Calbridge "fine" homes review

[Orbie]

As with anything there will be good and bad experiences, unfortunately people love to rave when they are upset but not many take the time to do the same when a result is good. if you look at the other beyond thread the last poster has some pretty good feedback:

"Built a house with them between 2006-2007 in Evergreen. Took 16 months at the time.

Good: able to change many things on their plan, including structural and they didn't charge me. We raised the floor up, made a curved balcony instead of square, and there was no charge even though they had to change the support beams below.

Hit or miss: they have many different contractors. Depending on who you get, it can be good or bad. Our cabinets and stucco are definitely below average. But, finishings, stairs and railings are fantastic!

Overall as a builder, they are quite good. But like I said, you cannot choose the team of the trade that's working in your house. So, luck of the draw."

I certainly noticed this with my experience, there are houses on the same block as me with huge problems as Calbridge switched trades midway through. So the opinion will be split even with the owners in my immediate area. I did notice that they seem to have high turnover, site super and warranty people have changed several times for my area with varying qualities. The one lesson is do your due diligence, inspect and don't take anything for granted, especially if you are dropping the type of coin on a house that Calbridge charges at. We did a third party house inspection before the warranty period ran up to make sure.

[GTS4tw]

Looks like typical new build quality. So glad I got out of that horrible industry. Would never buy a house built by "the new generation". In the end no one cares and they will sell 1000 more like it.

[Fuji]

Originally posted by Kjonus
Not trying to say to kick up a stink but you stay that this was an estate home and not some 300-600k house. Are you saying that it would have acceptable if it was? Yes its shitty workmanship but it shouldn't matter how much the cost of the home is.

Don't disagree no matter the price this is not acceptable. I just expected more when you get in the 7 digit range.

[nobb]

Is there really a difference in the trades that work on a starter home vs an estate home? I have a feeling it's the same sort of shitty contractors that do the work. What really matters is how the builder addresses problems and stands up for their quality of work, of which I am getting the feeling that many new home builders don't do very well.

[Fuji]

Originally posted by nobb
Is there really a difference in the trades that work on a starter home vs an estate home? I have a feeling it's the same sort of shitty contractors that do the work. What really matters is how the builder addresses problems and stands up for their quality of work, of which I am getting the feeling that many new home builders don't do very well.

Don't disagree here as well. However, the sales person told me that Thompson homes and Calbridge share the same top quality contractors and they are not just anyone off the street.

Short answer is shame on me for believing it

[snoop101]

This makes me so happy that we built with Trico. We barely had any issues and they fixed them all right away.

[InRich]

Originally posted by liquid1010
This is a little terrifying considering I just signed off on them to build our home last week.

Would you mind if I PM'd you?

You would be a FOOL, not to cancel that then.

[FixedGear]

At the end of the day, it's 100% the fault of the general contractor for allowing their subs to do that kind of shitty work. Even the best general contractors will sometimes get hack subcontractors, but when that happens it's the general contractor's responsibility to make them do it properly, or hire another sub that will. The quality of work in the photos you showed is terrible, and it's only that way because Calbridge has shitty quality control.

[spacerz]

Sterling is also a GREAT builder. We have been doing work for them for the last two years and they definitely do things a lot differently than other builders (in a better way).

[snoop101]

wouldn't the new (er) Alberta warranty step in for cases like this?

[B69]

Originally posted by Fuji
I thought it was about time to put up a review. This is not a pity or rant story, I'm past that now, but a summary of data points to help other home buyers know what they will get based on my experience with Calbridge.

It's been 2 years since I have built the home. This was an estate home and not a 300-600K house. I'll keep it short and post some facts, but feel free to PM if you have questions.

1. The process was very frustrating. If I ran a business this way I would/should be out of business. They stated 6 months to complete, if I was quick on the selections. I completed my selections in 1 week. The house was not completed until a year, which is normal. However, i had been informed verbally otherwise, never got an update and had to ask myself. In this case I bought all new furniture which had to pay for storage for another 6 months and keep in my basement of my other house.

2. Quality - 4 main walls were not straight. floors had gaps in them to the point of twoonies. All of my concrete (pads and driveway) were cracked before even driving on it. Almost all my windows were leaking. Finishings and some of the repairs were shit. I've provided some sample pics. I have to say the cabinet guys at Legacy were great though.

3. Service - Sure I got a bunch of things fixed through new home warranty. However, it was a fight and took lot of the time and effort. They took over 12 weeks of actual onsite time to get all the issues fixed ( I actually had get a family member out to watch them for that time, as I couldn't take work off) and some of the fixes are not even close to par.

4. I spoke to Larry Thompson and his quality team and gave him the opportunity to hear my concerns. We had a professional and objective conversation and he seemed to listen and was pleasant, but nothing ever happened on his end to make things right. His head supervisor, came over and review things and after all my complaints he finally said we're sorry. They offered to have someone clean my house, but that really didn't solve any issues or make me feel better.

Overall, it's been frustrating. They replaced a lot of things like the floors, sealed the window leaks and attempted to fix walls, but a number of issues still persist and I'm slowly getting to fixing them myself.

I feel your pain. I recently purchased a Calbridge home in Cochrane and it's been a nightmare. I have been there for a month and there's about 30 things on the list to be repaired and fixed properly. The communication overall has been completly shit. Over promise and under delivered. For anyone looking to purchase in Cochrane, stay clear of Calbridge.

[zooter]

I can share my experience, I bought an estate home from Calbridge (spec house) 2 summers ago and thought the service and quality was pretty good. There were some items that they needed to fix, and the new home warranty covered all of that. They were prompt and came to fix everything right away. The major issue I had was we had water leak into the ceiling in the master bath, they sent someone out and changed the flex line on one of the fans and properly secured it to the roof, with silicone, and then added a trap ( kink or dip in the vent line) of the other so that condensation didn't leak back in through the fan. Other than that minor things which they addressed.

I'm not trying to rain on the parade here, just wanted to share my experience. I think it also depends on what area you are in, and of the foreman and the crew. Negotiation wise they weren't willing to budge to much but we got them down about $10k.

[Rocket1k78]

Originally posted by nobb
Is there really a difference in the trades that work on a starter home vs an estate home? I have a feeling it's the same sort of shitty contractors that do the work. What really matters is how the builder addresses problems and stands up for their quality of work, of which I am getting the feeling that many new home builders don't do very well.

Depends on the builder of course but there should be a huge difference when it comes to starter vs. estate. Starter homes are easier installs and even a newb installer can pull it off but when you get to estate homes were talking higher end materials, intricate installs and clients who expect a higher level of workmanship because they're paying for it.

The pics of the baseboards and ceiling patch are beyond dis belief and i would be choked to see that even in a starter home. Shitty thing about calgary is builders get away with crap like this all day every day. Go take a look at some in fills for sale and it'll make you feel like you got a perfectly built place lol

[spike98]

Originally posted by B69


I feel your pain. I recently purchased a Calbridge home in Cochrane and it's been a nightmare. I have been there for a month and there's about 30 things on the list to be repaired and fixed properly. The communication overall has been completly shit. Over promise and under delivered. For anyone looking to purchase in Cochrane, stay clear of Calbridge.

Im in cochrane too and have a calbridge home. What a nightmare!

[G]

Originally posted by Rocket1k78


Go take a look at some in fills for sale and it'll make you feel like you got a perfectly built place lol

This is the 3rd time I heard that about infills in the last 2 days. The plygem guy came to adjust my window and he said he has yet to see an in fill that had square walls. Out of plumb walls make installing windows a blast.

[gwill]

Originally posted by snoop101
wouldn't the new (er) Alberta warranty step in for cases like this?

Newer warranty is only for permits that were applied for before Sept of last year so a lot of spec houses may be under the old warranty still. Plus the warranty is only useful once a builder doesn't fix things... The new home warranty guys may wait forever before jumping in to get involved.



When a company has high turn over it effects the quality of homes. Its an area that is greatly over looked when looking at builders. You should ask who the site super is.. how long he's been with the company... even inquiring with the sales people on how long they have been with the company can give you a good idea on how things will go.

Many builders are constantly hiring because the culture is bad.

[B69]

Originally posted by spike98


Im in cochrane too and have a calbridge home. What a nightmare!

Which part of Cochrane did you build in? I'm on Fireside cove. I swear this company is ran by rookies!

[spike98]

Originally posted by B69


Which part of Cochrane did you build in? I'm on Fireside cove. I swear this company is ran by rookies!

Sunset. We are dealing with siding issues, insulation issues, concrete issues (not foundation...yet), finish issues, and on top of that, complete and utter lack of communication.

They pulled out of Sunset end of last year and just don't give a shit about the people they sold houses too.

[turbotrip]

I was very impressed by the quality of Lupi Luxury Homes, which is a small builder

[AndrewMZ3]

I was pretty close to building with Calbridge as there seemed to be more bang for the buck with them, but their lack of flexibility had me go with Albi instead. They just finished framing so I don't have much input to provide on their quality yet, but after reading this I'm glad I went with Albi. Thanks for the info OP and the others that chimed in.