How to fix porch piers? New construction - builder messup
star044
7 years ago
We are having a new home built, and on one end of the home is a covered porch. The porch posts were anchored in concrete but two of the posts terminate lower than the rest. The concrete man had poured the post piers after the house framing had begun, and for whatever unknown reason, two of the piers are about a foot lower than the rest. The framers proceeded to level and plumb and install the new posts - and the porch cover... meanwhile we were pointing out to the builder that the posts were terminating below grade and in our extremely wet area of the Pacific NW we don't think that is acceptable. He said they would have the concrete man come back and take care of it. It's now been several months and we have asked repeatedly, meanwhile the siding has gone on, roofing has gone on, porch posts have been wrapped... yes, to below grade also... using LP Smartside trim... and we are unable to complete the final grade and backfill (which is our responsibility) because the builder can't seem to now figure out how to cut these two posts and put the piers higher. We do not want to bury these two posts only to have them rot off in 10 years. Builder doesn't seem to want to fix it.
So that is our hassle with the builder. If you were going to secure and then cut off these posts, and fix this problem... first of all.. would you do so or would you fix it? And if you would fix it at this point... how? I am attaching a photo to illustrate the issue. This was right after framing,however now they have finished siding and the posts are wrapped in trim...grrr...
Does code require them not to bury the posts or to have the piers the same height as the foundation?
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star044
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoSecond photo after the porch posts were wrapped with trim. The posts in question are the two of the far right (farthest one is in the shade), as compared to the others on the left.... grr...
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7 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (133)@Rai Kai … I did learn so much!! Thanks for your contributions! @Beckysharp haha. I will be doing more research with the lawyer. I think overall my realtor was good—but I am not sure if overall we were the right fit. We will see if we stick with her. I know she put a lot of work and time into it --- so I do feel bad about us not going through with it. I will be doing more research and googling, and reading and using all my resources! Promise! @PitrateFoxy – I’ll probably be doing some research on a lawyer to have “on call” when we are at that point. You all were so right about all the other things – and I’m sure a few extra hundred bux (what like 500? ) will put me more at ease as I don’t like surprises unless they flowers, chocolate, or kisses :D @bellburgmaggie – isn’t that the truth. Alos.. Houzz app isn’t going anywhere! I love your story about finidng the right place! Man.. 3.5x your investment!! AWESOME!!! Were you ever concerned about over improving? That’s my biggest fear, especially if we buy very low… You know I always imagined buying the house with the crappy wall paper, shag carpet and pink or green tile in the bathrooms a horrible kitchen and then putting in my DREAM kitchen (or as im learning from houzzers, my 99% dream kitchen!). I think that’s something I was struggling with buying new. Even though I got to make a few selections… it wasn’t tailored to me really. So asking my husband in 3 years to redo the layout of the kitchen wasn’t going to fly :D Location location location is so hard for us. We are transplants – with family in the area, but are having a hard time finding the “right” home town. Everywhere we look is “safe” but I really want that neighborhood feel. I moved to Texas because I love saying yes sir, no ma’am, and I want to raise my kids like that. Sweet tea on the porch and waving to your neighbors. I want to make meals for new moms, or help out my grandparents when they need it. I may not have the Texas accent, and as the saying goes “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as soon as I could!” @jannicone – I’m not deleting Houzz!! Just Realtor, Trulia and Zillow :D It may only last a week, but I need some distance! But I will use it as a resorce to keep an eye on the market and see what really happens during “selling” season. Happy to be sorta liked! @Denita , I should know better. I’m a firm believer that EVERYTHING is negotiable and if you aren’t willing to make any changes (they may not have lost me if they let me go to the design center and let me have 2 extra days – would have cost them nothing) I’m not inclined to play ball. Especially in an industry where negotiation is nearly expected. Looks like I have some more homework and research to do! I may need to find a new realtor. Not that she wasn’t good. I felt like she was doing a good job – but I’ll never know if she asked the builder for things. She did make us feel like her only clients, and she was very attentive and listened to my concerns. But I did get a slight feeling that she was “building” up the home a little more than she should have. We signed a contract for 6 months with her. She led with “if at any time you are done with me, I’ll just rip it up.” Who knows if that will come back to bite me in the butt. But, also thought we were going to end up with the first house and it would all be over. Again, lack of experience on my part. I've done some research on how you should select a buyers agent... and I did kind of do it all wrong....See MoreHow to fix-new home should have level entry, was framed for two steps!
Comments (19)Hi all, Thank you all who answered this post. I wanted to give you an update since things got real crazy for quite a while. I know when I read posts, I always want to find out the resolution. This situation is that we were buying a home from a production builder. After carefully re-reading the fine print in the contract, we realized that we didn't really have much power to force them to upholding our selections and options. We were in contract with them as a buyer and seller, not as a buyer and a builder. Any customizations and selections were totally within their legal right to follow through with or not as they chose. We could have cancelled the contract but then would have been without a home for our in laws. There was not another lot left to swap to for a do-over. We decided to forge on ahead, and actually banded together with some other neighbors on the court to keep each other on our toes in regard to preventing more major mistakes happening. We know this was the best option for us and the parents. They do not have many years(if any) left and they want to spend it living in the same neighborhood as grandkids, not waiting around for perfection. Also, since we started the process pre-covid, we would have ended up spending loads more to get less of a home further away. We did have them build three shallow steps into the house from the garage and if we need a ramp in the future, they will convert it for us. They moved in May, and their home is in the perfect spot for them at the end of the cul-de-sac. They see all the neighbors and dogs walking around the loop and there is a trail that adjoins the older and newer section of the neighborhood that comes out right past their home. Due to the trails, hills, and trees, the backyard has 180 degrees of lovely trees with no other homes in sight. This was absolutely the right move for them, it just was a LOT of headache for us. We tried to not stress them about it too much because we wanted them to actually enjoy living in the home and not have a distaste for it because of all the problems. And yes, we did have a few more minor issues. The main take-away is to carefully read the contract and then determine what is worth cancelling it over. I was not familiar with a builder selling as a seller, not as a contractor, but I realize they do this to keep things rolling and to protect their bottom line. I am sure many people would not choose this set up for themselves, but for our family this has been the right choice. Overall, the quality of the build is very good so we are not concerned about things falling apart on us. Oh wait, but there's more...DH, myself, and our 15yo son have moved in with them! We decided to relocate across the country so DH can spend time with his parents while they are still with us. They are doing great and are very active and DH golfs weekly with his dad. We have made the bonus room over the garage our little apartment and son is in one of the 2 bedrooms downstairs. The other br is a guest room/office for DH to work from home. It is tight for sure, and we have two enormous storage units with all our stuff. We are in the middle of designing our forever home and we have taken GREAT care to vet the buider for our future home so we don't run into this type of struggle again. Thanks again! Juls...See Morestar044
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