A North Dakota construction company has reprimanded a distraught couple who complained of numerous defects in their new $1.1 million dream mansion.
Tom and Katie Webster said at least 87 faults and defects have been found around their new home since they purchased the property in March 2023.
After saying their efforts to contact the construction company, Spire Custom Homes, were ignored, they contacted the homeowner directly, who allegedly told them it was “not their problem.”
Desperate for help, the Websters approached the local television station. Valley News Live to share their plight. But Spire Custom Homes criticized them for “litigating” the story in the media and claimed the complaints should have been kept private.
A spokesperson chided: ‘Spire Custom Homes considers customer complaints and warranty work to be matters between them and their customers.
‘To be clear, Spire and the customer who was featured in the media recently have been in ongoing communication about their home for over a year and Spire will continue to communicate, perform warranty work and fulfill its obligations as outlined in the parties’ contract and in accordance with the warranties to which its customer is entitled.’
They delivered a brazen slap in the face despite the Websters saying they had been forced to seek media coverage after being ignored.
A North Dakota couple says they spent $1.1 million building this property as their “forever home,” but have since been plagued by construction issues and bills that have turned it into a “nightmare.”
Homeowners Tom and Katie Webster said the process of building their new home quickly went “from a dream to a nightmare.”
To make matters worse, the Websters said some of the construction workers were arrested for smoking “illegal drugs” on their property, while another was mysteriously extradited to Texas to face criminal charges.
It is unclear what illegal drugs were being used and the builders involved in the party have not been identified.
As the couple struggle to complete the house, Tom said they are heartbroken and described the process as going “from a dream to a nightmare.”
Katie said she and her husband had dreams of making their new house in Fargo their “forever home,” but “from the day we signed, it was one thing after another, after another, after another.”
Upon closer inspection, the home was found to have shoddy construction, dented and broken finishes, and poorly installed appliances.
Outside, parts of the skirting boards were taped together and paving slabs were laid with huge cracks running along them.
The Websters said that when the construction company installed the floor, it was done backwards, while several walls had to be rebuilt up to three times.
When the house was hit by heavy rains, it was discovered that much of the faulty work on the house caused severe flooding which further delayed its construction.
And a painful reminder of the problems at home is visible as soon as one arrives there, with footprints embedded in the concrete path made by careless workers who walked on it before it dried.
The property was found to have dozens of obvious construction flaws and issues, including an exterior skirting board that was taped together.
Footprints can be seen on the concrete path from when workers walked on it before it dried.
The paving slabs were laid with visibly large cracks.
Other problems included cracked and broken finishes, floors laid backwards and poorly constructed walls that had to be rebuilt several times.
Tom, a veteran, owns his own home inspection business in Fargo, which he said was a blessing as he was able to spot some issues that arose during the construction process.
“It’s crazy because I was paying them to watch and supervise their work, but I actually ended up having to watch a lot of times,” he said.
“If we hadn’t had that knowledge, we would be in an even worse situation.”
After the couple hired a different inspector to inspect the home during construction, Katie said they “found 87 different regulations that needed to be met before they could move on to the next part.”
Surprisingly, the Websters claim their plans were further delayed by the behaviour of workers on their property.
They said that when carpenters came to install trim on the exterior of the home, “they were arrested on our property for having a party and smoking illegal drugs.”
“Another one was arrested and extradited to Texas,” Tom added.
When work moved to his yard, Tom said he was shocked to find that the overall size of his property had been reduced.
When they signed the contract for the property, the lot was listed as 41,000 square feet. But when they went to install the sprinklers, the property somehow got reduced to 32,000 square feet.
Shockingly, the Websters claim their plans were further delayed because construction workers were arrested for “smoking illegal drugs” on their property.
Spire Custom Homes reportedly told media outlets that the problems at the home were “not my problem.” Pictured is homeowner Jeff Shipley, who did not answer the phone.
Other shortcomings of the original agreement with the finished product included the lack of a dual-zone heating and cooling system, they said.
It’s been more than a year and a half since the first lockdown and the couple say they are facing mounting bills and having to complete much of the work themselves.
“The quality of the work is what really saddens me because we’ve put all of our life savings into this house, hoping it would be our forever home, and right now, we don’t think that’s the case anymore,” Katie said.
“We can’t keep investing more money in this.”
As they struggle to finish their home, the Websters say Spire Custom Homes, owned by Jeff Shipley, virtually ignores their attempts to contact them.
According to Valley News Live, when the outlet called Spire’s general manager, he declined to comment, saying only, “This is not my problem.”
Running out of options, the Websters contacted the North Dakota Attorney General’s office and hired a lawyer to help them pursue the contractors, adding to their mounting bills.
The only silver lining to come out of the construction nightmare, they say, is that the constant problems have led to a blossoming friendship with their neighbors.
“Our neighbors call us all the time, asking about some situation that’s going on with the building, which is a little embarrassing,” Katie said.
“It’s embarrassing to be “the house on the corner with all the problems,” but it allowed us to meet some really great people!