Saratoga Upgrades

[qwerty]

i dont give a shit what the contract says that dont have to let you in etc, i would have marched in the sales office made a huge ass stink, have your lawyer call them, etc. you guys are too nice.  you cant be mr nice when making the largest purchase of your life.

I get the sentiment but you can reserve the rage for a later date.  Pushing back the closing does not really do much.  You can also sue later...you have 4 years.

i disagree, it would light a fire under them to fix the items ASAP. they know you mean business. if you go crazy in their office and they here from your lawyer they will take you seriously.  pushing back the litigition until after you are in the house just creates a whole different headache.  and once you move in you are less likely to sue anyway.

Not true...you can always light a fire under them with the threat of litigation.  California law requires you to give them an opportunity to cure anyways.  Pushing back the closing works if you are not incurring expenses otherwise...in our case we would have to get more time to stay in our apartment and reschedule all our contractors.

we will agree to disagree. they will cure faster and to your liking by pushing back the close. once you close, while it sounds like they are responsive, they will be less incentivized to do a good job.  and you are just trading off expenses, rent vs the mortage. the contractors you can just reschedule. its just a matter of personal preference.

 

[socal78]

I would not have closed on that house. I would have pushed back the closing and have them fix all that. Some of those things sound somewhat significant. Too many repairs and too many days off work to deal with that. Minor cosmetic stuff I can understand but cracked countertops, off center ranges, etc. - I'm not closing

Yeah, I thought about that but we are living in an apartment and have contractors all lined up to do work. 

What is going to prevent the builder from saying your contractors / your movers / or you caused the damage to the home and not their crew. Were the items noted on a checklist before closing?

 

[broda]

In fairness the minor issues that I brought up to IP was taken care of pretty quickly.  It's the major issues that IP will try to fight you on.  My neighbor had a floor joist that was incorrectly fastened and they tried to fight him every inch of the way that it wasn't a problem.  Finally they cut open the drywall to see this very serious issue and at that point the Service Reps Manager was like...uhhh...oh well that shouldn't be like that. 

There are two main Walk through reps.  Scott Grunbaum I know does Saratoga...if you don't acted like qwerty screaming your head off threatening with lawyers and you talk to him like a human being...he is pretty responsive.  There is another guy who did Maricopa...can't remember his name right now, but he will lie to you to no end and make up all sorts of weird stuff.  Cabinets doors were crooked, handles mis-aligned, floor tiles done incorrectly, he kept saying it was suppose to be like that and he didn't see the problem.  I'd beware of that guy and with him I would light a fire under him.

 

[test]

You should show him this:
http://www.irvinepacific.com/IrvinePacificDifference/Quality

I didn?t expect the level of service and options available. I felt that the possibilities were endless and the staff was ready to go above and beyond to make me happy.
GARY WILLIAMS JR
Maricopa Homebuyer

Irvine Pacific also employs an extensive quality assurance program that includes multiple inspections and personal walk-thru opportunities. From the big picture to the smallest detail, we design, build and inspect your home so the result is everything you deserve, and more.

 

[broda]

You should show him this:
http://www.irvinepacific.com/IrvinePacificDifference/Quality

I didn?t expect the level of service and options available. I felt that the possibilities were endless and the staff was ready to go above and beyond to make me happy.
GARY WILLIAMS JR
Maricopa Homebuyer

Irvine Pacific also employs an extensive quality assurance program that includes multiple inspections and personal walk-thru opportunities. From the big picture to the smallest detail, we design, build and inspect your home so the result is everything you deserve, and more.

Gary Williams looks like an employee

 

[songkou]

I know some of you picked Venetian for your hardwood floor.  Can you give you price, square footage, and type of wood?

I just got a initial quote from Eric@Venetian, he quoted ~18,000 on ~1,300 sqft for the hardwood installed in Saratoga Model 2 first floor!  I think the wood is  Garrison French Connection Provence.  He quoted ~14,000 on other type of woods!  How firm is his initial price?  How much can I negotiate?

I thought people here said Venetian pricing is good.  What's your thought on the quote he gave me?

 

[gaogi]

Googling the description of your 18K floors, it's similarly spec'd as the floors I got, 5/8 x 7" engineered wood with a 4 mill veneer and custom finishing.  I paid about 10.00/sq ft. with glue down installation.  Yours may be higher end materials, but almost 14.00/ sq ft. is a lot to pay for floors.  I would shoot for 10.00/sq ft., which should get you some really nice floors.

 

[songkou]

Googling the description of your 18K floors, it's similarly spec'd as the floors I got, 5/8 x 7" engineered wood with a 4 mill veneer and custom finishing.  I paid about 10.00/sq ft. with glue down installation.  Yours may be higher end materials, but almost 14.00/ sq ft. is a lot to pay for floors.  I would shoot for 10.00/sq ft., which should get you some really nice floors.

Thanks for the info.

I just got the confirmation that the wood is Provenza Old world Warm Sand, 5/8 x 7.44".  The quote is for $11.5/sqft on 1600 sqft.  Somehow Venetian adds ~300 margin to the square footage because I've measured myself and it came out to be ~1300 sqft.  300 seems to be a lot of additional construction margin.

 

[songkou]

I wonder if anybody here installed Provenza Old World Warm Sand or similar woods and can provide $/sqft on your job?

Venetian offer glued down so it would be more expensive.  I just want to get a sense of how competitive its pricing is.

 

[FRguy]

I wonder if anybody here installed Provenza Old World Warm Sand or similar woods and can provide $/sqft on your job?

Venetian offer glued down so it would be more expensive.  I just want to get a sense of how competitive its pricing is.

@songkou, you might want to give Eric at Summit Floors a call (714-624-9998) if you want to check on price competitiveness.  His crew a great job on my floors back in '09.  The flooring I used was not as nice as yours since I knew my dog will naturally distress them quickly.  It came out to ~$7.30/sq. ft for labor and materials (4" wide Ark flooring, glue, sealer and pre-primed 5 1/4" baseboards).  I'm sure the pricing has changed since then (and I also paid cash) but it's worth a check.

His Craigslist ad....http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/sks/3938411069.html

 

[lnc]

I wonder if anybody here installed Provenza Old World Warm Sand or similar woods and can provide $/sqft on your job?

Venetian offer glued down so it would be more expensive.  I just want to get a sense of how competitive its pricing is.

When I look at the sample of Provenza Old World Collection at the IP Design Center, I notice that it is sandwich together with only 3 layers.  A wood veneer layer on top, 1 thick core layer in the middle,  and 1 thin bottom layer.

Most of engineered hardwood floor I saw has 1 veneer wood layer on the top and multiple (5 or more) thin layers made up rest of the core.  It is this multiple layer of wood, more layer the better, that give engineered wood the stability, reduce expansion and contraction from moisture.

I'm just concern that this Porvenza engineered hardwood might be more susceptible to cupping or gapping from moisture then others.

 

 

[songkou]

I wonder if anybody here installed Provenza Old World Warm Sand or similar woods and can provide $/sqft on your job?

Venetian offer glued down so it would be more expensive.  I just want to get a sense of how competitive its pricing is.

When I look at the sample of Provenza Old World Collection at the IP Design Center, I notice that it is sandwich together with only 3 layers.  A wood veneer layer on top, 1 thick core layer in the middle,  and 1 thin bottom layer.

Most of engineered hardwood floor I saw has 1 veneer wood layer on the top and multiple (5 or more) thin layers made up rest of the core.  It is this multiple layer of wood, more layer the better, that give engineered wood the stability, reduce expansion and contraction from moisture.

I'm just concern that this Porvenza engineered hardwood might be more susceptible to cupping or gapping from moisture then others.

But this wood is 5/8", thicker than most of the 1/2"ones.  Due to its thickness, one would think it has more layers.

 

[broda]

I'm pretty sure with the demand of the floors, they price of materials went up.  Provenza is in a lot of the model homes and it is pretty highly desired.  That being said I was quoted $11 per sq ft for Provenza versus the Design Center was quoting me $15.

Eric is a pretty easy going guy.  I'm sure if you called him and expressed your concerns he'll address it with you.  You mentioned Provenza being offered as a glued down service for more?  I thought it could only be glued down...it's not a locking system like an engineered wood or laminent. 

 

[Irvinecommuter]

One more issue to list in the new place...our tankless water heater didn't work on our first night  >
Cold showers for everyone!    :'(

 

[songkou]

One more issue to list in the new place...our tankless water heater didn't work on our first night  >
Cold showers for everyone!    :'(

Oh no.  Hope it's been fix since.  Thanks for the update too.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

One more issue to list in the new place...our tankless water heater didn't work on our first night  >
Cold showers for everyone!    :'(

Oh no.  Hope it's been fix since.  Thanks for the update too.

It better be fixed when I get home tonight.  Make sure you check the hot water during your walkthrough.

 

[paperboyNC]

One more issue to list in the new place...our tankless water heater didn't work on our first night  >
Cold showers for everyone!    :'(

Oh no.  Hope it's been fix since.  Thanks for the update too.

It better be fixed when I get home tonight.  Make sure you check the hot water during your walkthrough.

Our builder turned off the gas the day before we moved in and forgot to turn it back on..

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Update on house:

They replaced the hot water heater and we have hot water!  I was worried about the heating time but it not really noticeable.  Of course, I have worry about flushing the thing 3-5 years.

IP and the subcontractors have been very responsive about our concerns.  No one has fought us on the requests and repairs/replacements are being scheduled.  There is obviously some inconvenience factor but considering the situation, IP has been very good to deal with. 

Of course, we now have issues with outside contractor who did our garage epoxy and now it may have to be redone/repaired.  :-\

Oh...the joy of home ownership.

 

[socal78]

How are they going to fix the oven situation?

I didn't see the picture. Is the cook-top flat or is it cockeyed?

 

[Irvinecommuter]

How are they going to fix the oven situation?

I didn't see the picture. Is the cook-top flat or is it cockeyed?

I'm not sure about that.  The range is tilted and moveable.  I am hoping that it's just something minor like they didn't do the right cutout and not something major like the counters are not balanced/even.