ComplaintsforDaytona Homes Edmonton

• Initial Complaint

  19/11/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We purchased a new home from Daytona Homes in January 2021, and from the first initial walk through with the Daytona representative there were warranty issues which still haven’t been repaired after 9 months! We have crooked walls, cracked tile and grout, cracking drywall and trim. We even have Exterior painting that hasn’t been completed. Our furnace has broke and lost heat 5 times and the list goes on and on. We are frustrated trying to have repairs completed. We reached out to our warranty company who stated the issues we are having are not warranty issues. Rather contractual issues with the builder providing shoddy work and poor customer service. We are completely frustrated with dealing with Daytona and their lack of customer service. We just want the house repaired to the standard that we agreed to purchase.

  

  Business response

  30/11/2021

  Our construction manager reached out to ***** to discuss solutions. He attended the home on November 21st at 8 am to conduct a review of concerns and have a discussion regarding same. A return trip on November 22nd for some additional measurements yielded a solution for a path forward. The Daytona team is working on scheduling repair work for the week of January 3rd to January 7th. 

  Customer response

  30/11/2021

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  17/11/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I moved into a Daytona Home in September 2021. I realized the house is unusually cold. When I got the furnace checked, I found out that a 30,000 BTU furnace was installed for a 1377Sqft house in Edmonton instead of 80,000BTU. Because the capacity of the furnace is low, it could not heat of the house adequately even after increasing the temperature. I was told this will run up my energy bill and the furnace will pack up soon. Besides, winter is drawing close and I am afraid I may freeze up in my own home.I have tried reaching out to Daytona warranty and no one is getting back to me. I dropped a voice message for the warranty coordinator who called back but hung up as soon as he heard my voice. When I called him back immediately, he cut the line on the second ring. I have spent so much time trying to reach Daytona's warranty service but no one is getting back to me. I will appreciate if this issue is fixed as soon as possible before it gets unbearably cold. ********** * *** ******** ******* ** * **** ***** **** 

  

  Business response

  19/11/2021

  This house was built with a mid-velocity system with dedicated, ducted return air system. The reason we can operate with a smaller furnace than our competitors is because we have designed the system with a engineered approach instead of the traditional low velocity system.  This system has been tested in house and by third party energy advisors. It is innovative and different that what is on the market but its performance is well documented. 

   

  On November 19th our construction manager spoke to client to arrange for heating contractor to visit home and confirm performance. 

  Customer response

  21/11/2021

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: this response only came after the business realized I had filed a complaint with BBB. The initial response provided was that my heat load calculation was correct and that the city approved the furnace hence they were not going to do anything about the issue and that I should speak with Alberta Homeowner Warranty. Regarding the furnace passing the City of Edmonton's inspection code, when I spoke with the city of Edmonton's representative, I was informed that the city only inspects for connection and not size and that it is the builder's responsibility that the right furnace size is installed. With respect to the heat loss calculation provided, a heat loss of 20,781BTU seems ridiculously low for a 1377Sqft home in Edmonton. 

  As regards the explanation provided here by Daytona Homes, I have searched for references to corroborate this claim but I could not find any. A NAIT trained furnace Specialist informed me that installing a mid-velocity HVAC system does not necessarily necessitate theuse of an undersized furnace. 

  I will appreciate an independent and anonymous (unknown to Daytona and their current contractor,  Legacy Heating) calculation of the heat loss and furnace size requirement of my home together with a corroboration of the claim of having installed a mid-velocity HVAC system by an Energy Advisor/Home Inspector.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

  

  Business response

  24/11/2021

  Our contractor and expert, who is an HRAI certified designer as well as a member of the HVAC Designers Committee which is a national board, attended the home of this customer on November 22, 2021. Instruments were brought to measure temperature in various rooms of the home as well as the CFM at each fixture. All readings were found to be operating as per design. The thermostat was set at 22.5 degrees and the highest differential was 20.9 degrees in the ensuite of the master bedroom. This differential is well below the standards set in the Alberta Performance Guide as well as vastly superior to the performance of a traditional low velocity system. 

  The concerns here seem to be stemming from the advice of a journeyman HVAC tradesperson who has advised the homeowner that the furnace should be larger. This advice unfortunately comes from an outdated way of thinking about HVAC systems. The system we use is being featured as part of NRCAN education series to hopefully help educate industry about right sizing furnaces and designing a functional system that performs better than the current industry standard.  Our contractor discussed these design parameters with the homeowner and the HVAC contractor who attended as a personal friend of the homeowner. For reference the theories used are from the Master Planning and Design Guide for Natural Gas Mechanical Systems by Natural Resources Canada. *** ******* ** ************************ 

  The temperature in the home is not compromised and after a site review we are confident it is performing according to design. Not only is the temperature even throughout the house but because of the design of the system and the  two-stage variable furnace it is doing this with less energy consumption. This will mean less financial impact to the client when paying for gas consumption. 

  Customer response

  25/11/2021

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the contractor's responses have been contradictory. Initially, he mentioned that the furnace size was chosen based on the heating load calculations for my house, later he said the duct design allows him to use a smaller furnace size for my home. The contractor was not able to explain how he was able to cut down my heating load drastically. Based on my conversation with the contractor, he mentioned that the 30,000 BTU furnace size is the right size for my house mainly because my heat load calculation was below 30,000BTUH and not necessarily because of the duct design. The only explanation he gave about the duct design was that I could close off airflow to some parts of the house in order to allow more heat/airflow to the other parts of the house. Meaning that the furnace does not have the capacity to warm up the entire house without shutting off airflow to some part of the house. Based on the contractor's suggestion, I requested for a recalculation of the heat load for my home using the exact software used by the contractor but the values are not jiving, the contractor's values are way lower. 

  As regards the duct design, the contractor was not able to provide a concrete explanation as to what the new method of duct design was other than mentioning that the system he is using is now being featured as part of education series about right furnace sizing. He has not provided any reference to back up whatever claim he has nor could I  find any information about this new system online. The only explanation provided was that he (the contractor) is an HRAI certified designer and he was part of the HVAC Designers Committee.

  The information stated in the last paragraph of the response to my complaint is also not correct as the contractor admitted that because the furnace size is small, the furnace will run for a longer time in order to achieve the desired temperature. I therefore do not see how this will reduce my energy consumption and bring about less financial impact. The exact opposite was indicated as the impact of undersized furnace (high energy bills) See quote from *********************** below:

  Too Small
  Having a furnace that is too small for your home means the system won’t be able to keep up with the dropping temperatures outside. They simply can’t make up the difference to heat your home properly. It might come with a lower price tag upfront, but the trouble of having a furnace that can’t even do its job isn’t worth the hassle.
  When furnaces are too small, they’ll have to kick on often—or even non-stop—try to increase your indoor temp. They end up running and running, but without any real progress. This leads to excessively high energy bills, and not much help in making your home comfortable.

   

  With respect to the temperature of my home not being compromised, unfortunately, he came to take the measurements of my home temperature on Monday 22nd of November when the outside temperature was mild. I am more concerned about my comfort when the temperature dips to double digit negative. I am convinced the furnace will not warm up the house when this time comes because it does not have such capacity. On Wednesday 24th of November when the temperature dipped to -21oC real feel, it took 3hours for the temperature to warm up from 18oC to 23oC ********* *** *********. 

  The information provided on the sales website of the furnace model installed in my home states that it can only "heat up a smaller house in normal condition" ********************************************************************************************************** . To the best of my knowledge a 1377sqft house does not qualify as "small" while Edmonton winter does not qualify as "normal". I still do not understand why a 30,000BTU furnace is considered adequate for a 1377sqft house in Edmonton.

  I have taken the extra effort (financially) to request for a recalculation of the heat load of my house and the numbers came back totally the different from what Daytona Homes' contractor provided. The contractor has also not been able to explain the features of this new system that makes it possible to use a smaller furnace size. I still want an independent, anonymous (using a different contractor) calculation  of the heat load and furnace size requirement for my home from Daytona since they have decided not to accept the calculations from my contractor.  I want my home to feel as comfortable as 

  Sincerely,

  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  01/09/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Earlier this year I noticed water leaking in my basement, and on the corresponding exterior of the house I noted a crack in the foundation. I put in a service request with Daytona Homes for a warranty repair. On June 17th a representative came, confirmed the crack was covered under warranty, and we set a date for the repair to be made on Aug 9th. On that date though, the repair contractors no showed without any prior notification. When I followed up that day with the same representative, he told me they in the nearly 2 month time frame, he wasn’t able to get the supplies to conduct the repair. We made a 2nd date for the repair to be done today (aug 31st). They’ve again no showed and I haven’t been contacted by them as to why. Meanwhile, I’ve taken time off work twice now to be home for the repair, and my wife’s home business she runs out of the basement has been disrupted too. *** ** ****** **** **** ***** *** ** ****** ******* **** ** ** ********* ** ********

  

  Business response

  03/09/2021

  Upon review of this file it was determined the incorrect contact information was loaded into the system for this homeowner. When we were unable to obtain the product to complete the repair we reached out to advise we wouldn't be able to make the appointment but we were sending information to the wrong homeowner. This information ahs now been corrected and we have reached out to this homeowner to complete the repair. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Called over 7 months for warranty on my house windows needing replaced. Said they call back but I am still waiting for a phone call. Tried phoning several times and they call back. I believe they are waiting for warranty to expire but it should because I phone over 7 months ago.

  

  Business response

  26/08/2021

  We reviewed our records and do not have any record of hearing from this client. We would not allow this length of time to go by without a response if we had.  Our field manager has reached out to the number provided to review concern with customer and book in  an appointment. We have had some staff turnover during the past year and it is possible she is using an outdated phone number. 

  Customer response

  14/09/2021

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

   

  So someone called and never got back to me. I’ve been waiting two weeks and nothing has been resolved

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  

  Business response

  16/09/2021

  This client has not met with Daytona Homes regarding this issue. She met with our supplier, *** ******* *******, to receive a quote to replace her windows as they were the original supplier of her windows. They supplied her with a contact number to proceed with this.  This was in May 2020 and due to uncertainty with the pandemic they were unable to proceed at that time with the work. Our Construction Manager reached out to this client to gather information regarding. It was after this phone call that the discovery that she had not been in contact with Daytona but *** ******* ******* was made. Construction Manager reached out to *** ******* ******* on her behalf to ask them to reach out to the client to clear up the miscommunication.

  ***** *******

  Construction Manager

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩