Open Warranty Issues - Steve & Judy D'Gerolamo

Sconset Village - Lot 1039

 

As we approach the 1 year anniversary of our home purchase in Sconset Village, Judy and I have put together a list of open issues to be addressed by the Simonini service department. This summary has been put on a web server to facilitate easy communication of these issues among your staff and subcontractors.

A local home inspector (Christopher Scheip, License # 1728, Tel 704-779-6824) was hired to provide us (and Simonini Builders) with an independent evaluation of the condition of the home at this time.

 

A recap of the issues is as follows.......

Exterior

1. Crawl Space Floor Joints - Master bedroom floor is very bouncy and shows more deflection than what would be considered normal. Solid block bridging between the joists in the problem area was started but not completed. There is also a bounce in the kitchen floor which causes the dishes in the drawers to rattle. Similar bridging and possible pier support may be required here as well. (Inspector recommendation - check with the Iredell county code enforcement office as to the requirements for this span of joists. A licensed structural engineer should be called to further evaluate the problem and suggest repairs as needed.)

2. Crawl Space Temporary Supports - There is a makeshift post in place in the crawlspace near the rear wall. Possibly a temporary supporting plate for the beam until the proper masonry column/pier was constructed. This untreated lumber is attractive to wood destroying insects.

3. Attic Insulation - The insulation in the attic has been disturbed and good coverage is no longer present.

4. Roof System/Roof Covering - There are multiple examples of compromised roofing shingles, flashing and the ridge vent. For example......

a. Left side where the first floor roof meets the second floor wall has a buckled shingle. This can allow water intrusion and damage to occur.

b. Gap between sections of the ridge vent can allow pests, rodents, birds, etc, to enter the attic.

c. Shingles on the right side of the breezeway are long and pushing against the flashing which is causing several shingles to bow up. This can allow pests and moisture to intrude.

d. Shingle at the screened porch fascia is pushed up and not sealed.

e. The rubber plumbing vent flange is cracked/torn. The potential for moisture entry is present.

Sample Photos - Roofing

5. Exterior Siding & Trim - I have not done a thorough inspection of the siding but do recall a few small problems...

a. Frieze board joint above the rear garage window is large enough to allow insects to penetrate the OSB sheathing

b. Exterior sill for the dining room window is cracked again. All 3 of these window sills have been repaired and one of the cracks has recurred.

c. Fascia board at the rear porch steps was damaged when the home was used as a model (pre-July 2007). This still has not been been repaired or replaced.

d. Roof Gable - earlier this year I noted that there were some fairly large gaps at one of gables at the rear of the home. Upon reinspection, it appears the only repair attempt was to staple some thin screening over these gaps. Does the Iredell code require wood to wood contact here? Birds and squirrels can easily compromise the screening and start nesting in the soffits.

6. Exterior Sidewalk - The brick front walk, between the house and garage, is sloped towards the foundation of the house. This can allow water to accumulate at the front foundation wall and leak into the crawlspace.

7. Plumbing (Crawlspace) - The 2" PVC drain line below the laundry room has a negative slope. A licensed plumbing contractor should be called in to further evaluate and repair as needed.

8. Outside Viking Grill - we are currently working with Todd Hedrick (Viking rep) to replace the missing and damaged parts (rotisserie shaft and ignition knob). There is still no power to the warming drawer.......Todd assured us he would coordinate fixing this with your office.

 

Interior

9. Paint & Drywall - sheetrock cracks and screw pops to be repaired and painted........

a. Drywall damage behind the painting at the top of the stairs in the 2nd floor hallway

b. In the 2nd floor bonus room - seam cracks and screw pops

10. Sliding Door to Screened Porch - there is a bow in the sill which raises the right door during the closing operation and the mullion trim rubs the top frame and binds the sliding motion. Repair as needed.

11. Rear Door-Screened Porch to Lower Patio - large gap under the door. Sweep on the screen door needs to be adjusted down or replaced with one that will seal this gap from insects and rodents.

12. Front Door from Garage Breezeway - very difficult to lock. Locking with the key takes a lot of force which can cause the key bend or break.

13. Garage side door (at the breezeway) - the weatherseal on this door does not seal to the door. The garage has its own heat pump and is heated and cooled year round. A properly sealed door is important.

14. Master bathroom door - the door jambs are spread and the doorstop does not function as originally intended.

15. Flooring (1st floor hallway outside master bedroom suite) - the wood flooring was facenailed in an attempt to fix a few boards than had buckled due to expansion. This product is a floating floor type. Check with the installation instructions as to the ability to face nail this product and if doing so would void the manufacturer's warranty. Replacement of some of the boards may be required.

16. Kitchen Cabinets - a few of the drawers with the self closing feature do not close properly.

17. Kitchen - Wolf Stove - still missing the drip pan.

18. Master Bathroom - Tile & Grout - the tile in the master bathroom shower has the following issues that have yet to be repaired....

a. Floor Tile Staining - according to Daltile, this is due to impurities in the installers mud compound with discoloration leeching though the floor tile. A poultice must be applied in attempt to remove the stains or the floor must be replaced.

b. Stains on the wall tiles in the shower

c. Missing grout near the shower controls will allow water intrusion into the walls.

19. Master Bathroom - Exhaust Fan - the fan is not performing adequately. The mirrors easily steam during a 10 minute shower and it takes another 15-20 minutes to finally clear the steam from the mirrors and shower door glass. Fan motor, fan sizing, duct sealing, duct sizing, stuck damper and duct obstruction are all possibilities.

20. Jack & Jill Bathroom (2nd floor) - the tub spout is not sealed to the wall which can allow water intrusion into the wall.

21. Electrical:

a. Center rear bedroom closet light (2nd floor) did not operate properly.

b. No anti-oxidant paste noted on the 220v connections.

22. Plumbing - Water Heaters - our home has 3 1/2 baths with a whirlpool tub in the master bathroom. There is a potential demand for large quantities of hot water over a short period of time (filling the tub or multiple showers). Since the water heaters were planned for installation in an attic with limited access (22x30" scuttlehole), a pair of smaller (40gal) water heaters were plumbed in parallel to meet the demand.

There are a few issues noted by a board of national home inspectors....

a. There is NO insulation of the 3/4" copper stub connections (hot and cold) out of the water heaters. In addition, there are no isolation valves on the hot and cold sides should one unit have to be taken out for service....if one water heater goes down, both are down!

 

b. I also question whether the expansion tank provided is properly sized (and pressurized) to protect both water heaters. In an attic installation, protection beyond a simple T&P valve is imperative. It's also very unlikely that a shallow drain pain will contain the force and splash of one these valves reaching the pressure threshold and opening. There are 2 levels of finished living space below these water heaters that will likely be affected by water damage.I'd like to get a plumber (not the one that did this installation) to evaluate this installation and make any corrections as needed.

 

23. HVAC - 1st Floor unit - there is a possible refrigerant leak in our AC unit on the first floor. The system required 2.2 lbs of R22 when inspected by Climatec during our last visit. I discovered the problem when check the system for balance. (Note - the building inspector also found a gas leak in the crawl space which likely occurred when Climatec replaced all of the ductwork. An A/C line might have also been disturbed in the process. I will measure the temps the next time I'm in town to see if there have been any changes.

Before putting in 2.2 lbs of R22

After recharging the system, the coolest temp measured out of the first floor registers was 61F. Neighbor's house (also a Hawthorne model with the same east/west exposure) measured 57F and their system has never been touched.