Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Can't we all just get along lol thanks all i will look at all of them mentioned here, and yes i am extremely fussy, very fussy, i do look at everything and i mean everything. I will check them out, i know we have Pulte and D.R. HORTON Has any one heard of PENNACLE HOMES i am interested in what any one has to say about them also. Thanks so much AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL.
It's interesting how a company is perceived in different parts of the country. In Nevada, more specifically Las Vegas, Pulte rules. They set the pace, they set the style and they set fads. Owning one gives piece of mind that value will go up more then any other builders product and hold their value better. Of course in this economic depression the part on holding value is a laugh.
The only builder who's bad reputation is universal everywhere you go is KB I suppose.
No matter....the old wives tale of a builder using sub par materials is hogwash. Builders use materials that is mandated by code. There is no code however that says a builder has to put in an expensive chandelier rather then a $3.00 fake gold plastic lght cover. Usng cheap cosmetic items does not dictate a quality or poor built home.
In the end, builders build what the consumer wants. If no one would buy their product then they would build something else. Maybe you and I dont like what they build but the majority does. I dont and we agree on that for sure.
I agree about Pulte in Las Vegas. currently living in a Pulte home here with no complaints. best insulated home I've ever lived in for sure.
I agree about Pulte in Las Vegas. currently living in a Pulte home here with no complaints. best insulated home I've ever lived in for sure.
Yup ! I think I mentioned in my first post in this thread about the insulated value of a Pulte home. They actually have bragging rights to their method.
Is D.R. HORTON a pretty good home builder, let me know please if you live in a D.R. HORTON HOME.
I don't know what part of California you live in, but I work in Northern California on new homes. From my experience, of the major builders, I would say Centex (which is now a part of Pulte) builds a solid house. I've heard some bad things about DR. KB Home is underrated also, they offer a lot of options and have good customer service.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, while builders can have a good overall reputation, a lot depends on the job superintendent at each individual project. Also, it can depend on the quality of the sub contractors. A builder with a bad rep, but good team at one community can build a great house, while a builder with a good rep but a bad team at one community can build a sub-par home. Hope that helps.
The only builder who's bad reputation is universal everywhere you go is KB I suppose.
.
Have you ever worked in a KB Home? I've worked in over 30 KB projects over 5 years, and can say they build a home just as good as anyone else.
KB had a bad reputation back in the Kaufman Broad days, but in the Bay Area, and Central Valley of California, KB is one of the last builders fighting through the housing crisis, keeping prices down for buyers, and keeping the residential construction industry in Northern California going.
I can't speak for KB in Texas, but don't generalize.
If homeowners knew what happened in their houses, they would think twice about buying, not just KB, any builder.
Have you ever worked in a KB Home? I've worked in over 30 KB projects over 5 years, and can say they build a home just as good as anyone else.
KB had a bad reputation back in the Kaufman Broad days, but in the Bay Area, and Central Valley of California, KB is one of the last builders fighting through the housing crisis, keeping prices down for buyers, and keeping the residential construction industry in Northern California going.
I can't speak for KB in Texas, but don't generalize.
If homeowners knew what happened in their houses, they would think twice about buying, not just KB, any builder.
Yes I am intimately familiar with KB as well as Kaufman Broad. You worked on 30 projects? I had my hands in about 60 projects over 4 states. Just google KB homes and complaints and your computer screen will light up the night sky. More then double the complaints then the 2nd worst builder.
Just as I said before. The owners of the company did not build your house. The sub contrators did. And most all builders use the same large sub contractors on all the projects. KB is always a less costlly home. The cosmetics put into the interiors, the things people actually see, KB uses the cheapest materials. Buying a KB home is like buying a Chrysler or Dodge car. They are cheap for a reason. Cheaper junky materials are used to build the cosmetic parts of the car. The body is still built by Fisher or some simular.
With KB you do indeed get more square footage for your money. If you buy a KB home you just need to do cosmetic upgrades yourself.
What you said in your last sentence is so very very right. I guess we both have some stories to tell.
With KB you do indeed get more square footage for your money. If you buy a KB home you just need to do cosmetic upgrades yourself.
That is exactly what I did...get a lot of SF for the money with a KB home - all brick. During construction SEMI CUSTOM - custom electrical, mechanicals upgraded, additional windows, wired home with 2 Cat5E 2RG6 2fiber to central hub, insulated entire garage, tile in bathrooms accented, HVAC network zoning pre-wire and design with outside air intake, variable speed blow for the HVAC, $120 bathroom fans ducted with R-6, bearing plates, hurricane ties, and ring shank nails for the brick ties spaced closer together.
After home was built...crown molding entire house, chair rails 2 rooms, granite, $800 sink, new garbage disposal, 3.85kw PV system, heat pump water heater, sky light, bamboo flooring, cork flooring, laminate flooring, built ins with lights, arch with columns built, internet viewable security cams viewable on my TVs, slate patios, new door hardware, addtional insulation attic, access door to dead stair space for storage.
Best decision I made was to buy a KB home and keep an eye on it during construction. The city told me that they were one of the better builders....it is all dependent on the on site supt, because like everyone has said they all use the same materials and subcontractors.
However....with all of that said I was lucky to be able to get the things done to a tract home and at a very cheap tract home price as compared to paying a semi custom to custom builder. The reason KB didn't give me an option to pay for alot of the things I did....TIME....they make alot of their money by putting homes up fast. It took twice as long to do the electrical in my home, but only cost me $1200 extra.
I would never recommend to anyone to try to get the things I have done to my home done with a tract builder. Because if they find out you they might rip out all of your custom electrical etc. Note...the on site supt looked the other way, and i had permission from the city to make the changes. Only hurdle was upper management because they told the supt to take out all of the electrical and start over. However it was too late the drywall was already up. Now I have light switches placed where they should be with 3-4 way switches, whole house surge, under cabinet kitchen lights, all new fixtures put up for cheap as I used the upraded KB fixtures to put in my closets.
My word of advice when looking at any tract builder.....run away if they don't offer zoning system or two heatpump system with a two story or very large one story house. KB in my area didn't offer that option for the line of home I bought, but I bought the materials/equipment myself and had the duct work redesigned cost for design/install was $500 + another $500 for a variable speed fan. Nothing like spending a ton of money for a home and not being comfortable inside because heat rises in a two story home thereby making it hotter upstairs then downstairs. Without two thermostats you will never get the temperature right. HVAC installers stated putting in a network zoning system with fresh air intake was the smartest thing I could do and he didn't understand why most people don't get it done, because it is making the home more comfortable and significantly saving on the utility bill. On the same topic of HVAC... stay away from the home with huge open two story family rooms and foyers. It may look nice, but its hard to be comfortable in those spaces because it will be difficult to get the HVAC system right for those spaces and will end of costing you alot of money to heat and cool.
The reason KB doesn't offer it is because most homebuyers don't know the importance of fresh air intake duct, zoning system, or two heatpumps with a large home. I talked to a production builder in Ohio and what impressed me the most was the fact they provided any type of HVAC system you wanted as that work is discussed directly with the HVAC contractor. This production builder told me they were not meeting the needs of their buyers with a standard HVAC design. Some people had asthma etc. and being able to customize HVAC made the home livable.
Last edited by joe123456; 12-12-2009 at 08:27 AM..
Yes I am intimately familiar with KB as well as Kaufman Broad. You worked on 30 projects? I had my hands in about 60 projects over 4 states. Just google KB homes and complaints and your computer screen will light up the night sky. More then double the complaints then the 2nd worst builder.
Just as I said before. The owners of the company did not build your house. The sub contrators did. And most all builders use the same large sub contractors on all the projects. KB is always a less costlly home. The cosmetics put into the interiors, the things people actually see, KB uses the cheapest materials. Buying a KB home is like buying a Chrysler or Dodge car. They are cheap for a reason. Cheaper junky materials are used to build the cosmetic parts of the car. The body is still built by Fisher or some simular.
With KB you do indeed get more square footage for your money. If you buy a KB home you just need to do cosmetic upgrades yourself.
What you said in your last sentence is so very very right. I guess we both have some stories to tell.
Good to know someone else knows what they're talking about. These days, KB is going really bare bones ,especially in the central valley. They also have well sized houses starting at 180,000, which is cheap even for todays standards in the Central Valley.
Your also right about cosmetic upgrades yourself, with any builder, if you can, my advice would be upgrade the cabinets, because they're the biggest pain to take out. Everything else, go cheap, and replace later (countertops,floors,etc).
My DRH home is in Las Vegas. The building department and contractors' board both found roof truss settling and resulting cracks which had formed throughout 80% of the home. Only when DRH was threatened to have its license suspended, did they agree to warrant the repairs. Check on the web for "d r horton defects or warranty" and you'll get hundreds of hits which corroborate the "jdpower" on line surveys which rate DRH at the bottom of the barrel, California included, year after year for quality and warranty satisfaction. Pulte/Centex merged for a reason- their corporate management places greater emphasis on consumer satisfaction and loyalty for repeat business. After DRH takes your money, they dont care to see you again.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
D R Horton quality?
