Schumacher Homes

To whom this may concern,
This is a formal complaint in reference to our home that was recently constructed by the Akron branch of Schumacher Homes. Attached you will find photos of the issue described in this letter.
One of the last pieces of the building process was the completion of the exterior concrete work in the front of the home. This included a step up to the porch, walkway, and a driveway stretching from the road to the entrance of the garage.
We knew that due to the position of the home on a sloped lot, we would have a sloped driveway. On our dig date, we met with Bob Powell, the excavator contracted through Schumacher, a surveyor, and our project manager, Tom Morrison. We thoroughly discussed the position of the home and the slope that would be required for the driveway. Mr. Powell referenced the driveway of a neighboring home and said that ours would be similar in incline. We understood the necessity and approved to move forward.
As the home began to take shape, there was a tremendous amount of gravel and dirt required for the project. When our construction driveway was installed, it was a rough patch of rock that was generally scattered from the road to the entrance to the garage. Again, this was to be expected as when the home was ultimately completed, this area would be dug out, smoothed, and concrete would be poured.
One of the last pieces of the construction process was to pour the driveway, sidewalk, and front step. On the morning that the concrete company arrived, I was on site. Because we lived two houses down at that time, it was simple for me and my husband to monitor the progress of our home. I met with the man from the concrete computer just as he had completed "stringing off" the driveway. We spoke briefly and he verified that this was the slope of the driveway and asked if I was satisfied with the incline of the driveway that he had outlined. It was exactly as we expected and there was no reason for concern. During that time, Bob Powell was just arriving to do the excavating work for the driveway and sidewalk, which was going to require removing several inches from the surface.
When I returned later in the day, all of the concrete had been poured and the slope and shape of the driveway was not at all as we had discussed. It was very steep, with a large hump on one side. This immediately caught our eye, but we trusted the process and the professionals charge with the work. We were instructed not to drive on it for 2 weeks and to not use regular ice melt for a year.
Two weeks passed and closing date came and went. When we were able to drive on the concrete, it was clear that there is no vehicle that can access the garage using that drive way. My husband drives a Volkswagen Jetta and I had a RAV 4, and Hyundai Palisade. We could not get any of the vehicles in the garage. We immediately called our project manager, Tom. We sent him pictures of what was happening and shared our frustration. He assured us that he would get in touch with the "concrete guys" and we would figure this out.
At this point it was mid December and too cold to pour concrete, so we knew the fix would come when the weather allowed. My husband was put in contact with the concrete contractor and he said that he was only willing to fix the bottom portion of the driveway, which would involve digging up the French drain and raising that area a couple inches. Layering concrete at the base of the driveway was also mentioned and is certainly not a fix. In order to raise that portion high enough, it will require a 5-6 inch increase, affecting the sidewalk as well. He told us that we should just lay some wooded boards across the bottom to raise it up and then we could park inside. This eyesore would certainly not per permissible by our neighborhood home owner's association. The real problem is the top ¾ of the driveway. We told him that we wanted it fixed. It was done incorrectly and needed to be right. He said that he could not afford to do that. To date, this contractor has not been to our home since the day the driveway was poured. My husband and I measured, investigated, and researched; trying to figure out why the project was completed in such an unattractive way. Ultimately, he found a piece of plastic that looked like a gas curb stop. He immediately called the gas company and they came to investigate further. We figured that this was reason for the hump in the driveway.
When the gas company arrived, the Dominion Gas employee, John Desmond, used his hand to move a couple loose pieces of gravel and pulled out a piece of plastic that was no longer than 1.5 feet. It took no tools or effort to do this. This task was completed in 45 seconds at most. Prior to construction, the gas company came to our property and retired a gas line it was located where our driveway would be located. The actual live gas line was several yards away, which Mr. Powell knew because he was burying that line, too. When he was to be doing the excavating for the driveway, and saw that piece and simply stopped. My husband called Mr. Powell and asked the following questions:
1. Did you see a gas curb stop when you were digging? Yes
2. Did you contact Tom to tell him that you could not dig out this driveway or that there was an issue? No
3. Did you contact the gas company to see if this was live? No
4. Did you get off your machine to investigate; move the gravel around to see what this was? No
5. Was anyone contacted? No

Ultimately, our driveway was not dug out properly. It was left in the steep condition and the concrete poured over it. After being poured, the gentleman working for the concrete company told our neighbor, who is also my father, that "Nobody will be able to get an SUV in this garage." "This is the steepest driveway we have ever done." They had a difficult time even getting the concrete to stay in place as it was slipping downward. If there was going to be a deviation from what I was shown that morning, my husband or I should have been called.
Not one person on site thought to contact the homeowners, gas company, or even the project manager about any concerns. I was shown one illustration face to face and what was delivered is not what I was shown. Again, we expected a slope, but it is unacceptable to build a half a million dollar home and not be able to pull any vehicle into the garage.
After months of investigation and phone calls, Bob Powell appears to be where the issue began. The driveway was not dug out as it should have been. Had he got off his Bobcat and moved a few rocks around, he would have clearly found that the curb stop he saw was attached to nothing. It was a scrap piece left behind when the line was retired months before. He should have also been fully aware that our utility lines were buried nearly 4ft below ground and there was no chance of him affecting those. Mr. Powell had done enough digging around this home to know where everything was located underground. There is no valid excuse for not digging out the driveway as it was to be done, especially without making any effort to contact us first.
For four months, we have made phone calls and tried to find a solution to this issue, but have gotten nowhere. My husband was supposed to get a phone call from Tom Morrison's supervisor nearly 2 weeks ago and there has been no contact. He has checked in with Tom multiple times and we have made no progress.
At this point, we are seeking legal counsel and are prepared to move forward with formal litigation. We are requesting that the driveway be fixed to our satisfaction at the cost of Schumacher Homes or a full refund of what we paid for concrete work with an additional $2, 000.00 to pay for the cost of us having to remove the existing concrete and prepare the ground for it to be completed properly. We have be quoted between $7, 000.00 and $10, 000.00 to have this fixed. We just paid Schumacher Homes $494, 000.00 to build our home. That was to include a functioning driveway. We relied on the experts to do the excavating and concrete work. We trusted that it would be done properly. Now we are being ignored.
There are other significant items that are on the list of corrections, but there is more confidence that those issues will be remedied. The siding was nailed too tight and both sides of the house are wavy, there is a chunk of glass inside of our largest window in the wall of windows, and transition strips throughout the downstairs were never installed with transitions that fit the space. There are other items on the list, but Tom has assured us that those will be taken care of soon. However, the issue with the driveway appears to be out of his hands it appears that we have reached an impasse in terms of the driveway.

I really hope this message reaches someone who can help. Thank you so much!