Da Vinci Homes Inc

In the summer of 2011 I began looking for a new home and was considering new construction. I met with a realtor and viewed existing homes and met with Joel Reiter of Da Vinci Homes. We took a tour of a spec house he has up for sale along with a home that was occupied and one that was under construction. The homes were very nice and we eventually decided to have Da Vinci build a house for us. Right from the start we had issues as the builder's architect went "missing" for two weeks and we just sat and waited. The builder told us that he wanted to wait for the architect to return because he had the electronic copy of the drawing we based our house off of and it would cost him extra to have another architect redraw the plans. Eventually, someone provided the drawings for our house. We purchased two 1/4 acre side by side lots and had them combined into one. Excavation began in October and we ran into some trouble when the excavator unearthed a drain the developer installed to handle the flow of a natural spring. This ran right down the middle of the property because it was previously located between the two lots we purchased. So now the house location had to be moved so that it sat on one lot and I have an underground river constantly flowing about 5 feet from my foundation. The builder assured me that moving the house to its current location would prevent this water from having any impact on our house. From this point the block laying for the basement and the framing went quickly and we were under roof in December. I was very disappointed to see that the windows were installed without any type of sill flashing. When I questioned this and even pointed out the installation instructions attached to the windows showed sill flashing, he told me that it was too late and it would cost him too much money to take them out and flash them. In addition, he told me that this is the way he's been doing it for 10 years and he's never had a window leak. I mentioned that just because it?s the way he does it that it doesn't make his method correct, especially when the manufacturers installation instructions direct otherwise. He told me that in fact it does make it correct and manufacturers call him for advice on how to install products. At this point the plumber and HVAC subcontractors came in and roughed the plumbing and vent work. Then the house sat for almost all of February as we waited for the electrician. Once the electrician was done the insulators came in and ?sealed? the house and insulated. I had to point out multiple times to the builder where the house was not sealed and that extra caulk and spray foam should be applied. He joking said, ?We need to get the drywall up so you stop looking at stuff?. I did not find this humorous. They also ran cold air returns in the stud cavity space on two of the exterior walls. This means I have two 16? spans on two walls of my first floor that have little insulation. We have 2x6 exterior walls so there was some room to add insulation. I requested that insulation foam board be installed in the walls. This could have been done anytime during the month the house sat, and I even offered to do it myself, but the builder waited until the day the drywall started going up to even provide the foam board. When I saw it leaning up in the living room of the house it was wet and dirty like the builder pulled it from some outdoor storage area where he kept scrap building supplies. As the drywall went up the house exterior was still exposed to the elements because we were waiting on the bricklayer and the builder would not allow the siding subcontractor start until the brick layer was finished. So, the drywall goes up and we have a rainstorm with driving wind and the east side of the house has evidence of water coming through the walls. The backside of the drywall and the insulation in the walls had to be wet but the builder said there was nothing to do and they just needed to get the siding on the house. I had to fight with the builder to have the house wrap sealed at the top and bottom of the house per the manufacturer installation instructions. The lack of seal is what allowed the rain to penetrate the gaps in the exterior sheathing. At every step of the way I had to ask the builder if it was time to pick out cabinets, or plumbing fixtures, or flooring, or paint color. If I didn?t ask he would call up and say I need you to let me know what color siding you want by the end of the week. It always seemed as though his poor planning forced us to make quick selections. If I hadn?t asked the builder when we should pick out cabinet door and drawer pull hardware, I?m positive he would never even mentioned it. I waited almost two weeks after the kitchen cabinets were installed before I asked him when we should pick out hardware to see if he would even bring it up, he never did. Then it became a rush for us to pick them out. The allowances for flooring and lighting were a joke and barely covered half the cost of what it took to install decent carpet and lighting fixtures. The allowance for wood flooring was $5.50 a square foot and when we went to his flooring supplier they didn?t sell anything for less than $10 a square foot. Once the house was nearing completion it was time to finish grade the lot and spread the topsoil. Grass and landscaping was not included in the price of the house so this was to be the extent of the builder?s responsibilities in the yard. The builder never asked us what we wanted the yard to look like so at the end of the first day of ?finish grading? I stopped to see what it looked like. There was a 12-14ft slope that I didn?t like and I told the builder that the hillside needed to be cut down so that it was more manageable. He told me that they were done finish grading and if I wanted them to do more it was going to be extra. I already paid him extra, which was itemized in the contract, due to the purchase of the second lot and he needed to remove the slope. He told me he had already run out of money on the excavating portion of the project and that he was done. I expressed that it wasn?t my fault that he underestimated the work necessary to excavate this lot and that I didn?t like the way the lot was currently graded. He told me ?I just can?t keep going until you?re happy, that?s not the way it works?. After a lot of arguing that didn?t go anywhere I told the builder I would hire a separate contractor to finish grade the lot then he could come back and spread the topsoil. He told me he would provide the topsoil but his subcontractor wouldn?t be returning and that I would have to spread the topsoil myself, even though this is something he was contracted to complete. After the house was completed and we identified the punch list items and provided the builder with a detailed copy, they only managed to finish about half of the items within the two week time period before we moved in. It took an additional two months to complete the majority of the remaining items and at this point the list is not complete. Every item on the list was cosmetic and could have been completed in a couple of days. Overall we had a very poor experience with Da Vinci Homes and would not recommend them to anyone.