Orleans Weekly Journal
Published: Friday, February 29, 2008 

Leaking homes in East Village unacceptable

Ah, Pine Vista Drive, a picturesque street in the development of East Village along Trim Road running from Watters southward to Innes Road. To buy a new home here for most families would be heaven, however for at least six families on this street this cold and snowy winter is turning into a very wet and frustrating hell with a builder who, so far, will give no quarter to what seem like legitimate claims.

At least six houses on this developing street continue to experience big-time water and snow leakage problems through their ceiling vents. Yes, there has been a lot of snow this year and, yes, as an owner you are responsible for clearing excess snow off your roof. But when six neighbours, all with different model single-family homes have the same problem – excess snow in their attic and persistent water damage – something is not right.

In speaking with the Kaine family on this street, they believe the problem to be the slope of their roof. According to their builder of the homes in question, Richcraft, the vent conforms with the Ontario building code and company officials have stressed that they need to keep their roof clean of snow, which Kaine has been doing since December. So why does he continue to shovel garbage bags of snow out of his attic?

All the homes with trouble on this street are anywhere from four to 22 months old so why don’t the owners consult with Tarion, the new home warranty program, you may ask? Well as they and many others have learned, this self-financing, industry-run program is great for small defects and one-year deficiency guidelines, but when it comes to real issues of workmanship that may be “to code” but are still problematic for homeowners; well, too bad, so sad. And this is not right!

Buying a home is the single largest purchase most families will ever make. You expect quality workmanship and you have every right to expect your builder to go above and beyond to make things right. As for the Kaine family and their neighbours, they took their protest to the street (complete with city-issued demonstration permit) this past weekend and garnered some positive media attention. It surely speaks to their frustration and dead ends that they are now encountering.

According to Kaine, they know of others who have had vent leakage problems in new homes which were promptly repaired by builders such as Phoenix and Tartan. Do they know something others don’t?

In my conversations with them I suggested they contact city councillors Monette and Jellett, given that their wards are replete with new home construction and it is the city that approves zoning for various builders. As well, I suggested they contact MPP Phil McNeely since the province is responsible for various aspects of construction legislation and issues of home consumer protection.

I’m a big fan of our local home builders - they create quality jobs, help build our community (figuratively and literally) and contribute oodles to local causes and teams, but sometimes a little visibility (if not shame) is required to compel them, like any other corporate entity, to do the right thing.

These families will soon be out thousands of dollars in repairs with mounting insurance claims, and again, this is not right. Hopefully this will all work out in the end and all of Orléans will know of the outcome, as yours truly will keep you posted.