Wardcraft Homes (construction, design, boundaries)
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Bought our first Wardcraft in 2006. Watched it as it was built here in Clay Center and planted it North of town. The quality is exceptional for the money. Planning on building another in a few years. All problems have been fixed with a phone call. Even after the 1 year inspection. It's a quiet home and heating and cooling bills are low. Especially nice that my wife has been able to get thing fixed when I'm gone. Sure beats renting.
My wife and I also bought a Wardcraft home after looking at our options. We too thought Wardcraft was a quality home. We ordered it in Olathe from JP Construction, and signed a contract for its completion the end of March 2008. JP Construction closed its office in Olathe around May of 2008. Our house was delivered in August 2008. We had gone to the factory and saw our new home when it was completed. It was beautiful. But it rained before the roof was completed, and the installed bladder (cover) failed causing major water damage. The ceilings and walls in several rooms had to be removed, along with the insulation (Spider something) that had been blown in at the factory, which is now replaced by regular blown in insulation. The kitchen cabinets and counter tops had to be replaced and the floors had to have some surfacing done due to swelling. After repairs were made to the house we moved into our new home in November of 2008. Structurally we believe it is probably the best home we've ever owned. That being said the repaired sheetrock work is terrible. But like one of the previous writers said, getting someone out to look at and repair problems since then has been tough. We have been in touch with Wardcraft and they say it's JP Constructions problem. They say they will do an annual repair, probably meaning door cracks and the like. I just don't think that individuals should wait a full year to repair things that weren't right from the beginning. We have a gas fireplace that has never worked, and the ceiling in the master bathroom has terrible waves in it. After much complaining we were informed that we needed to get in touch with someone to look at the fire place and then Wardcraft would pay for the repairs. Needless to say we are very unhappy with Wardcraft and JP Construction. JP Construction, whose head office in Colorado, has not returned any of my calls. We don't care who fixes what we just want our new home repaired. So those looking at Wardcraft should be wary. I'm usually pretty easy to get along with, but I'm getting tired of being put off. As to the person who wrote about Wardcraft coming throughout the year or so to fix things as needed, that must only apply to those who live close. We live about three and a half hours away from the factory
Our first home was a Wardcraft. It was built in 1979. We bought it in 1997, and lived there until 2006. Never had a problem, it was a solid house. In 2005, the kids were getting bigger and the house seemed smaller, so we decided to build new.
We contacted Wardcraft and decided on a 1568 sqft. Ranch home. We ordered it in July 2005, and arrived in January 2006. We had it placed on a full basement with 9ft walls, and built the 2 1/2-car garage on-site by ourselves. Overall, we are satisfied with the home. I have listed the pros and cons in our experience below.
Cons:
*Wardcraft does not care how much money you've spent, or how much interest you're paying, what your schedule is, or what you needs are. They will bring your house when they are darn good and ready to. I feel that when a customer is spending that much money, they could have been a little better with their schedules, and better about keeping the customer informed.
*Our Wardcraft rep was not very good. There were some options available on our home that he just plain did not tell us about - options we would have wanted. When he came so we could pick colors and order the house, he didn't even bother to bring the sample colors and materials in with him. He did not return phone calls, nor did he do very good work. I personally think the guy had just been doing it too long and he just didn't care anymore. For someone who has 20+ years of experience, I was not impressed with his work.
*As with all contractors, Wardcraft holds out the better building materials, finishes, and features in an attempt to goat you into buying their higher priced models. Things like cheaper windows and larger floor joist spacings. It's a crappy, irritating, way to do business. I got really tired of hearing that I'd have to buy their fancy "custom" house for an additional 20K if I wanted to have all 20-amp wiring and 24" overhangs.
Pros:
Having said a few bad things, there are lots of good things too!
*Well built, well insulated, and wired.
*Fit and finish on the oak woodwork was excellent!
*The house is straight, and the sheetrock was well finished.
*The house was built and set in one piece, and it is indistinguishable from a site-built home.
*The crew that set the house was very experienced. We were impressed with them.
*The home was a good value for the money.
*No cost over-runs! What you sign the contract for is what you pay – period!
*The home has appreciated in value since it was set.
*The home is structurally sound, I don’t have to worry that it was not built properly.
So having said all of that, do I recommend Wardcraft homes? Yes I do. They build a quality product. When you build a quality product, your customer will seek you out. We sought Wardcraft out to build our home because of their reputation and because of our experience with their product.
We are wanting to build a wardcraft home and do not want to have the same experience. Could you please provide the name of your sales person so we can get someone a little more inthusiasic. Thank You!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mach~1
Our first home was a Wardcraft. It was built in 1979. We bought it in 1997, and lived there until 2006. Never had a problem, it was a solid house. In 2005, the kids were getting bigger and the house seemed smaller, so we decided to build new.
We contacted Wardcraft and decided on a 1568 sqft. Ranch home. We ordered it in July 2005, and arrived in January 2006. We had it placed on a full basement with 9ft walls, and built the 2 1/2-car garage on-site by ourselves. Overall, we are satisfied with the home. I have listed the pros and cons in our experience below.
Cons:
*Wardcraft does not care how much money you've spent, or how much interest you're paying, what your schedule is, or what you needs are. They will bring your house when they are darn good and ready to. I feel that when a customer is spending that much money, they could have been a little better with their schedules, and better about keeping the customer informed.
*Our Wardcraft rep was not very good. There were some options available on our home that he just plain did not tell us about - options we would have wanted. When he came so we could pick colors and order the house, he didn't even bother to bring the sample colors and materials in with him. He did not return phone calls, nor did he do very good work. I personally think the guy had just been doing it too long and he just didn't care anymore. For someone who has 20+ years of experience, I was not impressed with his work.
*As with all contractors, Wardcraft holds out the better building materials, finishes, and features in an attempt to goat you into buying their higher priced models. Things like cheaper windows and larger floor joist spacings. It's a crappy, irritating, way to do business. I got really tired of hearing that I'd have to buy their fancy "custom" house for an additional 20K if I wanted to have all 20-amp wiring and 24" overhangs.
Pros:
Having said a few bad things, there are lots of good things too!
*Well built, well insulated, and wired.
*Fit and finish on the oak woodwork was excellent!
*The house is straight, and the sheetrock was well finished.
*The house was built and set in one piece, and it is indistinguishable from a site-built home.
*The crew that set the house was very experienced. We were impressed with them.
*The home was a good value for the money.
*No cost over-runs! What you sign the contract for is what you pay – period!
*The home has appreciated in value since it was set.
*The home is structurally sound, I don’t have to worry that it was not built properly.
So having said all of that, do I recommend Wardcraft homes? Yes I do. They build a quality product. When you build a quality product, your customer will seek you out. We sought Wardcraft out to build our home because of their reputation and because of our experience with their product.
Where is the showroom? I would like to see it. Nobody has mentioned price. I would like to know more about that, from regular people, before going to the show room and having salesmen hounding me and my husband because we are young and easy targets.
Clay Center, KS, west of Manhattan is where they have their manufacturing plant and can show you around finished homes and homes they are still working on. I visited the site and was very impressed with their workmanship. If I remember right, the sales rep said that their houses usually start around $85 a sq ft, but that was back in 2008. You'd need to add to that the cost of the land, excavation, basement, running utilities, etc.
WATCH OUT FOR THIS COMPANY!!! They may require you to use a contractor of their choice -- I know of two separate cases of women who used the contractor this company demanded they use, had to pay him for the kit house, he then absconded with the money and they were literally left with nothing! One woman lost her life savings because of them, one lost $500,000. Two different women, two different cases, people who lost everything. One went to court and lost, because they blamed the contractor, but he was the only contractor they said she could use. I bet it is a racket. BE CAREFUL!!!! This is no joke.
worst homebuilder we have ever encountered.AVOID them at all cost....not honest no service poor craftsmanship, arrogant, expensive. poor quality. and worst of all we have a very unhappy buyer as a result and we look stupid for buying their crap
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great house while gone
Especially nice that my wife has been able to get thing fixed when I'm gone. Sure beats renting.
