JOHNSTOWN, Colo. -- When you shell out a quarter-million-dollars for a brand-new home, you don't expect to see large cracks in the concrete, subsiding driveways and weeds growing up through your living room carpet.
But that's the nightmare facing some homeowners in a Johnstown subdivision.
"My home is less than three years old," said Dusty Birge, "and already the floor (in the middle of the garage) has sunk two-and-a-half to 3 inches."
Birge told Denver7 that when it rains, or when the ice and snow melts off his wife's car, the water pools in the middle of the floor.
"We don't even park in the garage in the winter," he said, "which defeats the purpose of the garage."
Birge said he asked the builder, Journey Homes, to fix it.
"They didn't even come out to look out it," he said. "They said it was no longer under warranty."
The Johnstown resident said what worries him most, is not knowing what’s causing the subsidence.
“Is it just the soil settling,” he said, “or is there some kind of leak underground? We don’t know because we can’t see it.”
When Birge asked neighbors if any of them were experiencing similar problems, he was stunned by their replies.
He said one told him the driveway in front of his house had sunk four inches, so he then placed 2x4's in the gap, so he could drive up into his garage, without having to make a running start.
Birge said the most stunning response was when two separate neighbors told him they had weeds growing out of their living room carpet.
“When they wrote that they had that problem,” he said, “I didn’t believe them, but when they showed the photo, I couldn’t believe that it would actually happen.”
Birge said those neighbors have no idea if there is a foundation problem or why weeds would grow up through their floors.
He said other neighbors gave him pictures showing cracks in driveways, subsiding steps and sidewalks, and concrete that has been patched up, but is still pulling apart.
Another homeowner, who asked that we only use her first name, said vertical cracks are appearing on the walls in her basement.
“One is near the sliding glass door,” she said.
Heidi told Denver7 that she and her husband replaced some of the concrete in front of their home, at their own expense.
She also said there were some plumbing problems they didn’t learn about until they shut the sprinklers off for the winter.
“We noticed there was no cold water downstairs,” she said. “When we turned our sprinklers back on in the spring, we got the cold water back.”
She said repair crews had to cut a hole in the ceiling and reconfigure some of the pipes.
No response from Journey Homes
Denver7 reached out to Journey Homes to see if they’ll help homeowners with some of the repairs, but we have yet to hear back from them.
The property manager for the HOA said they’re not involved in the construction issues. She said they deal only with the common-areas of the subdivision.
Buyers Beware
Heidi said she wants other potential home buyers to know what some of the current homeowners are dealing with.
“Just look at the reviews when you are buying a new home,” she said, “and you see Journey Homes is the builder.”