Major Repairs on 1yr. old Fleetwood

[Jolane]

I''ve purchased my new home a year and 3 mos. ago. There's been structural problems that have bothered me from day one. I finally got Fleetwood to send out an independent inspector and I am in shock! He found things wrong that I didn't even know about! Fleetwood has said they would do repairs, but we're talking about tearing up the kitchen floor because of "adhesive buildup between joise and floor decking" to high spots in the roof which require (2) 5'x14' areas to be fixed down the the decking! There are 13 repairs in all and most are very extensive.

What I want to know: 1. Is this normal? or do most people not complain thinking that sagging roofs and high spots on the floor are normal.
2. What are my options? I'm not sure that I want somebody that Fleetwood has hired tearing into my home. Are they liable for any time I have to take off of work? Wouldn't it be cheaper for them to give me a new home? (Do I want another home from them?)

Any feedback is appreciated...

p.s. I'm happy I got the 2 year warranty... I see now they only offer a 1 year warranty (wonder why?)

[rmurray]

They will not be responsible if you have to miss work...You will have to let them take care of the problems..If you refuse service they would not longer be responsible..

The problems you mentioned seem unusual...but not nearly as hard to fix than you are expecting...The 2 items you describe would take 2 guys about 3 hours total to repair..I doubt that your whole list will take more than a day or two...

They will not take back the home for this sort of "minor" (not to you..but to them) problems...

Monitor all work and take pictures of any work you do not think is right..Good Luck

[Just Me]

Take pictures, lots of pictures before, during and after any repair. Make copies of the work order before they start and after they are done. Document your phone conversations with date, time, who you spoke with, conversation, etc. Get the names of the contractors that come to your home and their lic numbers for your records.

We, like many others have the high/low spots in the floors, sagging roofs, leaks, etc. We also have the two year warranty and yes we own a Fleetwood.

[Jolane]

Sounds like you're talking from experience. I started checking out this forum in Sept. of 2001 and only found a few negative responses about Fleetwood. Is this something that's just been happening in the last year or two? I've also been referred to fleetwoodhorrorstories.com which is a horror story in itself that there's a website with that name. I have emailed some questions to the Texas Dept. of Housing and am thinking I should file a report with the Better Business Bureau on the retailer, as many of things on the repair list are faulted to the retailer (repair work they had contracted earlier last year) and the installation crew (shoddy trim work, walls not secured, etc.)
I will definately get some film loaded in my camera and start taking notes. Thanks for all of the input.

[rmurray]

If you check back on this site you will find numerous refferences to the pressboard floors...Plywood and OSB would not have reacted to small leaks like these this way..

Remember..pressboard is sold by a few brand names...NovaDeck and CresDeck are the most widely used in the industry...Most Fleetwoods are standard with this stuff..

[Just Me]

Well from what I read on the board they are not small leaks nor has the manufacturer fixed their leaks...two years I believe. They sell a warranty with their product. They should stand behind that warranty. Yes I agree with the floor type stated but that is all the more reason for the manufacturer to fix a leak ASAP unless they just don't care.

[rmurray]

Why would a responsible home owner...just allow the home to leak for 2 years..even if the factory was supposed to cover it under warranty...

If a leak deveolped after 5 years...well after the warranty period..would you just leave it leak for 2 years?

[Just Me]

Well if you call the Service Center you are told that if you allow anyone other than a contractor dispatched by the company into your home then you void the entire warranty on your home. It is called playing the warranty game, or trying to get them to fix a serious problem with the home. It isn't a matter of being a responsible homeowner, it is fact that according to the info the leak was reported to them shortly after placement of the home. If you bought a 50,000 car and the engine quit would you pay to have it replaced or make the manufacturer replace the engine because you have a warranty that states they will?

[jgn]

It is standard policy in most industries that if something is serviced by a non approved service person that the warranty is void but they are incorrect on voiding the warranty on anything else that was not serviced. That statement is against the law and would never hold up in court. Now what they can do is not warranty the product or item that was repaired. In other words if you have a dishwasher that you have someone other than the "approved" repair service they can say the warranty is void on the dish washer but they cannot void the warranty on fridge.
If you have someone else fix a leak in under the kitchen sink and one on the HW heater develops later they still have to cover the HW heater because it was not serviced by someone else.
The statement that Bill made about how could anyone let the problem go on that long made a lot of sense. If my furnance kept smelling of gas and after a reasonable time waiting for a warranty repair I would have it fixed and worry about the warranty later.
A warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it.

[Just Me]

I say again..if you pay 50,000 for a new car, do all the maint. checks etc. and one day you try to start your car and the engine blows. You call the dealer and they say, "we will send someone in a week to look at it." So a week later they come out, open the hood and put a new air filter in and say, it's fixed and they leave. You know it is't fixed so you try to start the car and it won't. Again you call and the dealer says, "we are really busy but we will send someone out in a month or so." They do and you go through the entire process again. Seriously would you pay out the money for a new engine at another shop or would you wait out the dealer until they fixed your new car? I have a feeling you would be on the phone every min of every day to get them to stand behind a warranty on the product since you paid for this product.

Don't be so quick to say "bad homeowners" when you haven't been through what so many owners go through.