(Delete, Remove) ?

[BrianNSara]

What did eveyone Delete/Remove from there house? & for what Reason?

[Rachel125]

I deleted the ugly towel bars,soap dishes, and toilet paper holders because they are the ugly white ceramic ones. :p

[babymaeby]

Agree with Rachel!

Also, we deleted the board closet sliders (because I have them where I live now and I hate them!!) That way we can install nice swing doors after closing and not have to remove the tracks from the carpets/tile.

[gagnon777]

We deleted the bulkheads in our kitchen - had to pressure them and finally on the 5th try, they said yes.

We also deleted those ugly towel bar/soap dishes.

We wanted to delete some closets, but all they said they would do is remove the doors in sliders, but leave the framing of the closet. So stupid. Needless to say we left as is.

We also wanted a credit for the hood fan as we'll be installing our own (stainless steel) and they said no. Apparently you need a hood fan to close your house. Sucks.

[dvar]

Pretty much the same here. Deleting the TP and towel holders, leaving the soap dishes I think (I dont want to start drilling into the tile to put up new ones).

Also deleting kitchen bulkhead as we are getting molding on the cabinets and hoping to get larger corner cabinets so they look staggered. They said that was custom and would have to get a price for it ("Custom" sounds like a price I am not willing to pay so the corner cabinets just might stay level with the rest).

I hpe the temperature stays warm so they can keep digging! Saw my first snowflake today and wasnt too impressed with it. :oP

[smartsexystylish]

Like the above posters, we also removed the hideous ceramic bathroom accessories!
We deleted the kitchen bulkheads also.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

I don't think there were too many things to delete to begin with...

[justmed]

did anybody actually keep the bathroom accesories?

Although if I didnt know we could I probably would have them still

[smartsexystylish]

did anybody actually keep the bathroom accesories?

Although if I didnt know we could I probably would have them still

HAHA alot of people deleted them!

Yea, if I didn't do my research (prior to this lovely group!) Then we wouldn't have known either and would be b*tching and complaining when we had to rip them out lol
I was thinking about keeping the soap dish, but I decided against it for 2 reasons - 1) Didn't like the ceramic and wouldn't match my decor we chose. 2) I've heard of slips and falls in the bathtub and people hitting their head on it and doing more damage than just the fall!!! I'm a klutz and I don't need help hurting myself (I can do it just fine on my own!)

[Alex&Vanessa]

Well Coretta Small told us we could not delete our kitchen bulkheads

I wonder if I fought it then maybe they would have done it

[gagnon777]

Well Coretta Small told us we could not delete our kitchen bulkheads

I wonder if I fought it then maybe they would have done it


Alex/Vanessa,

They told us NO 4 times for deleting bulkheads. I keep pressuring them and finally they said yes. I would've fought harder, but maybe it's too late for you??

[BrianNSara]

what is a kitchen bulkhead what do they look like and what do they do? anyone have a picture?

[Style]

We also deleted the kitchen bulkhead! And went with crown moulding for the upper cabinets! The kitchen bulkhead is the drywalled box look above your cabinets that goes to the ceiling! By removing them,it opens it up to put a nice moulding on your upper cabinets to finish them off and give them a nice look! Some of the bulkheads cannot be removed in certain rooms as it hides the duct work! We feel its nicer to not have them as you can also put ornaments above your cabinet if you want also,but our main reason was we were going with crown moulding above the cabinets!:)

[A&O]

Same as everyone else, we deleted the ceramic fixtures throughout as well as the mirror in the powder room (we've already been shopping and found a great one for that room). We also deleted the double door entry into our master bedroom and made it a single door (this gives us way more wall space for furniture). That's all I can think of for now...

Amanda

[gagnon777]

Same as everyone else, we deleted the ceramic fixtures throughout as well as the mirror in the powder room (we've already been shopping and found a great one for that room). We also deleted the double door entry into our master bedroom and made it a single door (this gives us way more wall space for furniture). That's all I can think of for now...

Amanda



Amanda, where are you located in the community?

[Joanne]

I deleted the bathroom accessories and kitchen bulkhead too. I am ordering the crown moulding and a corner cabinet. I did not ask for staggered cabinets because the standard nine inch ceiling comes with 42 inch cabinets and they don't actually give a larger corner cabinet when you ask to have it "raised", they shorten all the other ones to give it the appearance of being "raised". http://www.hawthornevillager.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=13077&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=cabinet+heighth+height

I think some models (such as mine - the stonehurst) have the bulkhead which is normally placed in the Kitchen into other rooms (like the dining room - ie the coffered ceiling), so in those models deleting the bulkhead in the kitchen is not an issue, since it serves no structural purpose in the first place.

I am also going to ask to have the cabinet hardward deleted in the ensuite because I want to upgrade the knobs to pulls post close. It is okay to change from one hole to two holes on doors, but on the drawer the original hole would be centred and that would be problem.

[A&O]

Amanda, where are you located in the community?

Owen and I are on Phase 2 Lot 40, a Greenway B.

[Alex&Vanessa]

Amanda, did you delete the bulkheads in the kitchen?

[A&O]

Amanda, did you delete the bulkheads in the kitchen?

We asked but Jen said it wasn't possible. We didn't fight it. Of course now I've been reading about everyone pushing for it and wish we had too. You guys also bought a Greenway right? Did you delete the bulkhead?

[gagnon777]

If you're handy, I would not pay Mattamy for the upgrade of the Crown and/or Valence. You can order that separately from Aya and do it yourself. The colours will match, don't worry about that. You'll save a couple hundred bucks. BUT, if you're not handy, just order it through Mattamy!

[smartsexystylish]

If you're handy, I would not pay Mattamy for the upgrade of the Crown and/or Valence. You can order that separately from Aya and do it yourself. The colours will match, don't worry about that. You'll save a couple hundred bucks. BUT, if you're not handy, just order it through Mattamy!

We ordered both through Mattamy for the sake of convenience. I'm already having Kevin do a couple things that we didn't want to pay for, so I don't want to load him up with a million things to do. We want to basically get in, make some minor changes and enjoy it!

[K.C.]

Doing crown and valence through Aya after close could pose a problem if you are going with a dark stain because it is hard to match a stain exactly.

If your cabinets are a light color it won't be an issue.

[jrb]

Things I am deleting:

Hey BrianNsara, here is what i am deleting in the Southgate end [ideally anyway].....lol

On the first floor, at the garage entry, i am planning to delete the tile and putting hard wood there................estimated cost $370.00

I am having hard wood throughout the first floor and feel that having tile there will not look right. I want the floor to be the same on the main level, except the kitchen........It will also make the great room feel bigger as that area opens to the great room..........

I am deleting the knee wall on the bedroom level and replacing it with a railing.......I really like the look of the bedroom level of the southgate end, but i hate the kneewall. I think that a railing will really make that hallway look bigger...............I am hoping to put hardwood in that hall as well..........

I asked about extending the front wall just inside the front door and they say no..

I asked about deleting bulk heads in kitchen and they said no.....

jrb

[penguin]

Hi, I have been following this thread with great interest. I have not yet chosen my kitchen cabinets since I have had to rechoose due to the Canac/Aya situation. I had not noticed that there would be bulkheads above the kitchen cabinets. Nothing was said at our design meeting to point it out. No need to wonder why when I read how hard it is to get Mattamy to delete them. Are they in all the models? I have a Hillcrest. Is it too late for me to ask for them to be deleted? Did I have to do it at the structural meeting or when the cabinets are chosen?

[Style]

A Hillcrest should have them! We removed them at our design appointment I believe! Or maybe it was structural either way if you want them out at no cost to you just ask them at your design appointment! If you already had it then you might be out of luck!:)
Hopefully they will work with you?

[gagnon777]

Doing crown and valence through Aya after close could pose a problem if you are going with a dark stain because it is hard to match a stain exactly.

If your cabinets are a light color it won't be an issue.


I would actually disagree K.C. We did this with our other house and there was no issue at all. As with other friends.

[smartsexystylish]

Hi, I have been following this thread with great interest. I have not yet chosen my kitchen cabinets since I have had to re choose due to the Canac/Aya situation. I had not noticed that there would be bulkheads above the kitchen cabinets. Nothing was said at our design meeting to point it out. No need to wonder why when I read how hard it is to get Mattamy to delete them. Are they in all the models? I have a Hillcrest. Is it too late for me to ask for them to be deleted? Did I have to do it at the structural meeting or when the cabinets are chosen?

Hi Penguin,

I believe all models have them and then you have the option to remove them (If applicable)
We had deleted the bulkheads in our Hillcrest kitchen and it wasn't a problem at the time of the decor appointments. I don't recall which appointment we did that at though.
However, if you have finished your decor appointments it may be harder for you to get them to delete it. If they haven't started on your house at all (Ie. Foundation) Then you may still have a chance.

Have you seen pictures of homes with the bulkheads and without?

We put crown moulding up, so removing the bulkheads was a good idea.

[BrianNSara]

Things I am deleting:

Hey BrianNsara, here is what i am deleting in the Southgate end [ideally anyway].....lol

On the first floor, at the garage entry, i am planning to delete the tile and putting hard wood there................estimated cost $370.00

I am having hard wood throughout the first floor and feel that having tile there will not look right. I want the floor to be the same on the main level, except the kitchen........It will also make the great room feel bigger as that area opens to the great room..........

I am deleting the knee wall on the bedroom level and replacing it with a railing.......I really like the look of the bedroom level of the southgate end, but i hate the kneewall. I think that a railing will really make that hallway look bigger...............I am hoping to put hardwood in that hall as well..........

I asked about extending the front wall just inside the front door and they say no..

I asked about deleting bulk heads in kitchen and they said no.....

jrb

Deleting the bulk heads in kitchen i will call them and bug them 24/7 till they say yes...

Extending the front wall inside the front door if they wont do it i will after i close i'm no pro but i'll Get'ER done lol...

knee wall on the bedroom level? What does this look like do u have a picture, it sounds like a good idea....

[smartsexystylish]

Extending the front wall inside the front door if they wont do it i will after i close i'm no pro but i'll Get'ER done lol...



LOL @ You Brian!

[jrb]

Brian,

Regarding the knee wall, it is a wall that is about railing height, made of dry wall.

If you look at floor plan of the Southgate end, on the bedroom level you will see it.

I dont know what others think about removing knee walls........I think it will make a huge impact on the looks of the bedroom level.........

I dont have a pic......LOL

If you take the knee wall out, you will have to pay for a railing.....

Hope this helps

[ShaunnNRachel]

I think removing the upstairs kneewall is a great idea!!....I have recently did some renos in my house now and one of the things we did was removed a wall at the downstairs entrance and put a new cast iron railing in its place and man what a difference, so much more space it seems like!

[BrianNSara]

Hey Jason...

About the Firepalce me and my girlfriend would like the Firepalce so the space it takes up is not a issue for us...

Replaceing the knee wall on bedroom level with a railing how much would this cost?

[babymaeby]

We had a kneewall beside the door to garage on the main level and we changed it to a railing with square profile just like the stair case, stained the same as the hardwood we chose. I think it's going to look great - and it will also allow more light to pass through to the foyer. I say go for it.

[jrb]

Hi BrianNSara,

Its only money right..................LOL

The estimated cost for me upgrading to a R3C railing and pickets is $933.00....

The cost to do hard wood in the upstairs hallway is $826.00 [that is Bruce not Mirage, I may use Bruce to save $1000.00 overall.....The greenway model used Bruce hardwood and i think it looked great]

I know it sounds like a lot..........But, It will make a huge impact on the upstairs level...............

In my opinion the Southgate end and corner have the best bedroom layout, it will look so much better to have a railing.

I have elevation D [not sure what yours is BrianNSara, elevation D has the poladium window in the upper front bedroom and a vaulted ceiling.....

If had more money, i would hardwood that room and make it into a second floor TV room.....LOL..................

If you can still tour the townhomes in phase one [if they are not locked] there is a Southgate end and they took out the knee wall as well.....

Dont forget about the window cranks BrianNsara.......only one window opens in the great room, kitchen and master......each extra window that opens is $177.00

JRB

[jrb]

I am not sure why some townhouses seem to have the extended wall so that the fireplace does not jut out too far in the room, and some the fireplace does jut way out in the room.

I emailed my design consultant to ask her for sure which the Southgate end has.....LOL

The Southgate corner, has a corner fireplace. I asked if i could get that and they said no.....Not sure why, the corner is almost identical to end...LOL

I will let you know what i find out....

jrb

[jrb]

One more thing...lol

Advanatge of a fireplace that juts out in the room is a bigger mantle.........it will be great to decorate at Christmas....LOL

J.

[ShaunnNRachel]

To solve the corner fireplace dilemma if the room is on an exterior wall and not the wall connecting your neighbours then you can put a corner fireplace on both the southgate end and southgate corner lots.

To everyone that plans on getting a fireplace installed do it after close and save 2000 bucks!! Trust me its a rip off!! 5000 bucks for a builders model fireplace is a scam. And do the thermostat yourself, if you can fish wire then you can save another 200 bucks. The fan is a little overpriced, but so as much as the fireplace and thermostat

[BrianNSara]

Hey Jrb,

So the price of the Knee wall removal is around $933.00..

Fireplace i will be paying %35 for & adding the rest into the Mortgage..

thermostat do it yourself, fankit i am letting them do it..

[BrianNSara]

I don't care about the window cranks but Sara loves fresh air so i will add many as i can... lol

thanks for the reminder

[jrb]

Hey BrianNSara,

Price of 933.00 is for the railing...............[upgraded]

They just wont put a knee wall up..................You have to have some kind of railing there...

[jrb]

Hi Shauun,

I purchased a Southgate end..........so no townhome will be attached where the fireplace would go.

I asked about a corner fireplace and design consultant said no...it is only available in Southgate corner....

[fletcher]

My deletions include bathroom paper holder, towel holder and all cabinet door knobs. I plan to install the long handles to the cabinets....going for that Toronto urban look.

[BrianNSara]

Hey BrianNSara,

Price of 933.00 is for the railing...............[upgraded]

They just wont put a knee wall up..................You have to have some kind of railing there...



lol yah thats what i ment lol...... if not i would put in a firepoll and slide down....

[ShaunnNRachel]

Hey Jrb, whatI meant about the fireplace was if you installed it after closing and the corner where you want to install the fireplace is located on an exterior wall then you can do it in the middle of the wall or in the corner beacuse they will most likely vent it straight out the wall. The hespeler end unit's great room is attached to the neighbour, the kitchen is on the exterior wall. If the great room is on the exterior wall then wait till after to save the dough and headaches

[newhomeowner]

i already had my appointement for structual, however, i want to delete my bathroom fixtures as well. can this still be done?

[Alex&Vanessa]

yeah just send your DC an e-mail, trust me you would be surprised at how much you can change after their deadline lol

[newhomeowner]

I spoke to 2 people about getting my bulkheads deleted and they both refused. i dont know what else to do. how many of you who were told no actually succeeded in having this done?

[K.C.]

I don't know why everybody is so hell bent on getting their bulkheads removed. I purposely left mine in. I don't know about the other models but the way Mattamy is doing the bulkheads in the Northridge kitchen it will actually look better with bulkheads than without. If you want to see what I mean go have a look at the kitchen in the design center. The kitchen cabinets where you have 9 foot ceilings go almost all the way right up to the bulkheads. It's a much cleaner look than having a big gap up there where dust will keep collecting.

[anxious_f]

I spoke to 2 people about getting my bulkheads deleted and they both refused. i dont know what else to do. how many of you who were told no actually succeeded in having this done?

When do you close? Is it too late to delete them because the building has started? I didn't bother to read through the whole thread to find out if other Hillcrest owners deleted theirs, but I wasn't able to delete mine because the vent for the exhaust fan runs through it.

[smartsexystylish]

When do you close? Is it too late to delete them because the building has started? I didn't bother to read through the whole thread to find out if other Hillcrest owners deleted theirs, but I wasn't able to delete mine because the vent for the exhaust fan runs through it.


Yup,
We got our bulkheads removed without any problems. Very weird that they won't allow you to delete them newhomeowner! (we're in a Hillcrest)

[Porter Nines]

I don't know why everybody is so hell bent on getting their bulkheads removed. I purposely left mine in. I don't know about the other models but the way Mattamy is doing the bulkheads in the Northridge kitchen it will actually look better with bulkheads than without. If you want to see what I mean go have a look at the kitchen in the design center. The kitchen cabinets where you have 9 foot ceilings go almost all the way right up to the bulkheads. It's a much cleaner look than having a big gap up there where dust will keep collecting.

We got them removed because we want to install the crown moulding and valence on the kitchen cabinets after close. We are moving into the Emerson and upgraded to have additional windows in the kitchen. By doing this we eliminated a good chunk of upper cabinets. Even though many of them were gone Mattamy was going to charge us something ridiculous like $3000 for a VERY small amount of crown moulding and valence! SO - we had the bulkheads removes so that we can pay Aya to do this directly after close. The guy at Aya (without saying so) hinted that we would pay far less than that if we went with them post close. He actually went as far as to refer to Mattamy as "crooks" and I have to admit - I agree to some extent. I have'nt been happy with a lot of the pricing and information we have received from them to date.

[K.C.]

We got them removed because we want to install the crown moulding and valence on the kitchen cabinets after close. We are moving into the Emerson and upgraded to have additional windows in the kitchen. By doing this we eliminated a good chunk of upper cabinets. Even though many of them were gone Mattamy was going to charge us something ridiculous like $3000 for a VERY small amount of crown moulding and valence! SO - we had the bulkheads removes so that we can pay Aya to do this directly after close. The guy at Aya (without saying so) hinted that we would pay far less than that if we went with them post close. He actually went as far as to refer to Mattamy as "crooks" and I have to admit - I agree to some extent. I have'nt been happy with a lot of the pricing and information we have received from them to date.

And then Mattamy will give Aya hell for dealing with you directly but they won't be cooperative to get your business instead of losing it.

Most Aya people are afraid to talk to Mattamy home owners ... you find the occasional one who doesn't care what they think.

[Porter Nines]

And then Mattamy will give Aya hell for dealing with you directly but they won't be cooperative to get your business instead of losing it.

Most Aya people are afraid to talk to Mattamy home owners ... you find the occasional one who doesn't care what they think.

Ha- you are right KC. I don't really care what Mattamy thinks post close. I think their pricing on some of the upgrades is totally ridiculous. I also find it interesting on the errors that were made in some of the prices in the design guide that took us to figure out. For example: We chose to go with the fireside gathering option and wanted to upgrade to cabinet line 3. The fireside gathering layout consists of ONE small cabinet on either side of the fireplace. We received a price of $223 to upgrade those cabinets to line 3. Funnily enough we are upgrading our entire set of master ensuite cabinets to the exact same cabinet we wanted to use for the fireside gathering. For an ENTIRE set of bathroom cabinets to upgrade it was costing $220 - yet two cabinets cost $223? Odd. We called them on it and after three weeks we finally got an answer - yep - they had made a mistake on the pricing. The fireside cabinets should only have cost $90 to upgrade.

Anyway - that was a long rant, but I'd be interested to see if they let anyone else in on the pricing mistake. There are other things, but that one stands out.

Frustrating.

[K.C.]

On our contract they made a mistake worth $4700. I had ordered 2 custom vertical spas worth $2350 each. They put in 4 of them at $2350 each. I didn't catch it because they had two separate contracts and they duplicated two line items on both of them ... they're not supposed to do that. They also made an equal number of mistakes on the opposite side that involved many different line items which made the final totals look right. I was up till 3AM figuring out what they'd done wrong. One thing kept leading to another. It was so bad I said this contract is nonsense, we need to start from scratch. I got no sleep that night because it was the last day of our 10 day confirmation period.

On the bright side I had another $4700 left to spend! So I actually spent another $8000 just to relieve some tension.

[anxious_f]

Ha- you are right KC. I don't really care what Mattamy thinks post close. I think their pricing on some of the upgrades is totally ridiculous. I also find it interesting on the errors that were made in some of the prices in the design guide that took us to figure out. For example: We chose to go with the fireside gathering option and wanted to upgrade to cabinet line 3. The fireside gathering layout consists of ONE small cabinet on either side of the fireplace. We received a price of $223 to upgrade those cabinets to line 3. Funnily enough we are upgrading our entire set of master ensuite cabinets to the exact same cabinet we wanted to use for the fireside gathering. For an ENTIRE set of bathroom cabinets to upgrade it was costing $220 - yet two cabinets cost $223? Odd. We called them on it and after three weeks we finally got an answer - yep - they had made a mistake on the pricing. The fireside cabinets should only have cost $90 to upgrade.

Anyway - that was a long rant, but I'd be interested to see if they let anyone else in on the pricing mistake. There are other things, but that one stands out.

Frustrating.

Its funny that you mention this. We had them do the bullnose around our soaker tub and the price was $570 to do the skirt and then $740 to do the splash area at the wall. The issue to me was that there are almost HALF of the pieces used for the top as there are for the skirt. I understand that there might be a bit more labour to make the extra cuts to work around the windows, but there is NO WAY that it should have been more expensive.

They eventually got back to us with a new price that was about the same as the skirt.

[Porter Nines]

I guess I'm just a bit dissapointed because Mattamy has supposedly been named best builder yada, yada, yada. I have friends who just moved into their new Reid home that they bought in Guelph. I found that they so many of the things we were expected to pay through the nose for were included for them.

For example. Our model came with 9ft ceilings on the main floor, however Mattamy gives you the rinkiest, dinkiest trim going. We had to pay $3500 to have our trim upgraded to something substantial so that it wouldn't look idiotic with the tall ceilings. Our Reid friends have standard 8 ft. ceiling and they got the larger trim for free. They also got REAL closet doors instead of the ridiculous sliding ones, lovely bathroom light fixtures instead of the bare bulbs on a strip and oodles more carpet selection.

The other thing I was less than impressed with is that we upgraded our ceilings on the second floor to nine feet. We paid Mattamy almost $6000 to do so. Yet they leave all of the doors the standard height and then want to charge us $350 each for the taller doors, OR $170 to have a faux transom over the outside of the door to make it appear taller - I would have thought that some of this would have been part of the deal with paying all of that money for the higher ceilings. We also asked them to give us some pricing on putting down plywood subfloor instead of the horrible chipboard they use as my husband is in construction and has an issue with the chipboard. The price Mattamy gave us was almost a 300% mark up on what it would have cost us to do it ourselves and it's not as if there is more work involved to do the plywood - same work, different material. They've got you by the balls because you can't do some of it yourself so you are left to pay their prices.

Anyway - we chose to do just major structural stuff through Mattamy and the cosmetic things we will do on our own. I'm lucky that way because my hubby can do pretty much anything and do it well so we have some choices. Man, I really don't mean to rant.

On the plus side I LOVE our new home, I LOVE the lot that we picked and I LOVE the location of the community. THat's why we decided to go with Mattamy - but I just find them very unaccomodating.

[K.C.]

For example. Our model came with 9ft ceilings on the main floor, however Mattamy gives you the rinkiest, dinkiest trim going. We had to pay $3500 to have our trim upgraded to something substantial so that it wouldn't look idiotic with the tall ceilings.

We did the same thing. The people who didn't upgrade the baseboards are going to be really annoyed at how bad it looks. The total for upgrading the trim and baseboards to 7 1/4" was about $5000 on the Northridge. We did it because it would've been a shame not to since the house itself is very grand.

We opted to go with the 2" faux wood blinds (no curtains) to show off the expensive trim. We put shutters on the front doors because they wear better and the cost wasn't that much more than the blinds.


Anyway - we chose to do just major structural stuff through Mattamy and the cosmetic things we will do on our own. I'm lucky that way because my hubby can do pretty much anything and do it well so we have some choices.

Maybe your husband could teach all the other husbands in the subdivision how to do stuff!

[anxious_f]

I guess I'm just a bit dissapointed because Mattamy has supposedly been named best builder yada, yada, yada. I have friends who just moved into their new Reid home that they bought in Guelph. I found that they so many of the things we were expected to pay through the nose for were included for them.

For example. Our model came with 9ft ceilings on the main floor, however Mattamy gives you the rinkiest, dinkiest trim going. We had to pay $3500 to have our trim upgraded to something substantial so that it wouldn't look idiotic with the tall ceilings. Our Reid friends have standard 8 ft. ceiling and they got the larger trim for free. They also got REAL closet doors instead of the ridiculous sliding ones, lovely bathroom light fixtures instead of the bare bulbs on a strip and oodles more carpet selection.

The other thing I was less than impressed with is that we upgraded our ceilings on the second floor to nine feet. We paid Mattamy almost $6000 to do so. Yet they leave all of the doors the standard height and then want to charge us $350 each for the taller doors, OR $170 to have a faux transom over the outside of the door to make it appear taller - I would have thought that some of this would have been part of the deal with paying all of that money for the higher ceilings. We also asked them to give us some pricing on putting down plywood subfloor instead of the horrible chipboard they use as my husband is in construction and has an issue with the chipboard. The price Mattamy gave us was almost a 300% mark up on what it would have cost us to do it ourselves and it's not as if there is more work involved to do the plywood - same work, different material. They've got you by the balls because you can't do some of it yourself so you are left to pay their prices.

Anyway - we chose to do just major structural stuff through Mattamy and the cosmetic things we will do on our own. I'm lucky that way because my hubby can do pretty much anything and do it well so we have some choices. Man, I really don't mean to rant.

On the plus side I LOVE our new home, I LOVE the lot that we picked and I LOVE the location of the community. THat's why we decided to go with Mattamy - but I just find them very unaccomodating.

For my business, I deal with a lot of the different home builders in the area and their suppliers. Reid Homes is one of the worst builders in the area for quality, with only Eastforest Homes producing a larger pile of crap. They cut corners at every opportunity and when putting the jobs out for bid will always take the lowest bidding sub-contractor, regardless of the quality. Right now Reid is almost giving away their homes because they are having such a hard time selling them.

Let's face it, almost every new home builder (with the exception of custom home builders) do not build as strong a product as they used to. There are cost saving measures put in wherever possible and these are cookie cutter, mass produced homes.

Mattamy is one of the best mass production builders in the country and I would say that there initial quality and future durability far exceed that of a Reid Home. Rest assured that your home should have far less issues than your friend's as the years move on.

[Porter Nines]

For my business, I deal with a lot of the different home builders in the area and their suppliers. Reid Homes is one of the worst builders in the area for quality, with only Eastforest Homes producing a larger pile of crap. They cut corners at every opportunity and when putting the jobs out for bid will always take the lowest bidding sub-contractor, regardless of the quality. Right now Reid is almost giving away their homes because they are having such a hard time selling them.

Let's face it, almost every new home builder (with the exception of custom home builders) do not build as strong a product as they used to. There are cost saving measures put in wherever possible and these are cookie cutter, mass produced homes.

Mattamy is one of the best mass production builders in the country and I would say that there initial quality and future durability far exceed that of a Reid Home. Rest assured that your home should have far less issues than your friend's as the years move on.


Obviously you know more than I do as you are in the industry. I suppose we will see how it all plays out and hopefully you are right. I'd like to think that Mattamy is a far superior builder as they seem to have received numerous recognitions as such. Unfortunately I only know what I know so far in my intial dealings with them and time will tell how the quality of the construction holds up. Like I said...we are thrilled with our home and it is going to look gorgeous and suit our needs beautifully when all is said and done.

[baldwinCoronation]

Mattamy may have a larger mark up than other builders but frankly I am willing to pay them. We purchased a REID`S home 3 years ago and yes the upgrades were cheaper but so was the workmanship. Every room had problems and they used the cheapest material. We had plumbing problems, our garage door rail came apart, the walls paint peeled, the walls were not straight. The carpet was coming up and they used cocking to fill in where there should have been grout. Let me emphasize that this was a 2 year old home when we sold it. Reid`s uses high school students on work programs to build there homes(which the purchasers do not sign off on). Mattamy uses professionals...I will gladly pay extra for that!

[anxious_f]

I encourage some of you to take a look at the Reid model home on Adler Dr. in Hespeler (just off of Townline). I walked through it after we purchased our home, out of curiosity, and was blown away by how poor the workmanship was even on their model home. The baseboards were on crooked, there were gaps in the trim, most of the electrical outlets and switches were crooked, plus various other issues. This is in their MODEL. Imagine what their homes look like.

[DanielleandCody]

I just have to add that what everyone is saying about Reid is so true. I grew up in Guelph, where Reid has built I would guess about 90% of the newer homes. We moved there when the population was aroiund 60 to 70 thousand people just to give you an idea. I would NEVER buy a Reid's home!!! I remember when we first moved to Guelph and my parents bought Reid's and one of the main problems was with the foundation (cracking and leaking!!!!) and that wasn't an uncommon problem to hear about. I know that there were 3 brothers who had individual companies and they were all notorious for different problems. And I might add that when a builder is offering to give you a free car or $10000 to try to entice you to purchase their homes there is something seriously wrong!!!! Anyway I felt the need to put my two cents worth in on this one!!! Good luck to everyone and I hope you all having a great experience with Mattamy. D

[newhomeowner]

When do you close? Is it too late to delete them because the building has started? I didn't bother to read through the whole thread to find out if other Hillcrest owners deleted theirs, but I wasn't able to delete mine because the vent for the exhaust fan runs through it.

my foundation has been poured, but no further construction has been done. I don't know why this is such a problem. they talk to me as if i bought a 10 dollar t-shirt off of them.....but this is a 250000$ house that i want a minor change made to (literally just erasing it from a piece of paper) and its like the end of the world.

[anxious_f]

my foundation has been poured, but no further construction has been done. I don't know why this is such a problem. they talk to me as if i bought a 10 dollar t-shirt off of them.....but this is a 250000$ house that i want a minor change made to (literally just erasing it from a piece of paper) and its like the end of the world.

Have you called head office yet? Just keep pushing for it with whoever you talk to. Tell them that you know that other people have done it and give them actual addresses. Ask them why these people are able to do it and you are not. If they say that it's too late because your 10 days have passed, just let them know that you have been trying to get it done SINCE you DC appointment.

If you push hard enough, they will make the change for you.

[Alex&Vanessa]

Well I have to admit I am impressed with Mattamy

our DC told us we could not delete the bulkheads in the kitchen on the greenway model because the stove fan vent is not on an extorior wall

we asked our DC to put on the contract to reduce bulkheads to 10" if possible

well our house is being drywalled right now and they completly deleted the bulkhead, the funny thing is the builder wondered why we were the only greenway in Millpond to have asked for the bulkheads deleted during our framewalk