In an earlier post we lightly touch on some of the plumbing problems.
The set of building plans provided to us by Champion Genesis and subsequently submitted to the local building department showed the following:
Plans: Actual Delivered Unit:
3/4" copper water supply lines 1/2" copper water supply line
3/4" gas line with side inlet 1/2" gas line with end inlet
2" soil pipe from showers, tubs, lavys 11/2" provided throughout and kitchen sink
Keep in mind that we thought we paid for and were getting the items listed in the first column, but what was delivered was what you see in the second column. Some might call this "bait & switch" and you have to wonder how many units were sold based on column one and delivered column two.
Some people mat not find this important, however we were retrofitting a tankless water heater and recirculation system into this house so that it would be more efficent and the lines needed to be as specified on the plans. To give credit where credits due, Champion Genesis did agree after considerable discussion during the initial walk-thru, to pay for tearing out and replacing the undersized pipe. Although, they did say they were not licensed to do such work in California, so I would have to hire a plumber to do the work.
This also took care of the following problems:
1. Almost all of the fittings were poorly soldered and fell off when touched. 2. Hot and cold water crossed at master bath toilet.
3. Water not tied into master bath tub.
4. Hot and cold water crossed at kitchen sink.
5. Hot water to ice maker.
6. None of the copper pipe was strapped under the house.
Shame on us for not knowing at the time of the initial walk-thru that we should have opened up the walls and floors to inspect all of the plumbing on both floors.
The factory said that all that was necessary to complete the plumbing on the second floor was to connect the existing lines to the soil pipe going from the second floor to the first floor.
When
we submitted the bid to repair the downstairs plumbing, we had yet to discover
that the upstairs plumbing was not installed.This fact did not come to light until the Plumber was trying to connect
the upstairs soil pipe to the downstairs soil pipe and realized that the
lateral runs for the sink, toilet and tub/shower had never been installed. Also, the upstairs toilet and toilet flange
were not secured properly, the toilet was not connected and the lateral soil
pipe was missing.If the toilet had been
flushed, the water would have gone directly onto the ceiling between the first
and second floors.
7/14/2007 7:39 PM
Cathryn wrote:
I am so sorry to hear about all your problems with your new home. But I really appreciate your sharing your experince so we can all learn from it.
May I ask a question? I am having trouble telling from your blog: did you get a Genesis modular home or a manufactured home? In other words, was your home built to HUD codes and delivered on a metal chassis and set on its foundation (manufactured), or was it built to UBC (modular)?
I am considering buying a Genesis modular home, and so your experience is very important to me.
If you could also share who your dealer was (i.e., the contractor who arranged delivery of your home and attached it to its foundation) that would be very helpful.
I hope you are able to continue to resolve your problems and that you are at some point able to enjoy your home. Reply to this
In answer to your questions, please see the latest entry dated 07/15/07. Thank you for commenting. I hope this entry answers your questions and helps in some way in your decision making process.
7/16/2007 10:36 AM
Bud wrote:
We have been waiting for better than a month for Champion to finish the punchlist and still have not firm date for the work to be done. I will never again purchase a Champion home. Reply to this
7/16/2007 1:19 PM
Mike wrote:
Unless you are the execption, you have only just begun to wait! If we had only known before buying what dealing with Champion was all about, we all would be much better off.
7/21/2007 6:24 PM
carol button wrote:
I'm considering buying a Titian Bigfoot manufactured home . Does anyone have a comment about this home ? Thank you Reply to this
All I can say about TITAN, is that it is a Champion product. If it is built using the same standards as the Jefferson II described in this blog, I would cross TITAN off the list and look at the many other quality choices that are available.
Champion, although they seem to be trying to make their product better and are considering responding to the calls from their customers to remedy their mistakes, still have not raised the bar to the point of matching the quality found in the competition.
Take the time to really research the product, don't believe the saleman without checking on everything yourself and look around for a quality built home.
The next post on this blog, early next week, will be about the lack of inspections on the line during the factory construction of Champion homes.
7/25/2007 12:55 PM
mary wrote:
Hello, I was ripped off of all of my life savings by a contractor who installed a Champion Alton home in San Diego, CA. I have written my first letter to Ron Bailey asking for help with their responsibility for repairs. I am very scared now and would like to get some advice on dealing properly with Champion homes in AZ. An attorney is taking care of the contractor for me. Thank you, from a 75 year old, homeless senior. Reply to this
Our modular home is the Jefferson II. Our contractor is Coastal Construction, run by M. Lozier and was supposed to be carried out by his brother, W. Lozier. I think they knew they were losing their eye teeth on our home, so they did as little as possible and dragged it out as long as possible. They promised to bring/send items repeatedly and never showed up. They knowingly had inexperienced workers/known employee drug issues and still had them working on our home. In order to get Champion to correct the problems with our home, we let them know that we had gone to the Turko Files on KUSI with the hopes of getting our home finished and with the hope of preventing others from living our nightmare. I will be happy to give you our email address if you would like to band together. Our contractor has not called/ not shown over 27 times that he had promised to do so. Champion/Genesis homes were touted as being the same as a stick built home. In my opinion, Champion/Genesis in Chandler, AZ and Coastal Construction/the Lozier brothers haven't kept their word. Therefore, I don't expect them to keep their word, based upon our experience with them. Not showing up or doing what you've promised is not keeping your word. Not keeping one's word makes one a liar. I've had no choice but to go through the CSLB in Sacramento. Reply to this
