Like all of the others that have written about this company, we were dreaming the American Dream of building our own home. We have lived in a trailer all of our married life and since we live in a hurricane prone area, we got tired of having to go to relatives during hurricanes because you cannot stay in mobile homes during these storms.
Jim Walter advertised that they were now building concrete slab houses so we picked out a plan we liked and called and made an appointment to sign the contract. This was in August. I specifically asked if we would be in it by Christmas and was told no, but we would be in by the end of January.
Well guess what? After making a pretty good down payment and begging and pleading for them to start, and even requesting my money back and to just cancel, my slab was finally poured the first week in January.
The slab and plumbing work went great, but after that the night-mare begins! The trusses were delivered and left on the ground for over a month. We questioned if the rain and sun would damage them and was told by the construction manager that it wouldn't matter. My husband finally insisted they get out here and tarp them because he did not want them to warp.
The contractors finally came and began putting the house together. The board were hanging off the slab and some of the main boards holding up the roof are split. We picked out hardiplank for the exterior which they did not even install correctly. Most of it is loose and some of it is falling off of the house. This is not even the worst of it yet!
The contractors installed the tar paper on the roof and were finished with their end for now and along comes a pretty good storm and tears is all off. I called the construction manager and told him that he needed to come look and he said that he would but never did, which didn't suprise me because everytime I called him before he never did either.
Anyway, he sent a roofer out which met me one day while I was leaving for work and told me he was the roofer. I got to work and called my husband and told him the roofer was outside and he went out and looked and couldn't find anyone. He said, "Are you sure you saw a roofer?" And I told him that's what he said he was.
Well, he disappeared and reappeared a couple of days later and told my husband that he would be back that he had to try and get a compressor. My husband told him he could use ours and he was all excited. When he would come back he would nail a little bit and then say he would be right back and not come back for another couple of days.
He finally did put up a couple of starter strips and then another storm came through and tore the tar paper off again. Again, I called and told the construction manager he needed to come out here and again he said he would and didn't. This roofer was fired and they hired a couple of other guys that I have to admit were very good. They finished it in 2 days and did an excellent job. The problem now is that it's all wavy from the tar paper being torn off twice and being nailed back on so many times.
The building inspector from our county has come out and will not pass anything, which I am glad of because it is really a mess. There are 35 nails going through the siding and waferboard that missed the studs in a area that is only maybe 6 inches wide and 12 feet high. That's the way every wall is. The bath tubs have been full of water since February or so, checking the pressure. They are the nastiest, most disgusting looking thing! I'm sure the misquitoes love it!
The building inspector has written up 20 things wrong and said that he was going to have to come back because he had to be somewhere but he could be there all day writing the things wrong. I have written and faxed a letter to Tampa explaining all of this but after reading all of the things I have on this website, I doubt anything will ever be fixed.
My house looks beautiful until you get up close. All of the doors and windows do not fit properly. The outside vent holes were cut too big and then they nailed them but not in the nail holes! They made new ones in the metal with their nailgun. I could be here all day telling of this horrible experience. I don't know what next will happen.
Regina
Vancleave, Mississippi
U.S.A.
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