Utah is rapidly building - homes, trying to ease the housing crunch. But some
of these new homeowners are
seeing massive -issues.
Cracking walls. Sinking
foundations. How can this
happen? For months.. the
KSL Investigators have been
digging into the issue..
combing through plans and
engineering reports.. to
figure that out. And we
found multiple homeowners in
Utah.. living this new home
nightmare.
Why is
this brand new home in
Bluffdale...moving? CHRIS
BROSKY: "THE HOUSE IS RISING
SYMMETRICALLY" Rising
because, well, it
was...sinking. CHRIS
BROSKY: "WELCOME TO OUR
FINISHED BASEMENT. WHAT'S LEFT
OF IT" Chris and
Connie Brosky's home sunk a
whopping 13 inches after they
moved in 20 months ago.
There is a fix to stabilize
the CHRIS BROSKY: "THESE ARE
CALLED PUSH PIERS." But
it's an intrusive one. CHRIS
BROSKY: "EVERY ROOM IN THIS
HOUSE HAS BEEN AFFECTED IN
SOME WAY OR ANOTHER BY THE
SETTLING" Leaving their
beautiful new home looking...
nats of shovel ...like
a construction zone. quick
nats of ball rolling The
cracks, sloping floors, damage
throughout the entire house...
...are a familiar story.
ERIK KAMRADT: "THAT CORNER OF
THE HOUSE IS STILL DOWN ABOUT
10 INCHES FROM THE REST OF THE
HOUSE" Eric and Carole
Kamradt were forced to move
out of their brand new home by
Draper City. It was
sinking, and had become too
dangerous. CAROLE KAMRADT:
"WE CAN'T LIVE IN THAT HOUSE.
BUT WE STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR
THIS HOUSE." HAYDEN BARNES:
"I JUST HEAR POPS AND CRACKS"
And in Eagle Mountain,
Hayes Barnes says he's had the
builder come back multiple
times to fix problems.
Small cracks have appeared in
his basement foundation.
HAYDEN BARNES: "OUR STAIRS ARE
JUST PULLING AWAY FROM OUR
WALL." KSL Investigators
spoke with multiple neighbors
in these communities, also
having structural issues.
They all have something in
common. They all built
with Edge Homes. And all
are wondering...how did this
happen? CHRIS BROSKY: "IT
SHOULDN'T FALL TO THE
HOMEBUYER TO BE EXPERTS IN
SOIL COMPACTION, OR WHERE YOU
CAN OR CANNOT PUT YOUR
FOOTINGS ON A HOUSE. IT'D BE,
THAT'S WHY WE PAID EDGE
HOMES." None of these
homeowners are building
experts. But if you
look at their contracts, well,
it sounds like they're
expected to be.
Here...under "soils
disclosure," the buyer is
"given the opportunity" to
review "soils investigations,"
and by signing the contract,
buyers "waive any
warranty...regarding soils on
the property..." or "under the
residence." That
report... nat of nailing the
report to plywood ...is
this. The geotechnical
investigation. It's done
by an engineering firm hired
by the builders. Most
Utah cities require this
before any building is
approved. You'll see
soil types. And specific
recommendations from engineers
on what needs to be done to
safely build on the land.
It's often done several
months, even years, prior to
any construction. PROF. KYLE
ROLLINS: "SOME PARTS OF IT
WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR A LAY
PERSON TO UNDERSTAND, BUT A
LOT OF THAT WILL BE PRETTY
CLEAR" BYU Engineering
professor Dr. Kyle Rollins
says there are two specific
things buyers should look for
before they sign any contract.
KYLE ROLLINS: "POOR
COMPACTION OF FILLS AND TWO,
POOR DRAINAGE OF THE SOIL."
Soils in Utah can be
finicky. Some compact
easily, and are very sensitive
to water. Rollins says
homes can still be built on
these areas, with proper
preparation. If soils
aren't properly excavated,
filled, and compacted... KYLE
ROLLINS: "IT CAN SETTLE WHEN
IT BECOMES WET, AND SETTLE
QUITE A LOT, YOU KNOW, 10% OF
ITS HEIGHT." While most
homes will settle, they
shouldn't settle more than an
inch. KYLE ROLLINS: "MOST
BUILDINGS CAN ACCOMMODATE THAT
WITHOUT A LOT OF CRACKING,
IT'S WHEN YOU START TO GET
THREE OR FOUR INCHES OF
SETTLEMENT THAT YOU HAVE
PROBLEMS," But here
in Utah, making sure the
engineer's report is followed
usually isn't up to city
building inspectors.
They're busy making sure
construction follows building
code. KYLE ROLLINS:
"INSPECTION IS USUALLY
CONTRACTED OUT BY BY THE
DEVELOPER" KSL
Investigators spent months
requesting these soils reports
from the cities, going over
them for any discrepancies.
Including with Edge Homes'
engineer, to see if
recommendations from the
reports were followed.
While the builder did not want
to speak on camera, we sat
down with them for over an
hour to look through
everything. nats of Draper
home Let's start with the
Kamradts in Draper. Edge
says tons of soil was dug out
and replaced before building,
as recommended. Edge says
their hired excavator didn't
properly remove all the
unsuitable soils, leading to
the settling. For now,
they're at a standstill.
Draper City is requiring they
wait out the spring runoff to
see how much more the house
sinks before EDGE can fix it.
nats of EM Back in Eagle
Mountain, Edge's spokesperson
said the Barnes' settling is
"normal." The builder believes
the issues may instead by tied
to a framing issue. nats of
Bluffdale home As for
the Brosky's Bluffdale home,
d. Edge
isn't sure why the home is
sinking, saying they also
followed the engineer's
recommendations. But
added in a statement they have
a "10-year structural
warranty" on all these homes,
and "costs of this work are
covered completely." nats of
Brosky house Eventually,
some of these homeowners plan
to move on from their dream
homes.... CHRIS BROSKY: "WE
PAY FOR A BRAND NEW HOUSE AND
WE'RE LIVING IN A REFURB.
THAT'S NOT RIGHT.." quick nat
of home damage ...taking
with them anger,
frustration...and an expensive
education in soil compaction.
What do you do? It's
a very uncommon solution.
Hire your own engineer to at
least look at the report.. and
periodically throughout the
building process. Runs
you thousands.. but with a
$600K investment.. it's worth
it.
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