Leaks in Ceiling - VM townhouse- 300 yr. Rain Storms

Hi How are you? It's a gorgeous day.
We had 3 leaks on our townhouse due to the rain storms that happened at the end of June (the rain that happens every 300 years or so). Any one else have this problem? and problems with Van Metre? How do I contact Mr. Van Metre?

We put in a work order on 6/26/06 and finally got documentation 7/6/06 after countless follow up emails. Yes, July 4th was day off for everyone; but still this is a new townhome; should NOT have these issues. We moved in Feb.'06.

Site supervisor said we were in the queue of work orders and many basements were flooded. WHY would a roofer be swamped if basements are flooded? Also, site supervisor would not give us a time to meet w/ the roofer (said they just don't do that) and would NOT send roofer into the attic to check for leaks. He said "If it happens again (leaks) then we'll check the attic." Seems like he's just waiting for our warranty to end in 2007.

We wanted to be there when the roofer came.

the fax that we got from the builder's contractor is a little odd.
my husband left for work around 10am and the fax came to us at 12:38pm

The fax just said "caulked pump jack damaged shingles to stop leak."

-We had 2 leaks, not one. (from inside of house). Told the builder's site supervisor this but he probably may/may not have told the roofer (who may/may not have remembered).
-Roofer supposedly only looked at top of roof from outside
-Assuming the roofer was a male; this may be odd that the handwriting on the fax looks like a lady's.
-The fax is an invoice and had "7-6-6" on it as the date.
-So from 10am to 12:38pm, they checked the roof and did the paperwork; faxed to van metre (VM) the builder and then VM faxed to us.
- Don't know if the roofers "really" did come or not; didn't get a chance yet to ask any neighbors, but neighbors were probably all at work too.
-There is no signature on the invoice to indicate who actually came out to perform the work order.
-There's a PO BOX for the roofer's address and Yahoo yellow pages is NOT bringing up any MB Posey (the roofer's name).

Wonder if the invoice was doctored to meet our request for a "work order receipt."

We called MB Posey Enterprises, Inc. (roofers out in purcellville) but they said they'd call us back. The lady that answered didn't know anything.

It's just weird that there is NO name of who performed the work and when it was performed.

There is 1 spot that I thought had a stain through the dry wall but after it dried; it's barely visible w/ the color of the ceiling. So that made it hard to take a picture of it.

Is the main concern mold? if the water came through the drywall. Other concerns?

Suggestions???
We've had AC unit problem, vinyl siding problem, plumbing, leaks in ceiling-roof, lawn issues. We're not happy with the builder. We did have a pre-dry wall home inspector and post drywall inspection. It's just 1 thing after another. Also, heating in the winter in the our townhouse was not distributed evenly either. Dampers needed to be adjusted.
PLEASE reply.

 

Sorry you're having so many problems ...

I've found that after going round in circles on a couple of things with the Van Metre folks (I bought a new single fam home a couple years ago) that my quickest response came when I gave AG Van Metre a call.

Never spoke directly with him (spoke to his wife once - very nice lady, and his secretary (at time it was Leslie) another time, equally nice), but that seemed to do the trick. In one case (relating to my driveway crumbling excessively because when they poured it the stuff wasn't hot enough or was too hot??? have no idea, but the whole thing needed to be redone ...), I spoke with his wife and not 30 min later (not lying) a VM supervisor was at my doorstep to checkout the driveway. Needless to say, they had the whole driveway redone within a week.

I was able to get AG's home number from superpages.com He lives in Arlington, and I just checked, he's still listed at the same address and tel #.

Good Luck!

 

How did you contact Mr. Van Metre's secretary? email? phone?

 

At that time I used the only # I had - his home #. When I spoke with his wife she gave me his office number: 703-425-2601.

You can try that and see if it still works ...

 

Please help.
anyone else have these issues?

Our friend bought 2 single family homes Van Metre ones
and had no problem; that is part of the reason why we bought in this community.

 

Who is the site supervisor that you have been dealing with (name)? This sounds a little out of character from the typical response and approach from Van Metre. I have had better luck escalating the issue to John Grossnickle, he is now I think the Broadlands (as a whole) supervisor. He would want to know that there was this kind of issue. Also, what about the customer service staff? They are supposed to be helping.

But as part of the official response, here is a copy from the Inspector General Robin Merrell, 703-272-2694 direct and how to get satisfaction (may be different for townhomes, but worth a shot):

"If a warranty issue develops, your first best bet is to deal directly with the professionals in the Customer Service department. If you determine additional management awareness and escalation of a particular issue is appropriate, the escalation hierarchy within New Homes Customer Service is as follows:

1) Tammie Gates, Assistant Director of Customer Relations, phone 703.723.2816, email address tgates@vanmetrehomes.com, or

2) Carl Kauffman, Quality and Safety Manager, phone 703.723.2812, email address ckauffman@vanmetrehomes.com, or

3) If necessary, Terry Draper, Vice President of Customer Relations, phone 703.723.2800, Ext. 3807, email address tdraper@vanmetrehomes.com

We can usually resolve your concerns at the lowest level in the escalation hierarchy. If additional management awareness is necessary, I would also recommend that you please send an email to CustomerCareExec@vanmetrehomes.com. (Note: This email address includes Van Metre New Homes Division senior management).

If you ever feel that greater attention is necessary, I want you to know that I am here too. I report directly to the owners of Van Metre, totally separate from the home building division. The role of the Inspector General (IG) organization is not to direct the work of New Homes Customer Service, nor does the IG department supplant New Homes Customer Service's responsibility as regards to their charter to plan, schedule, and execute any work to be performed in a timely and responsible fashion."

 

Hi Zeratul and Broadlands community - Thanks for the responses.
What is John Grossnickle's contact information? Have you contacted AG Van Metre directly? Has anyone else had these experiences?

We reported the leaks through the emergency VM line and the site supervisor came the next day.

I asked VM customer care about who performed the work and when the work was performed. The customer care rep. does not know the name of the person. We put in the work order call on 6/26/06. She stated that the site supervisor inspected the roof on 6/28 and the roofer came out of 6/30.

No one notified or called us. We had to follow up with VM customer care. We concerned about the townhouse the entire 4th of July.

On 7/5, the VM customer care stated that she could not get in touch w/ the roofer. Her contact was not there. So why whould she later tell us that she didn't know who performed the work, if she previously stated "my contact was not there."

On 7/6, we received the strange fax with no name of who performed the service and when the service was performed. So they've claimed it's been fixed. So now what??? wait for it to RAIN like it did for days and watch for leaks? Fax stated "CAULKED PUMP JACK DAMAGED SHINGLES TO STOP LEAK." Explanation?

Our entire family is recommending that VM should have ALLOWED us to meet with the roofer for an FULL inspection.

However, the site supervisor and VM customer care stated that the "roofer does not schedule a time, so you do not need to take time off from work."

We asked for the roofer to check the attic too; however, the site supervisor stated "if it leaks again, we'll do that."

Did any other VM homeowners experience leaks from their ceilings?? We just moved in Feb. '06.

 

Fax stated "CAULKED PUMP JACK DAMAGED SHINGLES TO STOP LEAK." Explanation?

Shouldn't they have replaced the shingles rather than caulk them?
Damaged shingles from POOR workmanship?

 

I recently had the roofer do inspection and repair as well. I received a copy of the work order that described the repair and had the VM warranty service representative sign off on the work as being complete. This is the standard practice for roofing items.

Do you really think that VM or the roofer is going to promte the idea of you getting on the roof to inspect? Of course this is your house, so if you feel comfortable, I would say go ahead and get on the roof and take pictures of the repair or area so that you at least have a record of something.

VM is not trying to rip you off or not do the work... a little faith is needed in this case (my opinion). Now, I have seen a big range in the contractor documentation and some is not exactly user-friendly. But I rely upon VM as the representative to stand by the work, which I think they will in this case.

If there was water dripping into the house, then if you can see damage to any drywall around the ceiling, I would ask for repair there as well. As far as the attic, it kind of depends upon how much water and how wet the area got during the rain. If you are able, can you go into the attic and see the area where the leak was? If there area has good ventilation, you may not have much of an issue, it can dry well and be ok. If you can not get up there and look your self, maybe ask the supervisor for a more detailed description of exactly what was inspected: floor, sheetrock, insulation, light fixtures, plywood...

Sorry... just trying to be helpful, because I think the more you try to work WITH VM than against them, the better the results.

 

>> Hi Zeratul/Dave - Thank you, you've been quite helpful.
Is a roof covered for 10 year warranty for RWC? including leaks inside the house?

>>You have been very helpful. Thank you. We're not working against VM. These are unnormal circumstances to have these many issues with a NEW house.

 

My responses were after the brackets. >>
in your quote.

>>

Thanks.

 

Dave - what kind of work was done to your roof? caulking? or full replacement of shingles? or flashings?

 

About two weeks ago, as part of our 1-year warranty service, I requested a full inspection of the roof for possible shingle damage. I asked that any other obvious repairs be made as well since I had not been able to inspect mysef.

The report I got from VM indicated that shingle repair and replacement was made in one area and aditional repair was made is a couple of locations. The repair that was done included additional nails and caulking. And my understanding is that the roof is covered by its own warranty which should include leaking. Now the one trick would be that damage cause by a storm, that created a leak would not be covered. That would be a homeowners insurance issue. I made sure that when talking to my VM warranty service person (Roy) that he gave me a good explanation of the work performed and that I was able to see the work order as well. I followed this approach for each contractor... I reviewed the work (when possible - roof exception) and looked at the work order too and then signed the VM warranty sheets.

Part of what I am thinking is that you and VM could benefit from an expectations discussion? What I mean is - tell them that you had an expectation of work, and execution of the job. Your expectations are not being met, you feel frustrated and want to know how the situation can be improved on both sides. Are you communicating expectations clearly? Are you being unreasonable (from VM perspective)? Basically tell them - help me help you... Tell them that you want extra reassurnace on the roof repair and a more complete explanation of warranty coverage etc.

Any of this helpful? Sorry if I am getting too philosophical. Any other questions about the roof?

 

Did you have a home inspector for your 1 year walk through? If so, do you recommend yours and how much for the cost of one?

We had a pre-drywall and post-drywall inspection.

 

I did not for the 1-year for one main reason. Both our pre-drywall and post drywall inspections were able to address or ensure that there were no major problems. Also, from my experience, the 1-year inspection is based upon sale price. So you can imagine what the cost would be ($700k house = $700.00). I think that is too much from the service that is provided. If I did not have the 2 previous inspections I might have thought differently. Now the other possible issues to consider as part of the 1-year is that an inspector could do a much more thorough analysis of the heating and cooling systems.

But at the end of the day, I felt comfortable doing the inspection ourselves and also asking VM to assist me in the items that they felt should be looked at more closely (they will measure temps in AC if you ask to make sure it is performing correctly). I asked for them to look at the roof partly to be safe. I did get into my attic and really look around as well (during a rain storm) to see if I could see any leaks.

Also, maybe it is peace of mind to have an inspector. We thought about it "just in case" but I tell you, for that money it came back to reasonableness and value-added in my estimation. I do not want to anger any home inspectors, these are just the thoughts we had. Also, do you have any "friends" that you could tap into that know about this stuff better?

 

Our friends did the same thing. home inspector performed pre-drywall and post-drywall inspections. They had VM and Brookefield homes and of course had different site supervisors so their experiences were different. The friends with Brookefield home extended their 1 yr. walk through to 1 1/2 years.