Business ProfileforWausau Homes High Ridge

I am soon to be 86 and my wife is 76. We had a new "custom" home built by ******* ******* ***** ***/Wausau Homes (**** *******/****** ****). Our Dream House has turned into a nightmare! To start: We signed the buyer purchase offer and gave a down payment the end of May 2021. We were assured the house, without a basement, would be completed on or before September 30, 2021 so we sold our villa at the end of June. The building on our house was very slow; it was neglected as the builder had good carpenters working on two more expensive homes, larger with basements, not sold, down the street from us. Our house, using a different carpenter, was not finished even after we closed on it Oct. 22, 2021 (without our knowledge); a company came to install insulation in the ceiling after we moved in. A few days later, we discovered insulation spilling out of the cold air return in a bedroom, into the hallway. We notified the builder, whose wife investigated, and said someone would come and clean it up. Nobody came so I (even having COPD) cleaned it up. We were given the new home "2-10 warranty," which requires us to notify the company when we have an issue. The warranty company checks their guide booklet, notified the builder and the builder decides whether to fix the problem. The builder refused to change light switches located in the wrong areas of the walls. (We agreed to change them). Another issue was standing water in the (defective) shower pan. (We decided not to pursue as it meant taking out the whole shower, removing and replacing all the drywall, reinstalling the shower and new pan). All of the window sills in the house are either rough or have splinters; not sanded, just painted. (We are still waiting for the painters to be scheduled). One issue our builder did fix was to have good carpenters install trim around the gaps between the kitchen upper cabinets and the soffit. First major problem: Evidently no builder representative was here when the plumbing was installed and the second bathroom plumbing was not built according to the blueprint we were given. The bathroom was between the second and third bedroom. According to the blueprint, the bedrooms were one foot difference in size with same size closets. Instead, the second bedroom is two feet larger and the third bedroom and closet are each 1 foot smaller. (Requested monetary compensation has been refused). The second problem: Evidently no builder representative was here as the wrong trusses were installed. We had requested an 8 foot ceiling; the trusses were for a vaulted ceiling. It took another week to have the trusses engineered down to 9 ft and lower ceiling joists installed. (We accepted the change in ceiling height). The third problem: The backyard was supposed to be level; it's not and we have a drainage issue. There was supposed to be a level concrete area for a shed. Instead, there is a hill and the shed concrete pad holds water (it is not level, can't be used for a shed). Rain water flows from this hill and the neighbor's yard and is washing away that hillside. With a long, hard rain, water flows from the both hills and from the downspout at the corner of the house and a large pond forms near the foundation of the house. A drainage pipe needs to be installed underground and a 40 ft retaining wall built to hold the hillside. We have an estimate of $5-20K. (The builder refuses to re-grade, will not build a retaining wall, etc., and suggests a black plastic pipe be attached to the downspout on top of the yard. This will not stop the water from the hillsides. He states we changed the excavation swales. We had no voice in the excavation, weren't even present, and protested the hill). The fourth problem: There are 5 closets with sliding doors. All of the doors (10) are defective in that the corners are missing; chopped off leaving unsafe splinters. The (builder's) more expensive house down the street has "normal" closet doors that slide into the notched trim. To sell the house in the future, the doors would have to be replaced. (The builder refuses to replace them). The fifth problem: The dryer vent pipe was installed up the wall to the roof instead of (next to the dryer) out the side wall of the house. When a Sears Home repairman (on 12/8/22) unhooked the dryer hose, he found water in the vent pipe. (The builder, at first, refused to investigate/find the leak, now has told the warranty company it will, since the warranty company has stated that it needs to be repaired). We have asked the builder for the last year to repair/replace these problems. In March 2022, the builder per phone said he would replace the doors, but we would need to sign a non-disclosure agreement; couldn't tell our family, friends, neighbors or post on social media or they would sue us. (We consulted (and paid) an attorney who sent the builder's a "demand" letter hoping to negotiate; the builder just sent a letter referring him to the warranty company and did nothing). These are ongoing issues between us, the warranty company, and the builder. The builder has misrepresented our conversations to the warranty company, and does not want to repair our problems. An ethical builder would have built it correctly at the beginning. Resolution: All 5 closet doors (10) to be replaced - $7,000. towards fixing drainage and retaining wall.