New home owner suing her builder. Here's why. 

I bought a brand new construction home in Franklin Kentucky. Two weeks after we moved in the whole septic system stopped up. I hired a plumber who put a camera inside the pipes and found the front pipes for the sewer septic system are collapsed. I called the city inspector which was no help and also his boss which came over and looked at it and said there’s nothing he would do.Now we’re living in a brand new home and can’t put any toilet paper in the toilet. Welcome to my world.

So Tom; who notched that cabinet to accommodate the fridge? Better question; who would buy a fridge that doesn't fit the opening? Glass houses, my friend. Schadenfreude can bring-on some really bad karma.

8 minutes and I still don't know anything. WHAT were the defects?

beside the fridge looks sad, the way you cut the cabinet to allow the fridge, uneven cut lines look bad.

"Poor quality work.", says the guy with a notch cut out of his cabinet to fit his fridge in crooked.

This man never show the defects,he just talks

BLAH BLAH BLAH WHY DID THIS APPEAR ON MY RECS?!!!!! WTF

How are you going to talk s*** about somebody else's work when your own house has a fridge that clearly didn't fit and it was just hacked in place that's unbelievable !

Wow that fridge fittment. Looks soooooo professional id hire you in a minute just based on the quality of the cut, no pot calling the kettle black there huh? P.S. Putting together Ikea type furniture is not building! Wow!

Same here in Texas on a brand new 2 story house, value of $250,000. Rear of house, whole brick wall falling off my uncle's house. He had to get the builder to come back out to reinforce and fix the wall. He had to fight like heck to get them out to fix it. Regards...

Does anyone really think that was his first beer?

Once upon a time we had a builder. He was a man who could build the entire house him self. He'd hire laborers to help him but he was there all day everyday. He'd do the highest skilled tasks him self. Now we have a gc who's hiring out everything to subs, and isn't there to over see any of it. We have materials that are unforgiving of improper instalation. And the new houses I've seen are filled with problems that blow my mind. Like a roof deck shot after 20 years! Siding shot in less then that with major rot(studs deep) behind it.

whats with the cut out around the fridge? i noticed that at the moment you said poor quality craftsmanship.... Edit: oh now you say your not a builder, wait, i get it, jack of all trades master of none right?

One big problem is the lack of a good apprenticeship system. Young people don't want to get into the trades, they are pushed into college. We need more vocational training and more respect for people that work with their hands. As you have shown Tom there is a lot of money to be made out there without crippling student debt. Thanks for the great videos.

4 minutes in and I still don’t know what the problem is. I’m out

Hey Mr. Fix-All, that cupboard looks like a horrible hack job. Plane that cut smooth and take if up flush to the bottom of the high cupboards. Yes, you might need a add a new side-wall, but it'll look a lot more like it was intentional rather than just "OMG this fridge cost $3400 my beers are getting warm to I better just do whatever to make it fit.

>Mr. Fix it all, I have a few questions. I’m quite sure I already know the answer to the first of my questions but feel I must ask a seasoned expert such as yourself. 1. By making said repairs “on the spot.” what did you do to her chances of successful litigation by making said repairs too said warrantied items before said 1-year warranty was up? 2. was there any proof that the contractor was negligent other than this woman’s word or were you completely sure that the contractor was negligent in making said repairs before you made them? 3. Did you get ‘before and after’ pictures of all “implied negligent repairs” that you made? 4. Honestly… how much extra $$$.$$ did you walk away with in your pocket for helping her out? Conclusion… In the beginning of your video you stated that the home was new. By the date of the video and what you say about the time you spent at the house I will conclude that the house is less than 1-3 months old when you did these repairs. you do know a “1-year warranty” means 365 days. The contractor may have been told of the repairs but had yet to get someone there too fix them. Sounds like she was still moving in when you were there doing your work and by doing what you did with his work, you may have put yourself in a bad situation for that contractor to retaliate against you. I would have minded my own business and told the woman that “I’m sorry but its still under warranty and if the contractor fails to fix the items after that time has elapsed then by all means please call me.”

Btw, what did you use to cut the face frame on the cabinet to make your refer fit the opening?

Tom, it just amazes me how these builders do such crappy work. I remember a new house I bought in Charleston, SC in the 80’s. They had the toilet plumbed to hot water. Seriously, then the job to fix the wall after they cut into it was horrible. My 3 year old could have done better. Just shows you sometimes it’s all about the bottom line. Another great Video keep them coming. You know what I do Salute back to you. 10,000 subs is just around the corner !!!

I'm a truck driver I some times moon light as a electrician tbh I don't give a rats ass what my work looks like a long as it meets code.

Your lawsuit will fail...city inspectors passed it off...I assume the house inspector passed it off at purchase...and homeowner did not call the builder to enforce warranty....

The home owner should have contacted the builder first to get the work done and give him a chance to correct the problems. It's easy to find fault with someone elses.work when you're trying g to make a living yourself.

Even a horrible Storyteller can actually get viewers this is amazing

A few points that I think need addressing......First,....in any warranty litigation, giving the service provider reasonable time and opportunity to honor the warranty is almost mandatory pending the actual specific wording of the written warranty. Since it is law that every builder must have a warranty on all new home construction, what is specifically covered under the warranty is very loosely worded so as to be up to interpretation. ....second..... shrinkage, settling of trim joints does not necessarily constitute poor workmanship as I personally have seen 5 & 7" crown shrink 3/4" in a few days after the ch&a was kicked on....luckily for me, it was only cut and not hung yet....but.....there is a lot of movement in wood after it gets placed in a controlled environment. .....third.....after 35 yrs as a custom trim carpenter, I have seen my share of "jack-of-all-trades handy-men" and the one thing I will say about all of them is they are very skilled in talking to people.....especially when the people they are talking to don't know anything. Not to criticize the handyman trade as they are needed for the smaller odd jobs that no one has time for....but....all too often, I have run into handymen that have cut my bids by three to take the job and weeks later I'm called to come and see what it will take to finish or fix what they did......and I have also seen do-nothing, know-nothing handymen that literally blow a 15 min fix into a major ordeal with the homeowner inciting legal issues with the contractors while continuously bleeding the homeowners the entire time......I have never had any handyman face me on the jobsite with the homeowner, architect and/or engineer to answer to any allegations that they have made.....SO, i FIND IT EXTREMELY DESPICABLE AND SHOWING A MAJOR LACK OF MORALS AND DECENCY FOR THIS HANDYMAN TO INCITE THIS ELDERLY LADY FOR PROFIT!!!!!!! And after reading the comments, the only thing I can say about the cut-out cabinet which seems to have brought out the best in most of the comments,,,,,haaaaahaaa.....is I too found myself not being able to focus on anything but that handyman cut....and people....he's a handyman and that's what they do.....if you want an arched cathedral ceiling or a spiral staircase you don't call a handyman and if you need a couple of nails hammered on your deck or longer screws in your door hinges you don't call someone like me....handymen have their place in the market but too often they step way over their pay grade when they start running their mouth to homeowners....like the bagger trying to tell the customer how the store was supposed to be layed out....

I watched for over 4 minutes....and you hadn't even started the story yet.....if you're going to make a point...make it faster

at 13:19 he says "Im so busy"... hes not that damn busy if he has time to walk through this house picking others work and having a 2 hour lunch.

Sounds to me like this house he's speaking of side stepped the inspectors.

Start at 8:23 save some time

Bottom line you get what you pay for.

my dad was a builder on a smaller scale, and i can tell you my dad made sure everything was perfect. to the smallest detail, but he wasnt the cheapest. he was the most expensive. the customers hated his prices but they loved the finished product.

Do builders or craftsmen typically put knobs on all or only half of the cabinet doors? Looks nice

Almost 10,000 subs! Nice I’ve been here since 900! Gonna be a while since I hit 10,000

My husband worked in new construction for years putting vinyl siding on houses. While walking through the homes, some of the sub-par work I've seen made me question what idiot approved the work. I'd never buy a new home with the way things are now.

All you are complaining about bad finish carpentry... builders use different carpenters job to job. A lot of builders try to do finish work in house, sometimes using daylabor. I hope you don't give her a cabinet that looks like the one your fridge is in... not quite a finish carpenter yourself there huh?

New construction quality fail fixer video Had to leave, intro way too long! No content forthcoming at 3:55min. Sorry

probably a KB or Mercedes home, they hire the crappiest workers ive ever seen (in FL at least).

A friend of mine bought a house in Ottawa, I found 3 pages of defects in his new house. The final city inspection was done one year after he moved in. It s all quantity and not quality!

This is so true Tom! Thats why I always take my time and do quality Electrical work on all of our jobs whether its houses or apartments.

Somebody PLEASE tell me that the style on the cabinet to the right of the fridge has not been notched to fit the fridge... Probably just my bad eyes. This guy has the nerve to post videos of botched work. Someone tell him to look in his own kitchen!

Name the Builder. stop skirting the situation. Name the Party responsible.

JUST WATCHED YOUR VIDEO, well said,my views from across the pond, not enough tradespeople who can take pride in their work, i am a retired Bricklayer who cared, and have seen all the crap first hand. all the best.....

I'd sue myself if I had that belly.

Amazing... that the man hours to do it correctly would be about the same man hours to do it poorly. Contractor must have chosen the low bid subs with inexperienced personnel. Sad, but true. Thanks for another insightful video. I'm thankful if my customers call within one year, because a job was done correctly.

In my experience, it doesn't matter if it's a $100k starter home or $1M semi custom, track homes are all thrown together with the cheapest materials, as fast as possible, by the lowest bidder. The only thing that changes when you get into the higher priced homes is maybe nicer flooring, fancy cabinets/counter tops, and more square footage. Most of the guys doing the work were never taught how to do things right, they were only taught how to do the bare minimum required to pass inspection, which is all most builders are willing to pay for. Minimum code is a joke, it's the crappiest job you can legally get away with.

Houses down here brother in Albemarle NC are falling apart as well..these old farm houses down here are built better than the new homes.

The more I watch, the more I like you. Sorry for the bombardment of comments on random videos, but kinda binge watching. Apparently I had subscribed to your channel already, but havnt seen a video pop up in months. Has to be a utube thing. This video is all to true even in my small community. Contractors get run out of town with a quickness when they suck at their job. I guess they get to play long and hard in the bigger cities like yours where news doesnt travel so quickly. Work hard and stay safe! If your not bleeding,, your not working hard enough!

No, there's no excuse, it's basically an attempt to defraud the owner/buyer. 'You' as a builder have made a deliberate decision to skimp and save on final fit to maximize profit. He'll hope nobody will notice or if they do complain he'll string them along until it comes down to lawsuits then he'll disappear, bankrupt the company and set up a new one next day. It happens all the time and nobody is doing anything about it.

And this is why I have never bought a house built after WWII. I am the youngest of 8 in my family and after hearing what other family members went through with their shiny, new houses I wouldn't touch one with a 10-ft pole. Renovation on solid craftsmanship is a heckuva lot cheaper and easier than trying to make crap built garbage worthwhile.

I'm working in a subdivision where the builder was sued by a class action lawsuit filled bankruptcy and now we have to fix all there major issues. Not enough stucco, expansion joints not to code. Just about EVERY SINGLE HOUSE!!!

We are considering having a custom house built. One of the things I want are things (better insulation, better vapor barrier, tornado resistant structure, etc) are all things that will be invisible when I move in. Should I hire somebody to do independent inspections of all phases of the work while it is being built to ensure that the work is done correctly and the materials called out by the architect are actually used?

No, no, no any builder would be ashamed to have that happen in a house. I work with them and his site supervisor is supposed to find this crap. The doors out of kilter, the granite countertops not attached that dangerous for an older owner. It could fall and trap the homeowner. That person better have one of those alert buttons or that would be a horrible way to die. Who would find the body, the real estate agent, the police or a foreclosure buyer? That has happened before, sadly. The doors and the trim could be out of wack because of a foundation shift. If it is this bad, check any stairs runners, treads, balusters and rails. Also sinks. As a person ages balance issues happen. Grab on anything that could be used to keep a tilting person upright; sinks, doors, door trim and rails. Be active you are trying to avoid the news article of damage to a person because there was so much that you missed something. Assume a total screw up build. My sympathies.

I’m interested to see these houses 40-50 years from now! If they last that long!

Isn't it nice to have a forum to toot your own horn?

there bringing in under skilled and under paid help. speed over quality. i see it in roxboro all the time. low skilled labor brought in to make a quick buck. its a shame because in 20 years these homes will not be here. great video. God bless.

I see poor building in New construction all the time. The issue is the items are considered cosmetic or maintainance issue and difficult to recover from builder.I was testing a jetted tub on a new home inspection and the drain was not attached.I filled the tub then let it rip.Nedless to say the water went through ceiling on cabinets and floor below.

We always recommend hiring a home inspector even on new builds.

Its always a good idea to let the trim sit in the house for some time to adjust before installing it. Less chance of it shrinking like crazy right away. I wouldn't warranty a ton of trim if they don't have a humidity controlled home.

I just watched a plumbing video from another youtuber going through a new subdivision in Atlanta regarding rough plumbing. It was terrible workmanship and the houses were over $ 400,000.00

Have you seen a $600K home with pine doors and gaps on bottom and side? It happened to my family in 1994.

Bought a peer and beam house and trusted the "inspector" to inspect it. Huge mistake. After I had lived in it for about a year, I started noticing windows rattling when walking around. I crawled under the house and discovered the previous owners had wedged 2 by 4 blocks everywhere to make the floor seem solid and some of them had fallen over. While I was under there I also discovered active termites and a lot of damage. I wasn't worried I had termite insurance from Terminex. I called them to report the damage and get the beams and floor joists replaced. They informed me that it was preexisting damage, and they weren't responsible, but they would spray for the termites. Well just ranting. But I hope someone reads this and learns from my mistake!!!

YES... FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS STRAIGHT... please fix the sloppy work on the side of the refrigerator behind you. it discredits the know-all-do-all character that your trying to portray of yourself.

I thought it was going to be some kind of talk about a homeowner suing the builder to avoid payment.

Massive waste of time... OMG!

What did you cut those cupboards beside the refrigerator with a drywall keyhole saw ?

Who the hell measured for the fridge!!! Great cut there and looks like it was done with an electric chainsaw!! WTH!!

too muc gab, not enough information , I won't be back

This was not a failure, this is done on purpose to cut corners. The bottom line is what counts. I don't anyone in the building industries. When I call a repair person, I stay with that person and make sure he/she does the job correctly. Otherwise, if I am not looking, I am going to be shafted.

Can I get the name of your cabinet guy? I have a refrigerator that's too big for the opening.

don't forget your beer!

Why do all of these people spend so much time telling us what they are going to tell us without ever telling us what they are going to tell us until the last few minutes? I guess they get ad revenue by making videos 4 times longer than the real story requires. I can't believe you have close to 10k subs.

It's amazing how many professionals are criticizing the gap above the fridge. If you read the installation instructions on any fridge. It clearly says that you must have room between the wall and above the fridge for air movement for the condensor core behind the fridge to properly work. Some of these pros that are talking about this guys video because of the gap above the fridge. Ha Ha some pros don't read instructions. In a lot of places building code requires space around appliances.

Tom I'm sure your already going to do this but how about making a 30 second or 1 minute video for the home owner not for RU-vid, just for her, of before and after repairs you did . The paperwork will be good, but the video might help convince the judge. Because the builder will deny,deny,deny and she might not get any money. Great video as always.👍👍

Might want to look at the side of the fridge. Pretty rough fix.

It has to do with the younger generations having no patience and not wanting to work hard... Starting businesses with little or no experience in the field. With anything in life, practice makes perfect... but perfection is rarely ever achieved so you're always learning until death... You shouldn't lie about your capabilities and it's okay if you don't know something, be honest and work it out!!!

it would help if you just pointed out on video or photos what was found to be faulty and limit all that talking, I had to fast forward to get to the part where you actually said what was wrong.

Another great video buddy, I'm not that old but I'm very old school if it job is worth doing it's worth doing right do it right or don't do it at all!

This guy just can't get in the business . Talk too much, beer, champagne unnecessary.

there's codes and if its up to those codes its good to go -what a handyman or old lady homeowner etc think may or may not mean a thing

75 things need to be fixed? And it's going to small claims court? Wow.

good luck to her in small claims court.

This stuff happens all the time it's disappointing the problem is people don't take pride in what they do it's all about the money

Sadly, most people don't really want to pay for QUALITY. Cheap SELLS!

I run into this all the time up here in Alaska , Time ,Cost ,Quality its really hard to hit all 3 but most of the jobs I run into they hit 1 Cost. I laugh all the way to the bank.

New construction pays worse than any other construction I know of

Fourteen minutes of complaining over a missing bolt?

MR. FIX-ALL INC, did you see that cabinet where the fridge is that needs fixing? Please fix so we can all stop laughing and go back to our work of real remodeling

Cheers Brother Tom, Good Video, Good Eye, Peace!

Build em' fast. Build em' cheap™

Never buy "Spec Housing". And always have Contracts or Agreements, with provision of "All Changes Must Be In Writing". Most of the "Builder's" skip. I am a Plumbing, HVAC Contractor and have seen BS Builders.

Great video! I see this mess all the time. Work from 90-100 year old homes is far higher quality than anything being pounded out now to make an instant subdivision

When I built prefabricated houses for number of different builders every time I left one builder to work for another and came back the houses just kept getting cheaper and cheaper until all went bankrupt and are no longer building houses. I have many examples.

Get to the POINT damn on and on and on. Blah

My father in law has a brand new house and hates it he is not a builder in any way shape or form but he is very perceptive his vents have rust and it isn’t from condensation

Alot of subs lack the experience. That being said....does not mean they don't care. Maybe the contractor sucks but the sub contractors get ripped off half the time by the contractor and paid a fraction of what the job is worth. AND I'M A STRONG BELIEVER YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR I CAN GIVE YOU A CHEAP JOB OR AN EXPENSIVE JOB YOUR CHOICE

At what point does this fall on the building inspector? I mean a non secure granite top, holy smokes.

I don't care about my ego when my time amounts to less than minimum wage because of crooked contractors when I have a family to feed and bills to pay time is money

Great video as always Tom. I hate to say it but she can’t sue the contractor unless she tried to get warranty work done and he refuses. If she doesn’t notify and give him a chance to make things right then she has no case.

Right on buddy.

Friend of mine is GC, was bidding a job (addition in NY) his price $450k ,highest $525k lowest $380k . He got the job for $400k there is no way his job will be perfect he needs to cut the corners , don't blame workers because customers are trying to buy Mercedes for a price of Huydai.

Is it just me or does it bug anyone else that the uppers behind him are asymmetrical. The left and center uppers open out from it pair and the right one open in on it's pair.