Greenwood Homes Inc

Building a custom home is no easy process, on anyone. That said, while my list is too long to post here, I really wish I had a "better" contract that had tolerances and specficity. But, who would think that they need to write into a contract things like, 'house won't leak" (how does one specify how much cold air coming in from the outside (from unknown origin) is acceptable let alone measureable? ). I was encouraged to believe that by using the architect that Kevin Hanna recommended (Chris Anderson) that things would go better (we had a false start on a home designed by another architect before we decided on building an entirely different house). Well, not only did we end up with a significantly reduced crawl space due to height limitations (how basic is that?) but becuase of the reduced crawl space any subfloor service requires a very small human to access. "Better" yet, the forced air heating/cooling does not work because the restriction of the crawl space does not allow the air to flow freely and so the systems howls when in operation. Additionally, there was no allowance for mechanicals. We had to build two new buildings to house electrical and mechanical equipment! We have doors and windows that look like they came from a Home Depot sale. (No problem if that was the price paid, but it wasn't). Hanna was not even a specifier. He just asked what we wanted. Should he have know that Sierra Pacific Windows was not making the same quality windows that we saw in another home built by his foreman? I think so. Here are some other things i wished I would have specified: A limited tolerance in the gap between the bottom of the interior doors and floor; 90 degree angles on all walls; A mechanical room with the water heater not below the grade of the garage (imagine what happens with a leak...) Recaulking one year after completion (even tract home builders to this) An appropriate slope on balconies so the don't send water back into the house; Centered toilet installation Exterior doors that don't leak and howl when windy; Garage doors that don't leak all in all, I think it is impossible to write a contract that will protect a customer in a home building situation. How can every single thing be addressed? It can't. You have to trust the builder to do things right. Kevin Hanna kept telling us he would build a perfect home. After we moved in, and the problems I have mentioned showed up, I made the mistake of paying him given his promise to take care of the remaining items. BIG mistake. I still have all these problems and will never hear from him again.