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all i can say is WOW!  I started this morning reading the page you have set up, and almost right away thought that they did not do a soils tests, and designed the wrong foundation for the conditions of the soils.  Here in colorado in order to get a building permit (in most countied and cities) you are required to have a soils test in order to show that the foundation was properly designed.  I would urge everyone that has a house built to ask for a copy of an approved soils report, even if you dont know what its saying (most will have reccomendations on type of foundation to be used, and depth of penetration if poured conc. caissons are to be used do to poor soils conditions) 
I am a home designer in colorado, and frankly, Situations like the above posted make me sick. 

Susan,
I think most of us know by now that blaming the homeowner for the defects is the M.O. of some builders. Those of us that have been dealing with these "disposable housing" issues know these people would not take responsibility if their lives depended on it.
Have you gotten your elected officals involved in any way?

What is really atrocious is that govt employees often have sovereign immunity and get away with far more than a private individual would.  And we all know how hard it really is to hold even private individuals accountable, so another layer of protection for govt workers just makes them all the more confident that they don't have to do their job.  Look into whether or not there is an official procedure to file a claim against the city if you haven't already, (I do not recall if you said).  Sometimes you literally have to get the govt agency's permission to sue them.  Naturally they don't grant it very often.

Carl,

The city denies any responsibility. However they were the ones that approved the plan, allowed the builder to fill in farm ponds, streams and a lake!  They knew there were underground streams and that they would be diverted once excavation started.   They city was so hungry for money they looked the other way, and are still looking elsewhere. 

I have gone to two city council meetings. Still not one has taken me up on my offer to visit my house. They return no calls nor do they return emails.  The city administrator told me to sit down, shut up and color. He said that I should allow the builder to replace the basement floor and that although it wouldn't provide all of the relief, it would give me some type of relief.  My statement at the council meeting was - to whom does this provide relief the city? the builder? Putting in a new floor is not going to stop the movement beneath the house. In addition how is a new concrete floor going to cure when there is free flowing water one to three feet under the foundation?  It isn't going to do anything for me.

However, I always have said that evil and wicked people are paid back - maybe not now, but some day. - justice will be served and they have a higher power to reckon with.

 The ceiling is now being lifted from the walls in two of the rooms. (where they meet)   How long can I stay in a house like this before it becomes too unsafe? I don't know. I am looking for experts to inspect my house for safety issues.  The air conditioner failed and it was found the joists had squeezed the wires between the thermostat and the furnance into the floor and had rubbed it to bare wire.  I am very fortunate that one of the bare spots shorted out against part of the duct work. The house could have burned down. 

Ron,

This house is pretty much unsalvagable.  Not only is the expansive soil moving and continues to expand, there is free flowing water one to three feet below the house.  Every time it rains, it really gets exciting.  There is damage to the trusses and the boards that cover the roof and today I noticed a 'bubble' of sorts on the roof. I have to take a guess it is something coming up. My web site shows pictures, but they don't show how really bad it is.

Even if the builder did what they say and that is scraping off part of the soil and replacing it with gravel and some pvc pipes for drainage and then replace the floor, it is not going to stop what is happening.  Even with this band-aid fix, they don't want to fix much of anything else. The living floor area, they say is due to my not having a humidifer. It is unbelievable a certified, licensed structural engineer actually wrote that in a report.  Every time I give the report out, I make sure I include a copy of the receipt for the humidifer I had installed two days after I moved in.  I filed a complaint against the engineer and of course the board members are fellow engineers and lo and behold they found nothing wrong. gee. 

This house needs to be torn down. In order for me to be able to get insurance reinstated, it has to be proven the house was stabilized and that doesn't mean a new basement floor.

I will not give up. I have a couple more ideas up my sleeve and have been working them.  I have been on television twice, the local paper twice, Money magazine and am pretty well known by the local police and fire department.  They look after Cindy and I because they are afraid something is going to happen to us, or possibly we would break the law.  That isn't going to happen, but our neighbors have done some nasty things. I have had enough of that and the next time, I will dial 911 and have their butts arrested for screwing around with protesters.  The pulte sales men were harassing us for a while, but I guess they found out that we can have their asses arrested too. 

I would suggest everyone who has an issue with their house regardless of the builder to develop or have developed a web page. It has been  quite successful in getting my story out to the public .

Once you have your page up and running, submit it to every search engine you can.  The 'bots' pick it up and insert it into various searches automatically, but that can take a while. Your goal is to be in the top ten 'finds' when you search.

Also, find other web sites and offer to exchange links.  This is easy, but takes time.  Remember even though others may be helping you in your quest YOU have to take the initiative. YOU have to also help yourself.   It pays off in the end. for example, check out http://www.patrick.net  .   

Susan,

Your story is intriguing and compelling.  However, you do not address whether you have taken legal action or not.  Have you filed suit against Pulte?  If not, why not?