A North Dakota construction company has cursed out a distraught couple who complained about the many defects in their new $1.1 million dream home.
Tom and Katie Webster said at least 87 defects and faults have been found in and around their new home since purchasing the property in March 2023.
After they say their attempts to contact the construction company, Spire Custom Homes, were ignored, they contacted the owner directly, who reportedly told them it was “not their problem.”
Desperate for help, the Websters approached the local television station Valley News Live to share their plight. But Spire Custom homes criticized them for “litigating” the story in the media – claiming the complaints should have remained private.
A spokesperson responded with a scathing response: “Spire Custom Homes considers customer complaints and warranty work to be a matter between themselves and their customers.
“To be clear, Spire and the customer who recently appeared in the media have been communicating about their home for over a year. Spire will continue to communicate, perform warranty work, and fulfill its obligations as set forth in the parties’ contract and in accordance with the warranties to which the customer is entitled.”
They made the brutal criticism despite the Websters saying they went to the media after being ignored.
A North Dakota couple says they spent $1.1 million building this property as their “forever home,” but have since been plagued by construction problems and bills that have turned it into a “nightmare.”
Owners Tom and Katie Webster said the building process of their new home quickly ‘turned from a dream to a nightmare’
To make matters worse, the Websters said several construction workers were arrested for smoking “illegal drugs” on their property, while another was mysteriously extradited to Texas to face trial.
It is unclear what illegal drugs were used and the partying builders have not yet been identified.
As the couple struggle to finish the house, Tom says they are left heartbroken, describing the process as “going from a dream to a nightmare.”
Katie said she and her husband dreamed of making their new house in Fargo their “forever home,” but “from the day we signed, it was one thing after another after another.”
Upon closer inspection, the home was found to be riddled with shoddy construction, dented and broken finishes, and poorly installed appliances.
Outside, parts of the skirting boards were held together with tape and paving stones were laid with large cracks in them.
According to the Websters, the floor was laid backwards by the construction company and several walls had to be rebuilt up to three times.
When the house was hit by heavy rain, it turned out that poor work had caused severe flooding, further delaying construction.
And once you get there, you’re immediately confronted with a painful reminder of your home’s problems: footprints in the concrete driveway, made by careless construction workers who walked over it before it was dry.
Dozens of obvious defects and structural issues were found in the building, including exterior skirting boards held together with tape
Footprints can be seen in the concrete driveway from when workers walked over it before it dried
Paving stones were laid with visible large cracks in them
Other problems included cracked and broken finishes, floors that had been laid backwards and poorly constructed walls that had to be rebuilt several times.
Tom, a veteran, owns his own home inspection business in Fargo, which he says was a blessing because he was able to spot some issues during the construction process.
“It’s just crazy because I was paying them to check and supervise their work, but I ended up watching a lot of the time,” he said.
“If we hadn’t had that knowledge, we would have been in an even worse situation.”
After the couple hired another inspector to inspect the home during construction, they encountered several codes that needed to be addressed before they could move on to the next section, according to Katie.
Shockingly, the Websters claim that their plans were further delayed by the behavior of workers on their property.
They said that when carpenters came to finish the exterior of the house, they “were arrested on our property for having a party and smoking illegal drugs.”
“Another was arrested and extradited to Texas,” Tom added.
Tom said he was shocked to discover that their entire plot had shrunk when the work moved to their garden.
When they signed the deed, the land was listed as 41,000 square feet. But when they went to install sprinklers, the lot was somehow reduced to 32,000 square feet.
Shockingly, the Websters claim their plans were further delayed when construction workers were arrested for “smoking illegal drugs” on their property.
Spire Custom Homes reportedly told news outlets that the problems in the home were “not my problem.” Pictured is owner Jeff Shipley, who was not the one who answered the phone.
Other shortcomings of the original agreement compared to the final product included the lack of a dual-zone heating and cooling system, the developers said.
The couple say that more than a year and a half after the initial purchase, they are faced with sky-high bills and having to do most of the work themselves.
“The quality of the work is what saddens me the most. We put our entire savings into this house, thinking it would be our permanent home. But now we just don’t believe that anymore,” Katie said.
“We can’t keep putting any more money into this.”
As they work to finish their home, the Websters say Spire Custom Homes, owned by Jeff Shipley, has largely ignored their attempts to contact them.
According to Valley News Live, Spire’s CEO declined to comment when the outlet called him, saying only: “This is not my problem.”
With no other options left, the Websters contacted the North Dakota Attorney General’s office and hired an attorney to help them track down the contractors, which only added to their bills.
The only silver lining in the construction nightmare, they say, is that the ongoing problems have led to a blossoming friendship with their neighbors.
“Our neighbors call us all the time asking about the situation in the building, and it’s quite embarrassing,” said Katie.
“It’s embarrassing to be ‘the corner house with all the problems’, but we did meet some really nice people there!”
