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Get ready to take some time off work

Builder does not meet move-in deadlines and cuts corners in order to try to meet deadlines, resulting in many days of having to let subcontractors in to perform various tasks (and therefore lost work days for the homeowner). Finally finished with internal work and was burglarized (with no forced entry) even though we locked the doors. Rumour has it that this has happened to several others in our area.

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- to be added later

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MAJOR WATER DAMAGE IN OUR NEW HOME

Our house has major water damage and Richcraft will not take ownership. From the period of December 24, 2007 to February 17, 2008, we have removed 4 full garbage bags of snow from our attic. The snow is coming in through the vents. On December 23rd (mild weather) we arrived home to bubbled walls in the upstairs hallway and great room and 5 watermarks on the second floor ceiling. We also had two areas in the hallway that were dripping water onto the hardwood floor. We contacted the emergency contact number for Richcraft and we were told that 30 other calls had been received that day regarding water damage from the attic. We were also told that someone from Richcraft would contact us on December 27th and not to worry as Richcraft would take responsibility for this. Needless to say, Richcraft is not taking any responsibility. We have been told by Richcraft that we are not "maintaining our home properly". If maintenance of a Richcraft home entails clearing snow out of your attic on a weekly basis and standing on your roof during a snowstorm to keep your roof clear at all times, Richcraft should have this "home maintenance schedule" in black and white so it can be presented to a potential buyer BEFORE they give their money to Richcraft. We also had water damage to our home in the spring. No snow on the roof to blame for this one! During a rain storm, we had water dripping in through our kitchen light. Richcraft said this was the result of "ice damming". We had to replace the vent over our kitchen nook with a better vent (at our cost) and this seems to have solved the problem. We know of many Richcraft owners with the exact same problems as us and Richcraft is not helping them either. How can Richcraft not take responsibility for their defective homes? How can they not even send someone over to the house to assess the situation or try to find a solution?

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It's been raining in my house!

Since we purchased our home, the sales representative was very hypocritical, did not want to help us, wouldn't provide information, in all a very awful experience. Shortly after taking possession we started finding deficiencies all over the place (around 60 items). Had to send most of these to Tarion after the builder didn't fix them in the allowed period. After sending my complaint to Tarion the homebuilder came in to fix 90% of all warranted items. The leak in the roof is still something that is outstanding. Water has been leaking through our light fixture in our breakfast nook since august and it seems the homebuilder is not willing to fix the problem. Another leak as sprouted in our great room area above the fireplace. 5 of my neighbours are reporting same or similar problems. We had to result to a protest in front of the sales office because Richcraft didn't seem at all interested to help or would offer solutions that would contradict the Ontario Home Warranty!. Waiting for outcome.

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Richcraft has very poor after sales service

The sales department outshined the company. No problems there. During the building process we had very limited access since it was a townhouse. However, we took external photos throughout the whole process. Whereas the building was completed on time, landscaping did not occur for weeks after. Most of the fill was rocky and there was only three inches of top soil. Within two years this blew away leaving the lawn vulnerable to infestation. Watering was useless because it would just run off the rocky fill. The lawn was damaged but Richcraft attributed it to "owner negligence" in spite of the fact that their opinion was contrary to two independent professional consultants. I fixed the lawn at my expense. The house itself had the following issues: wiring was installed for a different plan variant. This had little impact, though. The main bathroom warm air vent was omitted (and couldn't be practically installed after, so we said don't bother); a cold air return in the basement went no where - it terminated in the wall cavity of the front hall closet. Minor cracks in the cement flooring - not covered by warranty. Deterioration of the cement on the front of the garage after one summer - not covered by warranty; various nail pops and cosmetic issues were covered by warranty, but we had to argue to get some of it done - once trades people were on the premises, they were mostly very good and very polite. Front railing support on verandah was loose and unsafe. Richcraft tried to repair but was unsuccessful. I replaced it myself at my expense with a full-length column. A major leak in the master bedroom reported in the first year was never fixed - we fought with them to even come by and inspect and we insisted they provide extra caulking in the suspect breach area on the roof, which slowed the leak although it recurred with every strong rainfall - they eventually denied responsibility and ignored us completely, even when threatened with a lawsuit. We fought for three years on this and eventually hired a contractor to fix the problem, which he did in less than an hour for under $70. Note: they failed to file Tarion warranty papers. After sales service became non-existent and thoroughly dampened the enjoyment of our home. We like the design of the home and found the initial first year of service a bit frustrating, but acceptable. Since then, however, it was terrible. I would never by a Richcraft home again, and I would never recommend anyone to buy a newly built home from Richcraft. Once the bugs are worked out, the home is otherwise very nice.

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Richcraft single in Deer Run, Stittsville

During construction we have noticed a lot of issues with the exterior and interior of our home, including non-compliance to the Ontario Building Code. For two months, I have been writing and calling Richcraft, starting with the sales centre and going up to the President. We have yet to receive any communication from them, other than a single email to say they recieved our comments. If the company had fixed our problems when we mentioned them, it would have saving all involved a lot of time and money. Now, we might have to refuse to take possession of the house until all issues are resolved. I would never, never recommend Richcraft or buy from them again -- and we haven't seen the finishings yet to find out what's wrong inside!

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We bought a house with a possession date in summer 2003, so they would not build the house during the winter. After we paid deposit, we want to add features to the home and were willing to pay for them. But the builder's realtor did not.I can't believe she turned our money down. After two years of living in the house, all I can say is I'll never buy from a traditional builder anymore. First, we got the following problems solved: 1) bad counter design 2) missing anchor bolts (those hold your house down on the foundation wall during high winds - we took pictures during construction to prove it) 3) water penetration in basement wall above the breaker panel 4) basement tub was located under the multimedia panel, 5) unconnected sewer pipes 6) water leaking through the roof into the basement 7) water leak into bedroom wall (they never fixed this one, they said call us when it happens again) 8) and lots and lots of minor eye candy problems and finishing little problems As for the problems not covered: 1) mold around the sill plate (where your house sits on top of basement concrete wall). Their solution was to give me a bottle of chemical spray to kill the mold 2) basement insulation improperly installed: there is an air gap between the wall and the insulation, allowing for convection currents which cause condensation, moisture and hence mold; 3) basement insulation again: not air tight to the interior, not vapor tight to the interior (bat insulation meets the code) 4) furnace and A/C unit too small for the heat loss of the house After much investigation on proper house building, R-20 insulation is a joke since when you add up all thermal bridges, you get R-13. For the basement walls, they did R-12 as the code says, but the real R-value of the basement is R-2, why? Because of thermal bridges: concrete has ZERO insulation value and conducts heat and cold like a rock. The R-12 basement insulation does nothing to stop that. The end result is the furnace runs 24/7 when exterior gets below -20. The front porch and the garage are thermally connected to the house, increasing heat comin in during summer and heat leaving in the winter. The solution is a massive insulation renovation, but who wants to do that on a newly built house??? All I can say to prospective buyers is educate yourselves, know what you are getting into, the builder will tell you anything to make you go away once you've signed the contract. Search for building science and zero energy house on the internet. A house is more than a floor plan: its your largest financial commitment.

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Very happy with the house construction, especially with the walk-throughs offered during construction which allowed for us to move light fixtures, electrical outlets and light switches. A couple of issues had to be re-visited, but overall, were minor inconveniences.

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I bought a Richcraft home because I was always told they were a quality builder. I guess this was true until about five year's ago when the builder began trying to compete with the other home builders in our area that have been known to build in quantity not quality. We have been lied to on numerous occasions and the gentleman who did our pre-move inspection was a joke. All he tried to do was tell us that every problem we pointed out was suppose to be the way it was or if something obviously had to be fixed (like scratched and cracked hardwood floor boards from before we moved in) he tried to scare us into not having them fixed saying that the problem would be worse. We've had tradesmen lie to us on numerous occassions about obvious problems and not wanting to fix them because they were told by the foreman to cover the problem up and not fix it properly. they go ahead and agree to no t fix these problems because they're afraid of losing their contract with Richcraft (this was told to us by a trades person) and a Richcraft Inspector admitted to us that if he were to fix all problems he new had to be fixed, he'd be out of a job. The amount of problems we have in our home are shocking to those who enter and are too numerous to mention. The builder is great and will do anything for you when your home is in the early stages of being built but once you start catching the numerous problems being made on your home they refuse you entry to your home and will no longer speak to you. The after sales service on the surface seems wonderful that is until you point out major problems needing repair. That's when the games start and issues get ignored. My advise to those looking for thier dream home "just because you fall in love with a floor plan doesn't mean you should by from that builder. Knock on doors of people who live in new communities and get all the information you can before you but". As we found out after we closed, our entire street has gone through similar issues and has been constantly turned away from the builder. Unless you have a lot of fight in you and a lot of time to fight to get the house you paid for you end up settling with a house you're simply unhappy with. THE DREAM QUICKLY DIES!!!! BUT THE BUILDER STILL GETS HIS MONEY!!!