MyCalbridgeExperience
I don't want people to think that Calbridge did everything wrong. Of course this is not true. In fact, in some respects, many of the things I saw in the Calbridge built houses was superior to what I had seen in some (not all!) of the other builders' show homes. This section is what I consider to be the good things that Calbridge did for us. I discuss why my wife and I chose to build with Calbridge and some of the things we saw after we made the decision to buy a Calbridge house.
Why We Chose Calbridge
Location, Location, Location
There were some things that we definitely wanted in our new house. We wanted a lot big enough to allow for a three car garage to accommodate my woodworking addiction and my wife's insane desire to put her car in the garage (imagine putting a car in the garage!). There were lots available in Heritage Hills and Riversong but none were large enough for the three car garage. Fireside offered the lot size we wanted.
I don't like the feeling of being hemmed in from all sides that modern communities offer these days. We wanted to look out our window and not see another house right behind us. There were lots in Fireside that backed onto a green space with acreage homes to the northwest which meant that we would never have neighbours right behind us and we will most likely have a beautiful view to the northwest. The lots were pricey but we thought it was worth it.
Construction Quality
My wife and I visited several show homes from several builders before we chose to hire Calbridge to build our house. Some of the things we saw were mind boggling! In a non-Calbridge Home we saw a framed wall where one of the studs extended from the top plate down to a metre or so above the bottom plate. It was only connected at the top. I could take the stud and move it easily with one finger. The drywall on the one side was all that was holding it in place. When I showed it to the salesperson he said it must be within the building code or they couldn't leave it like that. That builder was not acceptable.
In show homes from various builders we saw multiple cases where the bottom plate on the framing was made with untreated lumber in direct contact with the concrete floor in the basement. When I was working as an apprentice carpenter as a young man this is a very definite no-no. There had to be a vapour barrier between the concrete and the bottom rail to prevent moisture absorption by the wood from the concrete. Concrete is very porous and the moisture that can wick through will aid in rapidly rotting the wood. I saw framed walls where the bottom stud was literally buried in the concrete floor! Those builders were not acceptable. Some builders used pressure treated lumber for their bottom plates in contact with concrete but I wanted to ensure we had a full vapour barrier in place.
The Calbridge show home had good framing. There were vapour barriers under pressure treated wood used for the bottom plates. The studs looked plumb and were all more or less 24" on centre. There was no honeycombing in the concrete walls. All in all, it seemed that Calbridge built a house with good "bones."
The drywalling seemed the same with all the builders as were the cupboards, trim, plumbing fixtures and the like. In some houses I saw some pretty big gaps on some of the baseboards where the finishing carpenters had tried to cover things up with massive amounts of putty but that was pretty rare. For finishing work, most of the builders seemed to be on the same level.
Years of Experience
I am more trusting of a company that has been in business for a long time. Calbridge has been building homes since 1978. That's a lot of experience.
One of their mottos or mission statements was in alliance with what I expected from a reliable company:
Calbridge seemed to be what we wanted in a builder. “… commitment to craft, quality … homeowners are what drive our business … providing an exceptional experience is our duty … to always do the right thing.”
Strong words. Calbridge could definitely talk the talk. But could they walk the walk?
"We are a company built on a foundation of quality and trust … our commitment to craft, quality and building lasting relationships continues to be at the forefront of what we do. We lead every day with a passion for crafting beautiful and unforgettable family homes and are proud to be a generational homebuilder. Our homeowners are what drive our business and providing an exceptional experience is our duty to them. Whether it’s our staff, partners, trades, or customers, we align ourselves with those who share a common goal – to always do the right thing."
Recommendations
Like many retired people I could not sit at home so I started driving a bus to keep busy. I drove a commuter run between Cochrane and Calgary's downtown every morning and afternoon. I got to know most of my passengers well and I asked them if they had bought a Calbridge built house. A few of them had and they all said that they had positive experiences with Calbridge. Everything was jake.
It seemed to me that Calbridge was willing to walk the walk.
Stock Image - Not a Calbridge Homes Representative
Calbridge Sales Team
The sales team for Calbridge Homes in Cochrane worked hard for us. We had several meetings where they reviewed what my wife and I wanted in a house and finally worked out a price for us that would work. Everybody we talked to was very patient with my wife who speaks English well but, after all, English is her third language and she doesn't always understand words not often used. One of the sales team from a show home in Calgary actually came to the design centre with us because he could speak Mandarin and acted as an interpreter for my Chinese wife. That was truly exceptional on his part.
The design centre was good and the designer we had did the job adequately. Nothing fantastic, but not much to complain about at all. More product knowledge was needed. We had a couple of hiccups (see The Bad page) but we managed to get things worked out. Or so I thought but that's for The Ugly page.
Money eventually changed hands and the deal was made.
During the Build
Accessibility
One thing that mattered very much to me was to able to have access to the work site while the house was being built. For one thing it is very nice to see the house you chose grow from concept to reality. More importantly it gave my wife and I a chance to catch any building errors before they became irreversible. Let's face it, the contractors used by Calbridge are people and the best of people make mistakes. Calbridge offered us most reasonable access to the house while it was under construction.
Cleanliness
On one of the many site tours my wife and I did we saw a posted notice that impressed me quite a bit. You'll notice in the picture to the left that no smoking is permitted in the home or the garage. I never saw even one cigarette butt in either places. There's nothing worse than the smell of stale tobacco smell in a house. I would not want to move into a brand new house that smelled bad.
The house was always remarkably clean for a construction site at all times.
Building Quality
Now I don't proclaim to be a house building expert by any means. Sure, I have some experience framing and doing general carpentry while I was in my twenties but not enough to claim I'm an expert. But I know a little and what I saw being done in our house was acceptable and, in a few cases, superior to what I saw in other builders' (not all!) show homes.
This picture is taken looking out the back of the walk out basement. You can see the plastic vapour barriers under the base plates of the studded walls that are in contact with concrete. And the base plates themselves seemed to be pressure treated lumber. In most show homes I saw no vapour barriers and sometimes no pressure treated lumber for the base plates.
Another thing I liked was that the basement framing was completed after the concrete floor had been poured. In a few show homes from other builders I had seen the base plates literally buried into the concrete and the studs seeming to disappear into the floor. This seems to me to allow the studs to more easily absorb the moisture from the concrete through its end grain and allow the stud to rot easily. Also notice the offset studs on the exterior wall. I don't know if this was intentional or not but this style of framing offers better insulation capability.
End Note
Overall I thought that the quality of the construction of the house was as good as or better than what I saw in other show homes from other builders. I have built other homes in the past with other builders and Calbridge was more or less on par with the way these other builders. Good as any, better than some, I guess is the way I would rate Calbridge's build quality.
