Experience with Excel Homes

[Jetsons]

Looking for real experiences folks have had with Excel. Not interested in hearsay or fluff...

[r3ccOs]

I've heard they're not bad for starter homes, and with every builder, there is alot of hearsay.

A friend of ours is building in Silverado, and decided to purchase a "larger" move-up with double attached.

It wasn't necessarily a mistake, but they had thought they found a "deal" compared to the other builders such as Bay West, Sterling, and Landmark.

Ultimately the base price was lower, however you get what you paid for. As a result, after everything was said and done, it was pricier than if bought through a move-up builder.

Everything was an upgrade, from going to a simple burber from the standard pile cut, under mount sinks, granite, hardwoods, proper sized toilets and bath tubes etc...
Heck there wasn't even much of an allowance for lighting, let alone pot lights.

I'd lean more torwards Discovery from Morrison or Heartland if looking for a starter.

If looking for a "move up" builder, I'd suggest Bay West, Cedarglen, Jayman, Sabel and Landmark.

[quazimoto]

granite, hardwood, undermount sinks these thinks are never standard in a new build unless they are having a promotion.

You are going to find there are good and bad reviews of just about every builder. I've only had one friend who built a starter house with them and that went ok for them. The build quality was typical of a starter home and no big mistakes were evident. The problem is you could speak with 10 more people and for all we know 1 out of 10 says they are bad but if you are that 1 person who gets screwd well it's a horrible feeling.

I'm personally in the process right now building my second home with Beattie. We've had nothing but good things to say about them.

FYI I would also avoid morrison like the plague. When we were living in New Brighton we saw some of their bad work first hand. I watched the house next to our being framed. It was interesting to watch the framing crew drinking beer all day long. I'm imagine 3-4 beer a day must make everything more square! Another neighbour a few doors down had foundation problems that he had to get the new home owner warranty involved with. Like I said though, for all we know they have 20 more happy customers for the ones who aren't happy.

[Jetsons]

That is pretty much what I have heard through folks that have built with them, and my realtor.... Excel is middle-of-the-road, typical starter home quality builder.... I am looking at a place in Silverado (not a build though).

Interesting comment about Morrison..... very surprised. I toured a place last weekend in Cranston and it looked "bulletproof" - great quality throughout.

Thanks gents.

[2002civic]

Originally posted by r3ccOs
I've heard they're not bad for starter homes, and with every builder, there is alot of hearsay.

A friend of ours is building in Silverado, and decided to purchase a "larger" move-up with double attached.

It wasn't necessarily a mistake, but they had thought they found a "deal" compared to the other builders such as Bay West, Sterling, and Landmark.

Ultimately the base price was lower, however you get what you paid for. As a result, after everything was said and done, it was pricier than if bought through a move-up builder.

Everything was an upgrade, from going to a simple burber from the standard pile cut, under mount sinks, granite, hardwoods, proper sized toilets and bath tubes etc...
Heck there wasn't even much of an allowance for lighting, let alone pot lights.

I'd lean more torwards Discovery from Morrison or Heartland if looking for a starter.

If looking for a "move up" builder, I'd suggest Bay West, Cedarglen, Jayman, Sabel and Landmark.

Comparing Excel to Baywest is like comparing a Honda to a Porsche...

[Kloubek]

I'm building right now with Centrex, which is part of Excel. (It is supposed to be their move-up division... but they seem pretty much the same)

While there are a couple of things which I might get them to fix, we've monitored progress weekly from day one, and they seem to be doing a good job on our house for the most part.

So far the finish has been quite good... though, like I said, there are a couple of things we might get them to fix. But then, I think you get that with most builders. It really depends on the trades they have in there, which will vary.

[blitz]

I built with Excel back in 2005 in Royal Oak. We had a great experience, but we had a really good construction superintendent.

Nothing to fancy as people have said, but our house was built correctly and solidly.

[Quizzes]

Originally posted by blitz
I built with Excel back in 2005 in Royal Oak. We had a great experience, but we had a really good construction superintendent.

Nothing to fancy as people have said, but our house was built correctly and solidly.

Agreed. Had a good overall experience and no major issues with the house. Would recommend family and friends to build with them as a starter.

[Jetsons]

Thanks guys.. this makes me feel better.. Silverado seems to be a great little community with a lot going for it.

[masoncgy]

^ It's not a bad area... but the commutes are pretty bad out of there.

It's also filled with renters at the moment... a lot of people bought homes in Silverado to flip during the late stages of the boom and got stuck with homes that are worth less than what they paid originally, so most of those are rented out.

I used to manage all of Avi's accounts in Silverado... majority of those purchased, especially the detached-back lane product (ie: no garage) were by investors.

[Jetsons]

I was actually impressed with the commute to downtown.... 5 mins to Somerset - 45 minute train ride.... IMO of course.....

mason, check your PM man.

[UndrgroundRider]

I recently built with Excel up in Kincora. We moved in back in August of this year. I was very happy with them overall. The house turned out great, and the service guys are very friendly. They exceeded my expectations in virtually every way.

[eblend]

I just bought an Excel home and everything is damn near perfect, for me at least.

Does anyone know who makes the kitchen cabinets for Excel? I am trying to change ours out for additional drawers and would like to find out the supplier used.

[shynepho]

Originally posted by eblend
I just bought an Excel home and everything is damn near perfect, for me at least.

Does anyone know who makes the kitchen cabinets for Excel? I am trying to change ours out for additional drawers and would like to find out the supplier used.

Westridge Cabinets
167-3953 112 Avenue Southeast
Calgary, AB T2C 0J4
(403) 291-5022

[Kloubek]

^^^ This is indeed where we also selected our cabinets.

[turbotrip]

built many homes with excel and never had any problems they didnt take care of in a reasonable amount of time; overall good builder for mid-level homes

[chkolny541]

Originally posted by Jetsons
I was actually impressed with the commute to downtown.... 5 mins to Somerset - 45 minute train ride.... IMO of course.....

mason, check your PM man.

you were impressed with nearly an hour commute to d-town?

[drclark]

I am building a home through Excell. They have not dug the foundation yet. I will keep you guys posted.


One thing my wife was upset about was the window in the great room. Initially, we requested it to be the same as the showhome and at the last moment before signing the blue print we found that we could not have it because of architectural approval. The sales lady said too many houses got two windows in the great room for that model so ours needs to be one large window in the crescent we're building in. There are only three houses being built and it's not our model!
We wanted to talk to the sales manager, but she was on holiday.

Is it true that land developer has to approve all the windows that came with the house plan? What I am hearing is that you cannot get exactly as what was designed.

[Kloubek]

^^^ It IS as designed... just an alternate version. Somebody close to you got the look of the showhome. Probably more than one. Either that, or the standards of the developer changed between the start of the project, and now.

When a builder puts the plans together for a house, they are submitted to the developer to ensure it meets the architectural controls. One of the things that the developer looks at is how many of the same house model there is in a particular area. If there are too many (or they are side-by-side) they will demand a modification on one or more of the houses in order to keep everything from looking exactly the same. The developer is putting out a product, which the public can see, and they do not want everything looking the same and people commenting negatively on it. It is the same reason you don't find a bright red house in say, Kincora. The developer restricted colour choices to neutrals.

The reason the change was last minute is because earlier in the process, they had not yet completed the signing on many of the houses around you. The plans are sent to the developer as one of the last steps in the process. Now that the developer has an idea of how the houses will look around you, they have a better idea on how to fit your house into their "grand plan".

Unfortunately, I don't think there is anything you can do about it. The builder has no say in whether this is or is not necessary - that is up to the developer. You could try to contact the developer directly, though I highly doubt they will care what kind of window you would prefer.

We fell victim to the architectural controls as well. We had a choice of two different lights outside of our house; neither of which were even remotely modern. (We have a modern inside, why not a modern outside?) Well, we were SOL. We also wanted to have a mossy grey/green as an accent colour. Nope.

It sucks, but that's just the way it is.