Mattamy – can a cheaper house have the same quality?

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A recent thread on the Hawthorne Villager Blog was brought to my attention and it focuses on cracking tiles.  Points were brought up about the floor joists being too far apart in Mattamy Homes (using structured I beams and placed at minimum code separations) and, being the cause of tiles in the kitchen cracking due to flexing.  Further investigation by the homeowner showed that the tiles were only held down by the grout and not by the glue/concrete under them.  It was pointed out that the installer was probably using the cheap glue/concrete and thus the tiles did not adhere properly to the sub-strate.

I won’t go into what I think of Mattamy quality here, as you’ve probably read it enough already in my other postings but would like to point out something that would be relevant no matter who the builder was.

In some of the forums I have read people state that they have liked other homes better but picked Mattamy as they were cheaper. 

It’s the old adage – you get what you pay for. 

I think we have pointed out enough things to show why Mattamy might be cheaper – cutting corners, etc.  Paying a premium price does not guarantee quality but buying at the low end, well you’ve already set yourself up for shortcuts, etc that a builder will use to save money and thus be able to offer a cheaper house.  A sub-contractor who is paid less (and thus the builder can charge you less) still has their costs and might save money by using cheaper material and sticking to code, even though the code may cause problems such as bouncy floors.

We’ve shown what Mattamy quality is like.  Do other builder’s use the same tactics to save money?  I don’t know as I have really not read anything about them.

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Can your comments affect your Mattamy Home?

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Not all are unhappy with Mattamy Homes and some have seemed to get a better house than Peter Gilgan’s father did, in reference to my last post.

Some quickly fill out the JD Power survey and give it high marks, some of whom have regretted doing so.

Some will comment on blogs such as mine or other sites allowing you to speak the truth, about the quality of the product they got stuck with.

At the Complaints Board website one unhappy Mattamy owner has even included pictures.  They show that the tile was probably laid after the cement/glue had hardened and the installer relied on the grout to hold the tile down.  They may have to replace their entire floor. 

In some Mattamy houses I’ve seen where the tile makes a dip in the floor, had imperfections on every tile, which had to be hand scrubbed and the grout discoloured by the red clay allowed onto the floor.  Oh yes, Mattamy doesn’t always lay your floor right.

Now, at this other blog we hear a totally different story.  The writer is very upbeat and positive about her Mattamy experiences.  Called “Honeygate Happiness”, Shannon is chronicling her Mattamy house experience as it is built.  I hope she gets a better build than some of us.

I do ask the question.  Are your chances better of getting a more professionally constructed Mattamy Home if you chronicle your build and put in positive feedback as it is contructed or, do you take the same chances the rest of us had in getting a “lousy job” as Peter Gilgan’s father described his house?  Is this like putting in a pre-JD Power survey?

Just food for thought.

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Does your ceramic crack with Mattamy?

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“It’s about time  that Mattamy stopped their ongoing love affair with minimum standards.”  I saw this quote over at the Hawthorne Villager forum, put forth by Andy Shaw of Halton Home Inspection Service.  It is in response to a discussion on cracking grout, largely attributed to those homes built in the now defunct Mattamy factory in Milton.  Will we ever know the real story??

You pay for the upgrade and the grout starts to crack within, in some cases,  3 months of occupancy.  Reminds me of my floor, which has some low spots that give that ripple effect to the floor.  I found the Mattamy installation to be very poor in quality.  Each tile, and we are talking kitchen, main hallway and downstairs bathroom, had a hardened piece of something on each tile.  These had to be scrubbed by hand and, along with the red clay that arose, made quite a mess.  Oh, and Mattamy couldn’t be bothered with it.  My wife and I spent a day doing the job.  Just the kind of thing you need the first week in a house.

I only wish I’d had the advice of a professional house inspector as I feel they may have given me some worthwhile advice that would have saved my back for the day.

And do they really repair the damage?  According to Stevenr:  “Yes, this happened in my kitchen. I am in a phase two powell constructed in 2002. we complained to mattamy and they came in and sprayed the tiles with a sealer which halted the chipping, but, it did NOT repair the already chipped areas.”

I know in my case, I did a walkaround of the basement and noticed that under the kitchen there were two  areas that were unsupported that would eventually lead to the ceramics cracking.  Reluctantly, they put in some boards as support.  If I hadn’t pushed for it, my ceramics there would have cracked for sure.

In another forum, they noted you get what you pay for.  In Mattamy’s case, you don’t seem to get the quality you pay for unless you are vigilant.

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