HawthorneVillager.com

Your builder has the responsibility to provide you a certain standard of comfort in your new home. They are obliged to follow Construction Performance Guidelines which determines the performance of certain aspects of your home.

Terms that builders use like, "this happens all the time" or "everyone else's house is the same" are unacceptable. Please understand that sometimes you need to fight ( not literally ) to get things done by builders.
When in a dispute with a builder, you can enter into Conciliation. This is where the Builder, a Tarion Rep, and you, argue over, or otherwise sort out a specific problem. When my clients enter into Conciliation, I attend, defend, and back my clients for no additional fees.

Printed below are the guidelines set by Tarion. This is Article Number 8.9 for the condition called - INADEQUATE HEATING.

Acceptable Performance/Condition -

Heating systems shall be capable of maintaining an indoor air temperature of: a) 22°C in living spaces and unfinished basements b) 15°C in crawl spaces; at the design temperature for the geographical location.

Warranty: One-Year – Work and Materials, Two-Year – Delivery and Distribution Systems -

Damage resulting from alterations, deletions or additions made by the homeowner and from improper maintenance is excluded from the statutory warranty.

Action -

Where the heating system is not capable of maintaining the prescribed temperature, repairs shall be made.

Remarks -

Several factors affect living space temperatures: a) Directional orientation – north-facing rooms are generally cooler than south-facing rooms. b) Windows – glass has little insulating value and allows more heat to escape from the room. c) Rooms over garages – have insulated floors that lose heat to the unheated garage below. d) Airflow – free airflow from the supply outlet in a room to a return inlet or undercut door is essential. Generally, a minimum 25 mm space under interior doors above the finished floor covering should be provided. e) Personal preference – personal comfort differs between individuals. Balancing the air delivery system may not completely compensate for the effects of these factors. In determining the temperature of a room, measurements shall be taken in the center of the room at 1,500 mm above the floor after the heating system has been running continuously for at least 20 minutes. Heat loss calculations and duct designs assist in determining the furnace size and adequacy of the heating system.

Andy Shaw - 905 876 4761
http://www.haltoninspections.com

_________________
For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

HHI,

Have you noticed if Mattamy has been addressing the problem the ground floor specifically on the Village Homes and what have you seen done (if anything) to correct the problem.

I'm hoping the heating problem you mentioned within this thread was enough to fix.

Thanks,

_________________
HVE

check17,

Note the guidelines I posted earlier.

Your distribution system has a two year warranty, but the reality is, that it`s best if these problems are pointed out immediatly, as builders are more likely to accommodate you early on in the process. This is just one of the hundreds of reasons why people should get professional inspections as looking for, and diagnosing problems like this, is standard procedure.
`
Andy Shaw - 905 876 4761

_________________
For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

Hi all in this thread,

I am going to be in a Mainstreet town in a few months and I am very concerned about this issue. I purchased my home based on the fact that I turned that large studio on the ground floor into a 4th bedroom or In-law suite as they called it on the floor plan. I have big plans for that room and do expect to be spending a lot of time down there through out the year. Not being able to uuse that room in the winter is just not an option.
What I would like to know is if anyone has heard of Mattamy offering in floor radient heating to the Village or Mainstreet townhomes as our main floor is on a concrete slab (We don't have basements)?

I just finished with my upgrade selection and the time to add something like that has passed for me but if this is a problem of these types of homes then maybe they should offer it.

_________________
Andrea
In and loving every minute of it.
[/url]

Just to add to the thread, I own a village home and the main floor is inhabitable in the winter months. I would say it's approx 16-18 degrees and my thermo is set at 21.

This is absolutly crazy I tell you all there will be HELL to pay between Mattamy and I if I can't enjoy that ground floor room in the winter months. This is just NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Okay I need to calm down, Hmmm the vessel in my temple is about to burst just from thinking about this. My sister lives in a Main street town home in Etobicoke(not a Mattamy but by another builder) and her ground floor is also Freezing as hell. On that floor she has the garage entrance into the house, a bathroom and a coat closet. I know she doesn't have any rooms down there that she would be in for any great length of time but if our homes are as cold as hers then Mattamy will be hearing from me. This will definatly be a warrenty issue on my PDI let alone waiting for my 30 day or 1 year forms.

_________________
Andrea
In and loving every minute of it.
[/url]

I'd also like to add that due to the sub zero temperatures on the ground floor, we basically have a 1 bathroom house because the ground floor powder room is like a meat locker.

I'm not sure if Mattamy is doing anything about this. Maybe in future developments they will consider options. Missing returns, close to the floor is not rocket science for them. They already have the ability to do the job properly.

I would suggest that people make sure they have a working Return as close to the floor as possible. You could also consider closing some upper floor registers to force more warmed air to the lower spaces.

Andy Shaw - 905 876 4761
http://www.haltoninspections.com

_________________
For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

I've got a Springdale, just did the paper towel trick on the return and it is sucking in air, but the bottom floor is freezing compared to the rest of the house, thermo is set at 68, but id say the bottom level is definitely below 60.

Probably not much one can do about it, you have concrete and yes, everything is laid right on the concrete

Wow I think all you homeowners should definitely band together and insist Mattamy resolve this cold floor problem.

I'd be up for that, but since we're a 2 year old resale, I'm not sure they would do anything for us.

Same! My house was built in 2005, and it appears the original owners didn't do anything about it, so i think I'm out of luck.

The only reason I haven't complained is that I spend zero time on the main floor of my village home. It's what I consider a large foyer.

The new main st. will be MUCH different though. I see a fireplace in my near future.

Also have a Brentridge end (moonseed now I think) Village home.

Anyway after reading what the home inspector said I decided to check my vent on the first floor. The suction was terrible, it was barely drawing in air.
So I looked to see if it was all hooked up correctly and it was. But I did notice that there were gaps and spaces through out the duct work leading to my furnace. I went to CanadianTire spent $8.99 on a roll of Aluminum Duct Tape. I covered as much of the holes (much of the sheet metal work where the corners do not meet up correctly) and the bends of the duct pipes where air could escape. My suction now is super!!! Believe it or not I raised the temperature of the first floor 4 degrees Celsius. It is a little cool but now I have to go and seal the front door better because there is a small draft. The tiles are actually not frozen now but a small runner does help too.

So a cheap solution to solve a huge problem, also if you run your fan constantly it will also speed up the process.

NOTE: My laundry/utility room is unfinished, so I can see all my duct work. Also if you have not moved into your house yet make sure you check all duct work and that all corners and bends and taped. They do not use a lot of this stuff because of the cost (8.99 a roll 10 yards).

Oh and thank you Halton home inspection guy(Andy Shaw)... it's great to have a professional on here, especially giving free advice.

Thank you strikerdog.

And thanks for specifying "Aluminum" duct tape and not the gray cloth duct tape. The cloth tape is NOT the right product for this application.

To improve things further, you may want to close the upper floor registers. This will force more warmed air to the lower level. Warm air will rise in the home so this should not effect the comfort on the upper areas of the house.

Also, in many village homes you may have a washroom that has no exterior walls. If that the case, then close the register there.

Note that if your home is rated as an Energy-star home, then all the ducts, should be taped with aluminum tape by the builder. If this tape is missing anywhere, it is considered as a one year warranty deficiency.


Andy Shaw - 905 876 4761
http://www.haltoninspections.com

_________________
For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761