John Kavenaugh Construction (Homes)
Posted by dflak07 on August 7, 2008
The Hardie Plank siding is falling off my house. Two years ago, we noticed a couple of loose boards. The Kavenaugh representative came out, look at the siding from a distance and said, “When you have the house painted, have them put a couple of nails in.”
In the last two years, we went from a couple of boards to about 100. The house looks like it’s 75 years old. When I contacted John Kavenaugh, the response was that I should have been “caulking and painting the siding every year.”
I did research on Hardie Plank and just about every site says, “It’s a bear to put up, but if installed properly, it lasts forever.” I could not find any negative comments about the product.
I called the James Hardie company about their 50-year guarantee, and they sent someone out to look at it. Their response is that the warranty is null and void since the product was not installed properly. This assessment is confirmed by an independent contractor.
We contacted John Kavenaugh again sending them the Hardie company letter and their response was that the massive failures on the house was due to lack of maintenance. They even admitted (in writing) that they never primed the paint before painting. They say that they will take no further action on this request. All this was done from the comfort of their office.
In their letter they stated that they contacted the Hardie Company and the Hardie Company said that the fault was due to lack of maintenance. We contacted the Hardie Company and not only did they NOT say that, they said that John Kavenaugh’s representative told them that “We don’t understand how it got this far. We offered to fix it.” Of course neither my wife nor I have any recollection of this generous offer, and I doubt that Kavenaugh could come up with any paperwork that vaugely alludes to this alledged offer.
So it now comes to legal action. I have to pay a lawyer to get John Kavenaugh’s attention. I doubt that Mr. Kavenaugh is even aware of our compaint personally.
hugh said
John, We’re acquainted through old friends and family. Do these folks right and settle out of court before your faith is further blinded by the business bottom line. There’s more to life than money.
keith said
I am sure you loved this from their company’s web site,
Your new Kavanagh Home is backed by a ten-year structural warranty from Professional Warranty Corporation, providing insured coverage of major structural defects for ten years. In addition, Kavanagh Homes warrants your home to be free of defects in workmanship and materials for a period of one year. This is in addition to any warranty provided to you by a manufacturer of a product installed in your home.
As part of the Kavanagh Homes Warranty program, we would like to meet with you to answer any questions you may have about your new home, to provide additional information about caring for your home, and to discuss the Year-End Cosmetic guidelines. Approximately two months after your closing date, please contact the Warranty Department to schedule an appointment by calling 336 272-9904, or e-mailing to debbie.galdo@kavanaghhomes.com
IS there any pictures?
Sometimes pictures can go a long way to tell your side of story.
Roch101 said
Good luck. Just curious, how long ago was the siding installed?
In the old days, companies could take a hard line against customer complaints, confident that the possibility of “bad press” was limited. The people giving you hard time at Kavenaugh probably weren’t thinking that your story would “go public.” Now they not only have an unhappy customer, they also have a public relations problem.
dflak07 said
The house is 11 years old, but the problem did not appear until two years ago. At that time it was only a couple of boards. Since then it has gotten progressively worse to the point where no amount of maintenance and patching could keep up with it. Given the amount of education I got over the past couple of months (reading articles on siding and conferring with a contractor), I am surprised it lasted this long!
I do have pictures, but do not know how to post them.
hugh said
Wow. 11 year old house and you want the builder to pay for repairs? I take back my earlier post. You’re a day late and dollar short. The responsibility lies with the warranty the manufacturer issued. Why would you expect a builder to service your house for free 11 years after you purchased the home? Fix your house with the money you’ll be spending on lawyers fees. That will be money down the drain.
keith said
hey if you need to post the pictures e mail me , don’t know much about wordpress but blogspot is pretty easy to put pictures on and could possibly put them on triadwatch, let me know.
dflak07 said
Hugh, the key word here is “latent defect.” The clock starts when a person could have first reasonably detected the defect. For us that was 2 years ago with the peeling away of the first two boards. If it had been obvious that there was a problem with the boards when we bought the house then your comments are correct.
However, until my recent self-education on siding, I had no idea that the siding was not installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s standards. The improper installation (since confirmed by an independent contractor) voided the 50-year warranty on the product. I still needed this contractor to show me the non-conformities in the installation.
dflak07 said
Keith, I was able to get to your blog, but could not find an email for you.
keith said
tarheez3@yahoo.com