Help with issue with Mungo home I have (Columbia: new home, crawl space) - Columbia - Lexington - Irmo - City-Data Forum

r10000 · 08-05-2012, 05:04 PM

Hi,

I don't know where to rant about this because we don't know that many people in Columbia to turn to about this. I saw some posts here about issues with Mungo homes so I decided to post here but here it goes:

I bought a Mungo home in 2008. I am having problems with my home having cracks in the drywall. I also have a teene crack in my foundation. Mungo has stated that they have that 1yr warranty on homes on all issues with homes and then a 10yr warranty on the 'structure' of the house.

I haven't call them about the cracks yet because I think I know what they will say that the cracks are not a 'structural' problem. I had a roof leak about a month after my 1yr 'basic' warranty was over

and called them if this is a 'structural' issue and they said no. So I paid a roofer to fix problem(it was no big deal to me since it was a small leak and they charged me only $50).

But I'm not sure what recourse I have about the cracks. I don't want to pay for the repairs if needed and feel this is Mungo's responsibility. What recourse I have if Mungo refuses? I don't have a document from them stating what do they define as 'structural'. Thanks.

nin_man · 08-05-2012, 05:44 PM

Typically, what constitutes a "structural" issue is something that affects the home's ability to bear its own load. Most warranties of that nature will exclude damage arising from soil movement, which is what this is. The home has to be unsafe for habitation for the warranty to kick in for issues that are structural anyway.

Basically, unless someone over at Mungo is feeling extra generous the day you call, there's pretty much zero chance of them doing anything about this.

vinceisvince · 08-06-2012, 08:27 AM

There is no such thing as a flawless "crackless" foundation. There is no need to worry about that.

Cracks in the drywall... are these from nails? They stated this will happen.

Also I have a roof leak (or had, doesn't seem to be leaking anymore...) and they denied me cause it was 2 years after I bought the house.
I have a mungo house too. But it's been really good to me!

r10000 · 08-06-2012, 05:08 PM

Thanks folks for your replies.

About the cracks, I don't know if they are from nails because I don't see any visible nails. The cracks in the wall that I am talking about run down halfway a corner of a wall in my dining room and one next to the doorway to the garage.

About the foundation, I hope you are right!

I think I won't buy another Mungo home anyway when I buy my next home based on this experience and the feedback I've seen about their homes.

nin_man · 08-07-2012, 06:42 AM

Honestly, the cracks in the drywall are to be expected if your house has a crawlspace. With a crawlspace, most of the home's weight is supported by cinderblock posts that sit directly on (or in) the ground. With the sandy soil we have around here, a fair amount of settling is to be expected, which will cause the drywall to crack as the walls move. This will happen no matter who built the house, and the much-touted warranties that your major builders offer are all pretty much identical. The good news iis that after four years, it's mostly finished settling, so you can patch up those cracks with some joint compound and after a couple of coats of paint to the area, you'll never know anything was wrong.

If the house were built with a basement, or on a concrete slab, you might not expect to see much cracking, if any.

vinceisvince · 08-07-2012, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nin_man

Honestly, the cracks in the drywall are to be expected if your house has a crawlspace. With a crawlspace, most of the home's weight is supported by cinderblock posts that sit directly on (or in) the ground. With the sandy soil we have around here, a fair amount of settling is to be expected, which will cause the drywall to crack as the walls move. This will happen no matter who built the house, and the much-touted warranties that your major builders offer are all pretty much identical. The good news iis that after four years, it's mostly finished settling, so you can patch up those cracks with some joint compound and after a couple of coats of paint to the area, you'll never know anything was wrong.

If the house were built with a basement, or on a concrete slab, you might not expect to see much cracking, if any.

True that, mine is on a slab and I have no cracks in the drywall actually. I was talking about the ceiling where they nailed the drywall into the ceiling studs, nails will appear and you just have to pound them back in and repaint. Yea warranties are all the same I agree.

I honestly think it wouldn't matter if you bought a 300k house or a 100k house, you will still have these same fundamental issues. No house is perfect.

What mungo did really care about is there is no sitting water (that the land is landscaped correctly) which i've seen the opposite of people having flooding or water coming back to the house and this causing termites (from a friend...).

They use plastic/aluminum for pillars and outside beams. The opposite is wood, splits, rots, have to repaint but looks "nicer" that an expensive house might have.

I've had my house for 3 years, the only thing that went bad is the AC which is a LENOX (nothing to do with Mungo). Nail heads popping out, had to recaulk the bathroom a few spots, a stone popping out from the garage (re-mortared it), and what appears to be a slight roof leak. All regular house maintenace things...

ranger17 · 08-08-2012, 05:30 AM

i'd agree with the above. Back in Wi our home was built on a poured concrete basement, and had 2x6 exterior walls. So much less for "settling" then down here, built on a crawl space. We looked at a lot of new homes and existing homes here, and we saw the same pops, cracks, etc regardless of the age. And in fact, have seen same concerns in "custom" homes as those built by the larger builders here in Cola. So cost doesnt always mean better quality.