First Christmas in Our New Home

Roof Problems

Roofing was installed October 3, 2010. On October 3, 2011, it was discovered that the roof tiles covering the vented roof ridge were not anchored properly. Portions of the roof had been blown loose, and further damage was likely as winter weather progresses.

I called the contractor, Talon Homes, and, since they were on their way to North Dakota, they asked me to get a roofer to take care of the problem, and either bill them, or if I paid for the work, they would reimburse me.

I was able to arrange repair by getting a referral from Doug Feser, who is building a spec home across the street. He will be using C&C Construction to do his roofing, and he called them for me. Aurelio "Ral" Ceniceros came out the same afternoon to take care of the problem. He brought a helper, borrowed roofing material from another job, and finished the work in 1.5 hours.

The photos below show the problem and the work done to repair it. It's been raining ever since they did the work, and we feel very lucky that we got this taken care of so quickly.

Roofing tiles along vented ridge 

Loose tiles

Open roof

Roof tiles loose all along ridge

Nails not anchoring tiles

Removing loose tiles

Roof ridge looking east to west

Roof ridge looking west to east

Nailed vent in roof valley. This is bad practice, because rain
or snow collecting in valley could cause leak at nail hole.

Original nail used is on right

Stained Concrete Finally Sealed

D&S Concrete finally put the sealer on the stained concrete walk and porch they poured last winter. Although they sprayed rather than rolled, as they'd promised, it appears they avoided collateral spray on the landscaping trees and shrubs. We'll see how the foliage holds up over the next several months. One thing I know now, I'll never use D&S Concrete again; too many problems (and here).

D&S Concrete Won't Finish the Job

We've been in our new house 4 months now, and examination of the stamped concrete front porch, walk, and driveway borders reveals fading, mottling, and small cracks. I attribute this to the subcontractor, D&S Concrete, failing to seal the stamped concrete. It should have been power washed and sealed as soon as weather permitted in order to retain color and prevent cracking. Despite sunny, warm weather, and many, many calls to Steve Solano of D&S Concrete, this simple procedure has yet to be accomplished. At this stage, some methods of restoring the concrete color and then sealing it may be required.

Original drawing for front porch and walk design

Framing porch

Porch poured

Framing walk

Framing walk

Walk being poured

Walk poured

Front walk in June not yet power washed or sealed

Dull look of stained concrete walk

Mottled driveway border due to not being sealed

A properly washed and sealed walk should look like this

June 12, 2011; 3302 Four Months Into Occupancy

EXTERIOR VIEWS

INTERIOR VIEWS

Entry

Upstairs Den

Entertainment Center of Great Room

Looking into the dining area of the Great Room

Dining area of Great Room

Kitchen

Looking from kitchen through Great Room

Stairway

Wetbar

Recreation Room

Wetbar off rec room

3904 Interior

These are photos of the interior of our previous home after painting and re-carpeting.

Entry

Living room

Stairs

Built-in shelves on stairs

Dining room

Looking from dining room into living room

Living room

Family room

Breakfast nook and kitchen showing new vinyl

Kitchen

Kitchen sink looking out on backyard

Master bedroom

Master bedroom coffered ceiling

Sun room off master bedroom

Master bath

Master bath

Hall bath

Powder room