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More David Weekley Homes Lemons
Saturday, 14 October 2006

Toxic Stories
More David Weekley Homes Lemons
David Weekley Lemons

If you have a story, complaint, or picture that you would like us to post on this web site, please write to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or submit your story using the feedback form.  Maybe your story will help stop this from happening to somebody else. If you have already settled a claim with Weekley and they made you sign a confidentiality statement that prohibits you from talking about your situation, please show this page to a close friend or family member and maybe they can write in on your behalf!  The truth about what this builder does to good families needs to be exposed.  Confidentiality clauses and binding arbitration keep Weekley's lemon home skeletons in the closet and it is time to let the sunshine in.  

-  Fishhawk Ranch, Lithia, FL

We live in a new David Weekley home that had a leak due to a condensation line not being properly attached. This leaked into our three year olds bedroom. Upon testing ( of only that room ) they discovered spores ( 104,000) and are now heppa cleaning and basically turned our room into what looks like a biohazard zone. We have health concerns, resale concerns and are experiencing overall anxiety.

- Timberline East, Grapevine, TX

I abandoned my Weekley home almost 14 months ago due to toxic mold. The cause? A sewage pipe from my son's bathroom upstairs was never sealed when the wall was closed. Seems to be a lack of QA there to me. I called David Weekley's local office in the spring of 1999 to get this fixed and to have my black and blue white-washed wood floors replaced. A young man named Jeff told me that his Manager told him that your firm was not liable. I have all of this documented including a fax to "Jeff" feeding back to him what he stated to me verbally. Not only did I have to pay to have the damage fixed in my laundry room, kitchen and pantry, I had to have my master suite torn out, due to mold infestation as well. That made me the third David Weekley owner in this neighborhood to have done so, however we are the sickest by far. Many other home owners are having problems at well here in Timberline East however they are fearful what happened to me might happen to them. They can live in fear. I have had that right taken away from me when we became chronically ill within months of moving into this home. 

My son and I thought we were buying our "dream home." Soon, we found that we bought a nightmare. We have lost our home, our health and everything we own. Our dog even died right before we abandoned. How David Weekley Homes can build massive quantities of homes in Grapevine, and not be accountable is beyond my comprehension. 

- Dallas, TX

David Weekly built my home 1 year ago. The shower is leaking badly and caused mold on the inside of the drywall. Their solution was to knock a  hole in it and let it air out then patch it back up. They sprayed with bleach and told me it was precautionary and that they found no evidence of mold...however I hired an inspector and took some photos (see attached) that say otherwise. Now that they are aware I have photos and an inspector they want to rip my bathroom apart and rebuild it. They said they will test it for black mold but advised me not to as it could detract from the value of my home.  

 - Cypress, TX         

Builder: David Weekley Homes
Problems: Faulty transition fitting in attic by water heater had a slow leak and caused major water damage and MOLD in the bedroom closet, hall closet, garage and laundry room. 
My house is infested with toxic mold 58 times the outside levels of Penicillium. 

- Silver Lake, Grapevine, TX

Within a few weeks of moving into the house, I began to notice cracking around the archways, windows and doors. I contacted Weekly, they stated it was normal. The cracks continued and became excessive. The soffet has separated from the top of the residence separating all caulking, all exteriors to the windows have separated, the front porch ceiling is twisted and all partitions cracked. I have a 5'X 4' portion of my ceiling ready to fall in. All the metal corners have cracked, the windows have cracks to the floor and the ceiling. There are three cracks in the slab that run the full width of the house and the tile floors have separated. There is a diagonal crack in the slab around the fireplace that has separated from the wall and the hearth is cracked and separating from the wall. The back stairs and landing are now 4" from the slab they were build flush to one year ago. This is only a small list of problems. David Weekly representatives (and I've seen many) tell me it is owner maintenance. Additionally some of the front porch boards are rotted and growing some type of black mold.

- Lakes at Sable Ridge, Land O Lakes, FL

I have a two year old David Weekley Lemon. Since we have been in the home we have had one problem after another. The most prominent problem is leaky windows that lead to mold problems. These mold problems have lead to health problems. Unfortunately we had signed an arbitration clause that we knew nothing about. Do you know if there are any lemon laws in Florida trying to get passed and if not what I might do to start a call for one?

- Canyon Creek, Austin, TX

Like some of you may have experienced, my wife and I are in the midst of a lawsuit with a home builder (David Weekley Homes). Two years ago we bought a new home. Within 17 days the first major water leak -- one of many -- appeared and three months later mold appeared.

These leaks came from the following sources: Improperly installed bath tub spigot, causing water to leak in the central part of the home; Failure to install flashing around windows on the west side of the house, causing rain water to leak into the walls; Improperly installed roof vents, causing water to leak into the attic and eventually the walls; A capped air conditioner condensation drain pipe, causing water overflow into the living room ceiling.

The builder did piecemeal fixes until Strachybotrys, Penicillin and other molds were discovered. We were out of the house for eight months. The experience was horrible, as you can imagine.

- Sugarland, TX

Since sports stadium builder Aric Barto closed on a new $268,000 David Weekley home in December 2000 he has been plagued by troubles of almost biblical proportions. Barto keeps a two-inch thick binder of repair work that he says Weekley has not fixed. Workers damaged a tree on his lot that later fell on his house. Weekley Homes came out three times to try to realign a tilting portion of his slab foundation. Half of his roof had to be replaced. Chronic leaks have caused repeated blooms of toxic Strachybotrysatra mold on the ceiling of his garage and study and on his bedroom, closet and bathroom walls. The mold then migrated through air ducts to his kitchen, dining room and living room.

 

Barto says his girlfriend contracted a leg rash, he has had allergic reactions and both of them have experienced chronic fatigue. He says he hired an attorney after Weekley Homes stopped paying for his temporary housing last month. Barto says his insurer is suing Weekley for mold remediation costs and he is suing the company to buy back his ?lemon home? at a reasonable price. 
(from http://www.tpj.org/Lobby_Watch/arbitrationhomes.pdf)

- Sienna Plantation, Missouri City, TX

After the DeShazo family paid more than $300,000 for a new Weekley Home in 2001, the builder came out three times to reseal the joint where the shower in their master bath meets the floor. When they later heard that Weekley discontinued that bathroom design, Dawn DeShazo called to ask if it was defective. In what she now suspects was a lie, Weekley Homes said it simply phased out the design; there was no defect. 

Dawn called the builder again last December after a family with bathroom plumbing problems around the corner suddenly moved out. Weekley Homes assured her that it was an isolated leak problem unrelated to any design defect. In the Sienna Plantation development outside Houston, Dawn says Weekley bought out one family?s house under a confidential deal. It relocated another family for nine months during mold remediation. And it temporarily relocated yet another family into a vacant Weekley Home?only to encounter yet another mold infestation.

When Weekley came for a one-year inspection of the DeShazo home in February, Dawn complained about bad odors coming from the drain of her master bath. The smell went away when she poured bleach down the drain, as the inspector suggested. A couple of weeks ago Dawn called the builder when the smell returned with a vengeance. This time Weekley sent a member of its ?Special Projects? team, which Dawn says is a euphemism for Weekley?s mold squad. The builder is negotiating over where to relocate the DeShazos during mold remediation but has not said who will pay their mortgage in the interim. 

Meanwhile, Dawn wonders if mold caused recent health problems in herself and her youngest child. Suffering from insomnia, morning headaches and repeated voice loss throughout 2002, Dawn was diagnosed with walking pneumonia 10 days ago. On May 5th she rushed her three-year-old son to the emergency room with severe abdominal pains and a fever spike. The hospital had trouble getting his blood-oxygen level up and was unable to diagnose the problem, which passed after several days. Dawn says she is particularly concerned about this son because a premature birth left him susceptible to respiratory problems and because he has spent more time in her infected bedroom than her older children. Furious with Weekley for misleading her about a spate of mold problems in Sienna Plantation, Dawn is shopping for an attorney. 
(from http://www.tpj.org/Lobby_Watch/arbitrationhomes.pdf)

- Garland, TX

I recently found that I have a crack in my foundation. My house is in Garland, TX; an 8 year old spec. house by David Weekly, that has an "L-shaped" foundation where the garage turns sideways towards the street. It is between the garage and my house where I have found a crack in the foundation.

I submitted a warranty claim back in December to my builder's warranty company (Residential Warranty Corporation) and they sent a structural engineer out to make an inspection. He stated that in his opinion, recent dry conditions and two large trees planted in the frontyard by the builder were key contributors in the foundation cracking. As the homeowner, I felt we have done a good job of using soaker hoses to evenly water the soil around our house. Also, since I bought this home as a spec. home, the builder had planted the trees and their proximity to the garage.

To my surprise, after the assessment by the engineer was turned in, the warranty company claimed that the cracked foundation was due to "an act of God or nature" due to recent dry conditions the last few years and would not provide warranty service. I felt that this was not justified since I had used soaker hoses and did not select the original location of the placement of the trees and feel that the builder/warranty company should abide by the 10 year warranty clause. Therefore, I have decided to go into arbitration with the warranty company.

In my brief discussion with the arbitrator, he told me that I must prepare my case and prove that we have a Major Structural Defect (MSD) as you stated in your review. I have found RWC's initial reason for denying warranty coverage and their definition of a MSD as a total lack of commitment to protect the homeowner.

Well I decided to go through with the arbitration and present my case and I just got the decision from the arbitration company (Construction Arbitration Services, CAS) and found that I did lose; I had no chance of winning.

I actually felt I had a very good case and proof of a major structural defect (MSD). I even had another structural engineer's technical assessment at hand. Although I had to learn the hard way, I am convinced that RWC and CAS stack the cards against the homeowner and are essentially biased toward each other. I had chosen to go into arbitration due to the lack of time of trying to pursue a lawsuit. I now believe this to have been a total waste of time.

After this painful learning experience, I can say that I am in full support of your outstanding efforts to protect Texas homeowners. (Written to Janet Ahmad, president of HOBB (www.hobb.org) on 4/1/01 - courtesy of HOBB)

- Castle Hills, Lewisville, TX 

        Moldy boards are built into the walls before the homeowner 
      even movein.

 - Loma Vista, Austin, TX


I spoke last night with one family in Lewisville TX. They are in the subdivision of Castle Hills. They are the proud owners of a 4100 sq. ft. "Leaky Weekley". 

I learned some interesting info. First of all, there is one name that now comes up again and again whenever we talk to David Weekley Homes victims - Rick Sturkie -
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . According to the Weekley homeowners we've talked with, he is Weekley's godfather of mold "situations" aka "director of special projects." Now they've got a specific guy to handle all these houses and he now farms out the testing and remediation to remove all liability from Weekley. He is the mold point man - I've heard his name being dropped by victims throughout the U.S. 

According to the wife, the builder from Weekley in charge of their house quit working for Weekley apparently because he was not okay with how things were going there with all these houses. There are 2 others in this neighborhood - one being so bad that they supposedly gave the family another house as part of their "confidential" settlement which is hard to keep confidential from your neighbors that see you living in one house and then another. 

The husband came home one day to Weekley's workers who were supposed to be remediating thawing filet mignon steaks from his freezer in the sink. Weekley's workers ate their meat out of their freezer during the remediation - over $1000 of it. The remediators also stole their night lights. The husband took pictures. I've heard of Weekley's contractors stealing a lot of things, but this is one of the strangest remediation stories I've heard. Weekley would not pay them for this or a lot of other things. Their remediation company was ESG-Risk Management Services Inc. and samples were collected by Southland Services and interpretation done by Dr. Pankonien who never even set foot in their house. But that is also typical for them - they have reports written by people who never go in the house - it happened to us. The only reassurance they have gotten is that the house is "okay for most normal people" but they won't share any clearance testing and the wife said they can see where Weekley's people just painted over mold instead of removing it. They were told by Weekley's workers that the water collecting under their tub in their wall was "normal runoff." Nobody will touch the house and they can't sell it even though they need to move to CA for her husband's job. (7/1/02)    

- South Village of Disney's Celebration, Orlando, FL

"We had tremendous problems with one of the home builders," Marilyn Waters, Celebration's manager for public relations, acknowledged to Salant. "We don't sell them [building] lots anymore."

Andy LaRosa, who bought a house built by David Weekley Homes of Houston, had the roof replaced four months after he moved in because of leaks. David York, who posted signs in his windows that said "David Weekley Lemon House" and "23 Months Since Closing -- Fix My House!," had a bathroom ceiling collapse because it was saturated from a roof leak. "I don't have a neighbor who didn't have a problem," Bruce McMillen, whose plumbing pipes had to be replaced, told Salant.
(Taken from "Lots not to Like", Orlando Weekly News http://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/story.asp?ID=2025) 

- Kingwood, TX

My David Weekly Home
Home Buyer Beware! Fix my house or else; I have a constitutional right to voice my concerns regarding the shoddy workmanship displayed in my house built by DAVID WEEKLEY HOMES. I warn all potential homeowners; especially first time homebuyers, beware of this builder! 

TO SEE THE REST OF THIS HOMEOWNER'S LATE WEBSITE, link to  David Weekley Homes Shuts Homeowner Victim Website Down with Arbitration

- Houston, TX

Some David Weekley homebuyers discovered their dreams were built on shifting sands. What's worse, they say, is that Weekley knew. 

To see the entire Houston Press Article, link to Slab O' Trouble

AND FINALLY...

- "Commitment to Excellence III," a booklet for David Weekley employees

"We at David Weekley Homes are not just selling shelter; we are selling the dream of home ownership ... a sense of security and stability ... a stress-free retreat from the world ... a place to raise a family ... rest and relaxation ... a place to create warm memories ... comfort."

 http://web.archive.org/web/20030601140321/www.toxichomes.org/stories/stories.shtml

 
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