone. I hope this is not the case, but my guess is that this is the first of many disappointments to come with Cardel. Search my posts for the numerous problems we had with them. I'd be happy if Cardel never sold another home.

[FiveFreshFish]

How different would it be if your house was built in the spring and summer during a downpour?

Consider the water exposure the 2x4s, 2x6s and sheeting were subject to even before they were delivered to your home site. You just didn't see that... but it happened.

As the posters above already said, don't worry about this.

[PureDeXteritY]

Ya you don't need to worry about the snow, it's not going to affect the framing.

But I do like how you're checking up on them, It's good to drop by once in a while just to see how they're putting your shit together.

When the roof is up and the dry wall is on, try to drop by once a week.
Making sure they do everything right in things like taping/mudding, painting, flooring (including hardwood, tiles, and carpeting), baseboards, door framing, interior finish things like door knobs, ect.
It's a lot easier to get them to fix imperfections WHILE they're doing it, because trying to get them to come back and fix things AFTER your possession is a HUGE headache .

Try to find some Cardel home reviews and see what people have had problems with, and just keep an eye out for it while the house is going up.
They're not going to like it, but be as involved as you can.

[FraserB]

If you swing by, bring a box of Timmys or coffee for the crew. its a tiny bit of money but you will get sooooo much more cooperation from the trades. they generally hate the buyer wandering around but donuts shut everyone up and they will fix little problems or things you point out usually without complaint.

[NickGT]

Floors warping would be the biggest concern. But that would take a very long time to actually happen. I wouldn't worry. It wont be long and the roof will be on. They would have shoveled it out as soon as it was sealed off anyway. But like you, I probably would have been pro-active and done it myself. In most cases you'll see propane heaters on site in winter to dry things up until the furnace is up and running when a house is wet inside.

I share your home building worry tho. I'm building with baywest now. Only issue so far is that the slope on my front balcony either isn't properly done or maybe its just that it hasn't been properly flashed yet. But after all the snow melted today a lot of water found its way into the wall insulation. Like TONS. I could actually see insulation floating around. But I'm good buddies with the area manager so hes going to get it looked at asap. If the slope isn't right that's obviously going to be a huge problem down the road and needs to be addressed right now...

In the end it will be worth it though. This is my 2nd time building a house from ground up. Everything works out.....eventually lol.

[FiveFreshFish]

I used to drop by every night when my house was being built. At the stage after the doors were locked, I borrowed the construction key from the builder, made a copy and let myself in to check blueprint compliance, measurements and take pics.

[Xtrema]

I would worry more about moisture when the drywalls are in. Not at this stage.

Calgary is pretty dry and it's hard for mold to form unless humidity is very high for weeks and weeks.

[HungryJack]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish
I used to drop by every night when my house was being built. At the stage after the doors were locked, I borrowed the construction key from the builder, made a copy and let myself in to check blueprint compliance, measurements and take pics.

This.

Seriously, be on site daily. Make sure your builder supervisor answers your questions to your satisfaction, and if he doesn't, make a stink.

Also, it's a good idea to make friends with the tradesmen, as noted above. Even their supervisors.

Be assertive. make sure you get your money's worth, but please don't be a prick.

That doesn't help anyone.

[Kloubek]

I agree there is nothing to worry about with moisture on open wood. It is when the moisture has nowhere to escape and cannot dry that you will get issues.

[JAYMEZ]

Im in the same situation.. I just put my 10 percent down for my half a million home.. and they have yet to call me back to book any appointments for the inside stuff.. grr

[NickGT]

Originally posted by HungryJack


Be assertive. make sure you get your money's worth, but please don't be a prick.

That doesn't help anyone.

This is the right attitude to have. I might be a home buyer by night. But I'm a tradesperson by day. I have dealt with some absolute JERKS in the last 6yrs. People who treat you like dirt from the get go. Even though all you want to do is help. There are a lot of skids in the industry. But there are definitely a lot of professional people too that work very hard, take pride in their work and will always go the extra mile to make sure you're happy.

[Kobe]

Originally posted by JAYMEZ
Im in the same situation.. I just put my 10 percent down for my half a million home.. and they have yet to call me back to book any appointments for the inside stuff.. grr

I told u 2 not deal with them fool..

[InRich]

Originally posted by FraserB
If you swing by, bring a box of Timmys or coffee for the crew. its a tiny bit of money but you will get sooooo much more cooperation from the trades. they generally hate the buyer wandering around but donuts shut everyone up and they will fix little problems or things you point out usually without complaint.

Yea, last Friday I bought them a 24pack Canadian... They told me they'd go that extra mile for me. I swing by the house daily.

[frozenrice]

10-15 years ago, half a million would get you a pretty baller house. Today, that same half a million will get you a move-up/ semi estate house.

10-15 years ago, that guy making $24/hours today would have been making $5-$8/hr.

10-15 years ago the lot that your house is sitting on was probably $20-30,000. Today that lot is probably over $150,000.

It's all relative. The half million that you paid is getting you a house that's pretty much an average standard production type house which isn't necessarily going to get the kind of attention a true high-end custom house is going to get.

Think of it this way. The price of unleaded gas has consistenly risen, yet the gas itself hasn't really changed. Unleaded is still unleaded.

As far as the snow goes, the wood would have to be immersed in water 24/7 for a good few weeks before you need to worry. Once the house is drywalled and sealed up the heaters will come on and you'll be fine.

[frozenrice]

Originally posted by InRich


Yea, last Friday I bought them a 24pack Canadian... They told me they'd go that extra mile for me. I swing by the house daily.

Haha, they were probably too hung over to shovel the snow.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by frozenrice
10-15 years ago, that guy making $24/hours today would have been making $5-$8/hr.

You mean the other way around?

I don't think rise of housing match rise of salary.

$60K job in 96 is now around $130K, 2.1x.

$100K house in 96 is now around $300K, 3x

[sxtasy]

leaks and moisture problems can be some of the most expensive fixes, yet avoidance is simple and cheap. Ensure that paper and flashing are installed properly. Especially around windows and doors.

It is a simple concept, yet paper and flashing are frequently installed wrong. Read up on proper building paper installation under masonry and stucco, and tyvek installation under siding. Ideally all windows and doors should be installed with blueskin and flashing should be lapped properly with building paper.

Read up and understand the codes, perhaps suggest to your builder that they install double lapped 30 minute paper, very cheap insurance.

Lumber usually sits in the rain in lumber yards anyways, so I wouldn't worry about the snow.