MyCalbridgeExperience
Going to Small Claims Court
I finally grew fed up with all the what I felt were lies and the lack of customer service from Calbridge Homes through their Construction and Customer Service Manager, CW. When I had told Calbridge Homes that they must contact me before coming on my property to do any work they ignored me. People just showed up unannounced. When I complained CW became argumentative and told me that he had ordered me not be "condescending."
Despite the extra money my wife and I spent on the basement development being conditional that Calbridge Homes not install any baseboard, casing and interior doors not required by the Alberta Building code, they still installed casing around the one door required by the code. By CW's own admission, this was not required by the building code yet he flat out refused to remove it. (See No Base No Case Please.)
CW refused to inspect my siding even after being shown that, according to the Siding Contractors Association of Alberta, the siding should not have come off my house if properly installed. (See The Siding Debacle.)
He refused to reimburse me for the screw pile that was not properly used despite Calbridge Homes charging me more than double the going rate for a contractor to come out and install one. (See The Screw Pile Screw Up.)
My wife wanted steel spindles put in our stairs which, if I read my paperwork correctly, was a $9450 upgrade. But they were damaged during installation. When finally inspected by the installing contractors, we were told that the spindles had to be replaced. These spindles had to be brought in from out of country and would not arrive until August, 2022. Despite asking CW to keep me in the loop, by the end of September, 2022, I had heard nothing from either Calbridge Homes or their contractor.
So I filed claim against Calbridge Homes in October, 2022 seeking $11,676.64.
They Lied To The Court!
Can you believe it? Calbridge Homes, in their pleading to the Provincial Court of Alberta, actually provably lied to the court!
In their response to my siding claim Calbridge Homes (as written by CW, their Construction and Customer Care Manager) said, "Calbridge Homes has not refused to look at the exterior or siding on the home. It was discussed at length at a March 29th meeting with the Plaintiff, but I have not refused to look at it. I only ask that a meeting to review be booked during business hours."
On June 9, CW wrote in his e-mail to me, "We have completed all the work that was agreed on, including the exterior items that you and Justin looked at together."
On June 10, in another e-mail to me, CW reaffirmed, "We are not completing any further exterior work on your home.”
On July 7, in yet another e-mail to me, in response to my insistence (based on the recommendation of the Siding Contractors Association of Alberta) that Calbridge Homes perform an inspection on the siding of my house, he wrote, "Calbridge is declining to be present for this inspection. If you would like to do this, please do so, but it is not a requirement."
These are most definitely NOT requests that "a meeting to review be booked during business hours."
To me, this seems to show that Calbridge Homes will readily resort to lies to avoid responsibility. How utterly stupid can someone be? CW knew we were communicating by e-mails. He should have known that I kept copies of the e-mails because I kept throwing his own words back at him. Yet he STILL tried to lie to the court.
The Outcome
We never actually went to court but, in a mediated agreement, Calbridge Homes agreed to refund the money I spent on the screw pile, pay for the removal of the casing around the door and pay for and attend an inspection of the siding. As for the spindles, they miraculously arrived shortly after I filed suit.
The spindles were not replaced. The service technician came to our home to replace them but he warned me that the only way to replace them would make a bigger mess than if I left them alone. He did spend quite a long time cleaning them and, to be honest, they look much better now. Not great ... but acceptable.
As for the siding inspection, well, that was something else. See The Siding Debacle section for more details. Calbridge and I agreed to get the Alberta New Home Warranty do the inspection but, after I contacted them, they declined saying, "As your Defect in Material and Labour expired on April 11, 2020, we regretfully advise we are unable to process your request, and the decision of your claim submission is denied on the basis of expired warranty." Remembering the offer by The Siding Contractor's Association of Alberta (SCAA) to inspect the siding I contacted them after clearing it with Calbridge. They agreed to be there but told me that since the inspection was a result of litigation they could attend but not do a great deal. So, in May, 2023, a few people from the siding company, SCAA and Calbridge showed up (including CW). We all went out and they looked over the siding and, without unzipping even one panel, the siding was declared as good with a couple of little cosmetic defects to be fixed.
Big deal. One good thing though, the siding company representative told me that the siding is applied with staples and not nails and that these staples spread outward when applied making their falling out almost impossible. So much for CW's assertion that my siding was falling off because the nails were being forced out because wind makes the siding rattle.
Would it surprise you to know that, while I was at work on October 5, 2025 my wife sent me some pictures of our siding saying, "I found 4 of the areas broken." Yep, the siding's coming off again.