Dream home nightmare

Photograph by: NEWS photo, Cindy Goodman

Spending the Christmas holidays in a cabin, snowbound with friends, is the ideal way to unwind and relax, allowing one to take stock from the year passed and make plans for the year ahead.

Setting aside the stresses of daily life for a time is the raison d'être of a holiday retreat after all, but not for close friends of mine.

Their dream of building a cabin on the slopes of an Okanagan ski resort was realized a couple years back as they eagerly anticipated years of fun and relaxation in their newly built winter retreat. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

They undertook their construction project the right way. They hired a reputable designer to help them with their plans, they submitted drawings to the municipal authorities as required and they hired a seemingly competent builder to construct and oversee their project until completion.

As most folks do - and should do - my friends depended heavily on the competence and professionalism of the builder to see the construction of their home done right. Their builder was strong on the charismatic end and was very good at selling his services but, as it played out, had little else to offer.

As the project moved through construction my friends would discover that the original budget issued to them by their builder was simply a low-ball guess rather than a considered estimate, and by the end of the project would see it grow to double the original amount.

Sadly, the problems didn't end there. This particular builder didn't follow the construction documents issued to him and simply omitted or 'forgot' features as he saw fit. The plan was altered, a dumb-waiter was forgotten and the wine cellar was included in the in-floor radiant heating system (it's currently being heated and cooled simultaneously to achieve its required temperature).

Fundamental construction details were botched as well. The main roof drainpipe, which runs down the centre of the house, wasn't buried deep enough at grade and consequently was affected sub-zero temperatures. Water in the pipe would freeze and create a dam, backing up drain water onto the roof, creating ice dams and roof leaks. The problem got so bad that the ice poured over the face of the house and worked itself into the exterior walls.

There are scores of other issues with the house (too many to discuss here) but the definitive proof that this builder was the classic "cowboy" was in the detailing of the roof supports.

The three-storey building has exterior columns that support the roof structure above and intermediate decks between. The columns run from roof to grade, one atop the other, transferring the considerable load of a snow-covered, flat-roof to the foundation below. It was discovered that the columns at the intermediate levels were not continuous but rather sat atop a layer of half-inch plywood at deck level with no blocking or structure below to transfer the load to the column beneath it.

This scenario is as sobering as it is scary, creating the potential for structural failure of catastrophic proportion. This wasn't a simple omission either. It would be discovered that this detail was standard for this builder on a number of similar projects.

Fortunately for my friends they're covered under the National Home Warranty service and their construction issues are being rectified, but the project and its problems are a wake-up call. Where was the designer in the building process? Where were the inspectors? Where was the structural engineer? There are many questions still unanswered but at its basics, there was an individual overseeing the construction of this project that was in no position to do so.

Rumour has it that this fellow is still working but I suspect this latest fiasco will put his construction career to rest (there are a total of five projects on the hill with similar issues created by the same fellow).

In stark contrast to builder above, the qualified builder or general contractor is a professional who takes an architect's and designer's conceptual ideas and makes them into a built reality. They'll have a track record of successful built projects to their name and a list of happy clients to back up their claims. They'll never start a job without first signing a contract and they'll always carry the necessary liability insurance and worker's compensation coverage to protect their client and themselves. Through it all, the builder will assume complete responsibility for the contracted work and will provide a full warranty for it when it's done.

I encourage anyone embarking on a construction project to do their homework and find an experienced and reputable builder to work with. Do this and one will have the peace of mind at the start of their project that their job will be done right, on time and on budget.