Today I received an e-mail from the Better Business Bureau regarding our case filed against Saussy Burbank. Here is their response to our initial claim and then my final rebuttal:
I love their final explanation, their mentality is: Let's blame everything on the homeowner for doing some landscaping and planting some shrubs, if that doesn't stick then what the hell let's blame it on the weather! How about you blame it on your idiots subcontractors and deceiving business practices!!
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02/22/2010 WEB BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : The property referred to in this complaint was completed in March of 2003 and sold to the original homeowner. Over the course of the past seven years, the house was sold to the Serrones (filing the complaint)and has undergone numerous changes to the original grading of the property due to the installation of extensive landscaping, including some water features in the yard. All warranties have expired on the property. During 2009 Saussy Burbanks warranty department was contacted regarding water that was collecting in the crawl space of this property. As a courtesy, the warranty Manager, Vice-President of Construction and a representative from Moisture Loc met with the homeowner. It was determined that positive drain originally installed to move water from the crawl away from the house had been crushed and was not freely operating. While a cause could not be determined, it was likely the result of landscaping improvements made over the years. While not responsible for the issue, Saussy Burbank paid for the repairs to the pipe. The pipe was extended to the homeowners property line, the inside edge of the public sidewalk. A request to continue the pipe under the sidewalk and through the curb adjacent to the street was denied because the town of Huntersville will not allow the curb to be cut. In our opinion, the solution Saussy Burbank provided was adequate. In response to the statement made about substandard soils, testing was done on the lot during construction by an independent engineer to insure the foundation was set on adequate soils. Foundations are subject to inspection by county building inspectors. We have no records of soil issues with this property at the time of construction nor do we have a history of soil issues since the house closed with the original homeowner. It should also be noted that a "French" drain system was installed around the house during the original construction and has performed as designed to the best of our knowledge. Finally, even disregarding the significant changes made by the two homeowners to the landscaping of their property over the past sevens years, it should be acknowledged that this area of the country has experienced excessive precipitation over the past 5-6 months which contributes to wet soil conditions throughout the region.
02/22/2010 CY EMAIL Forward Business response to Consumer
02/23/2010 WEB BBB BBB REVIEWS CONSUMER REBUTTAL TO BUSINESS RESPONSE : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Each one of the statements provided by Saussy Burbank are false and not surprising! The grading of the property was never changed; our independent Landscape Architect confirmed that the additions of plants and shrubs to the yard had no effect to the overall drainage of the property. The "water feature" Saussy Burbank is alluding to was installed on the opposite side of the property and actually floated up because of the amount of ground water percolating from the yard. The positive drain in the crawl space was not crushed but instead installed incorrectly to allow water to pool in the crawl space instead of out. The repairs completed by Moisture Loc were done incorrectly and the drainage was extended to the edge of the public sidewalk not because the Town of Huntersville denied to cut thought the sidewalk, but because Saussy Burbank expressively asked Moisture Loc not to incur any additional expenses. Note that we had no issues in obtaining approval from the Town of Huntersville to install a French drain system in the yard and exit everything to the City Storm Drain. The first 3 homes on Bankside Drive were built on four 30 foot deep pillars, our own in depended engineer evidenced that this type of construction would have been used only in the event the soils were unsuitable for constructions using conventional footing. Based on this information, the builder should have installed additional drainage systems thought the yard instead of the minimal drainage system around the property. However even the minimal drainage system installed around the house was retaining water and not functioning correctly, this was evidenced by Moisture Loc during their repairs. After hiring our own in depended contractors and spending $ 16,000.00 in repairs, my yard has a French drain system and is draining correctly, our crawl space is dry and all water captured by our system is exiting in the City Storm Drain. Should anyone wish to read additional information regarding our issues please do so by going to: http://saussyburbanksucks.blogspot.com
Our Horror Story
In June 2009 we noticed large amounts of ground water saturating the left side of our Property, after a closer inspection we discovered a significant issue with water retention in our crawl space. Saussy Burbank was initially involved with the remediation of this problem, but never properly addressed the issue because of the high costs associated with this project. After months of investigating this issue, we wanted to make this information public to demonstrate how builders cut corners and leave the Homeowners “holding the bag” when issues arise. Back in 2001-2002 when the construction of our Property on Bankside Drive was initiated, the developer ARVIDA MID-ATLANTIC HOMES, INC. (subsequently purchased by St. Joe Company) did not properly waterproof our Property and did not install an adequate drainage system which would allow ground water to evacuate the Property efficiently and in a timely fashion. The lack of waterproofing of our structure and the minimal drainage system created by the builder in order to pass inspection, was installed incorrectly and allowed water to collect in the crawl space instead of out. The grading of our Property did not provide proper fall for ground water to evacuate correctly, which allowed large amount of water to collect in the crawl space area through the back foundation wall of the structure. Essentially the lack of a drainage system in the yard compounded with a grading issue caused ground water to remain trapped on the left side of the yard and in the crawl space. As you might know moisture retention along foundation walls and pillar posts will cause structural damage and possible structural failure, also the increased moisture content in the crawl space will cause mold and mildew which poses a direct health risk to the people living in the home. The water issues I am describing did not manifest itself until this year because 2009 has been the wettest year in almost a decade in our region, causing ground water and water tables to be extremely high. Under the assumption we had a 10 year structural warranty on our Property, and that Saussy Burbank had assumed all responsibilities for existing Homes and Vacant Lots in Monteith Park, we contacted the builder in June 2009 to address the retaining water in our crawl space. We later found out that there is no 2-10 Warranty on any of the homes built in 2002 on Bankside Drive. However, when we contacted Saussy Burbank they did not indicate they weren’t responsible for addressing this issue and went ahead and agreed to fix the retaining water in the crawl space. Unfortunately, they decided to address this issue in a matter that quite frankly made the issue even worse. Their own contractor (Moisture Loc) advised them to install a network of French drains on the property and in the crawl space, with one exit line under the sidewalk and directly in the adjacent road. Saussy Burbank ignored these recommendations and ordered Moisture Loc to simply address the water issue in the crawl space and take everything to an exit line at the end of the Property. Without the correct perimeter French Drain system in the crawl space and proper fall in the yard, large amount of ground water is weep continuously directly on the sidewalk (used by pedestrians throughout the day) which causes a possible fall hazard in winter months when this water will freeze and form black ice. Also, without proper fall the grounds on all sides of the Property are always saturated with standing water, making it impossible to walk on. Based on multiple recommendations from various Contractors including Civil Engineering Company, we are now faced with a repair expense of over $ 16,000.00 which includes:
1. Install a perimeter drainage system in the crawl space with a sump pump.
2. Install a network of French drains in the yard and a curtain drain along the fence line and tie all of them to one exit line.
3. Connect the exit line to an 8 inch dia. PVC pipe which will run under the sidewalk and directly in the adjacent City of Huntersville catch basin.
Based on our investigation of our drainage issues, I believe there is a larger problem at hand in this Community, I believe that many structures in this Community have been built on unsuitable soils or along possible subsurface water sources and soon many Homeowners like me will be faced with the same issues I am now trying to address.
After contacting our attorney, we found out that even with all the documentation I collected, the Builder is no longer responsible for these repairs. In the State of North Carolina, there is only a 6 year statutory limitation for negligence and fraud which were clearly present in this situation. As I move forward in making this information public to all venues, I caution any new Homeowner to take a closer look at their Properties and to address any building issue or concern immediately. Don’t assume even when a building inspector reassures you that everything in the home is fine, that problems will not arise several years later. Many of the issues related to drainage are directly linked to water tables and location which can bring issues that might not be visible for years after the construction of the property has ended.
It is time that we start working on a comprehensive reform to change our laws that shelter Builders against gross negligence, fraud and allow them to “cut corners” during the construction phase or hire the cheapest subcontractors in order to maximize their profits. It is time that we revise our building codes, to make sure that a home is built to last and that the homeowner is not left “holding the bag” with tens of thousands of dollars in repair expenses while the builders walk away with no responsibility.
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