The number of homeowners alleging substandard construction has grown to 11 in Snoqualmie Ridge. Could be quite a precendent if Quadrant starts buying poorly constructed homes, huh? Anyone want a bargain on slightly lived-in home with some minor rat and mold problems?
Quadrant offers to buy back homes
by Ashley Bach
Sat, 31 Dec 2005 - Seattle Times Eastside News
(Made available on-line January 11, 2006)
Seven families in Snoqualmie Ridge who sued Quadrant Homes over what they say is unhealthy air in their homes can sell the homes back to Quadrant at market value, according to their attorney.
Quadrant's recent offer to buy back the homes will be accepted by some of the families, said the families' attorney, Lory Lybeck. According to the lawsuits, Quadrant, a subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser, negligently built the homes with fiberglass insulation installed in the heating ducts, a code violation that spread glass fibers and caused several health problems.
Since The Times reported the story in August, the families have expanded their lawsuits and say their homes also had poor ventilation that spread furnace fumes, bad wiring, leaky roofs, crawl spaces containing mold, rodents in the walls, poorly built porch columns and problems with siding.
Four other families have filed similar legal notices, said Lybeck.
Quadrant officials declined to comment on the lawsuits or any offers made to the families. But in legal briefs filed in King County Superior Court, the company denies all but one of the families' claims. It admits that seven homes were built with fiberglass installed in the return-air spaces leading to the furnaces. Some of the families' lawsuits are scheduled to be heard in May.
4 comments:
Quadrant homes is a quality company that has a warranty period and procedure in place for issues just as these people have had. What more do they want? They had the chance to have the home initially inspected and also re inspected near the expiration of the warranty. I am confident that Quadrant homes did fix or replace any defective items found by the homeownner so why the littigation?
If Quadrant homes is such a qualtiy company perhaps they can explain who is behind the Washington State Department of Agriculture don't tell em about the mold policy for home inspectors put in place two months before a Weyerhauser executive secretary sold her moldy home. It appears no one including WSDA's own information officer knew of this policy even five years after its inception. (google WSDA and search engine Mold Guidance Policy) No asthma physician, realtor, lender or home purchaser was informed after all the law for informing the public of such actions only "recommends " the public be notified of changes in or new policies that may harm their health or welfare. Please read Washington Free Press Jan/Feb 07 "Is it Safe to Buy a Home in Washington" by T. McCormick. Please caution buyers of the second hand Quadrant Homes that their inspector may not tell them about large amounts of visible mold in the attics and crawlspaces. The credit for the policy which states that mold and mildew do not cause structural damage and therefore need not be reported is given to Jeff Morrell who is referred to as a wood scientist. He is also a lobbyist with the Wood Products Association.
There are plenty of wood scientists and well known mycologist who all agree that organisms such as Chaetomium and Philophera are well known for causing soft rot in wood. These organisms are also known technically as molds and are no different visibly as seen macroscopically by home inspectors from any other surface growing mold. The identification of these organisms is done microscopically by a trained mycologist not macroscopically by a home inspector. Many molds produce serious health problems in patients who are both immunocompromised and immunocompetent. There have been several cases of brain cysts in adults and children living in moldy homes and they have even been linked by PCR to the mold in the homes. The rise in autism paralells the use of OSB in homes which is actually manufactured with mold in it. Please caution purchasers of the second hand Quadrant homes of the chance that their inspector will not tell them of mold in their attics and crawlspaces. They are actually being taught in classes taught by Jeff Morrell and Dan Soumi that mold is not harmful and all media hype. Please somehow caution buyers because even realtors were not informed of this policy.
Thank You
Teresa McCormick
253-584-2612
First of all let me give my definition of home. It is a place where one feels comfy and welcome. Therefore Quadrant is selling houses, not homes. I have a Quadrant house in Poulsbo, which is less than a year old. We have had several warranty issues. One issue, was the sliding door. The door slides into a channel to close and latch. My door was bent (really) such that it hit on the side of the channel when closing. I called the company and a Personal Service Rep came out. This person knew nothing about houses, construction and the like. Through several phone calls, meetings, etc. she tried to convince me that it was "normal". Finally she relented and had a door subcontractor look at it. The door man, filed material from the channel. Needless to say, that didnt work with the door or me. I called the door manufacturer, and was told that the warranty would be void. I called the PSR, and she tried to tell me this was an acceptable method to fix the door (In other words she was lying). She finally relented, and sent the door guy again. This time he tried to rebend the door. Same effect on the door and me. Another call to the manufacturer, same results. The PSR again tried to convince me that this was acceptable (lying again). I finally convinced her she was full of it. They sent a new door to be installed. The installer had to strip the siding to change the door. There was siding, nails and screws all over the backyard for 7 days because the PSR did not schedule getting new siding.
I also have problems with the floors in this new house. They squeak when you walk on them. Also, the sheeting between the joists deflects as much as 1/2 inch when you walk on it. My furniture shakes and rattles when you walk by. I even had a bedroom dresser tip over while walking by. Quadrant does not see a problem here. These houses are no better or maybe worse quality materials and workmanship than a trailer house. The people representing this company have no integrity either/
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