A North Dakota construction company scolded a distraught couple who complained about scores of faults with their new $1.1 million dream mansion.
Tom and Katie Webster said at least 87 faults and defects were found around their new home since they closed on the property March 2023.
After they say their efforts to contact the construction company, Spire Custom Homes, were ignored, they contacted the owner directly – who allegedly told them it ‘wasn’t his problem.’
Desperate for help, the Websters approached local TV station Valley News Live to share their plight. But Spire Custom homes blasted them for ‘litigating’ the story in the media – and claimed the complaints should have been kept private.
A spokesman scolded: ‘Spire Custom Homes considers customer complaints and warranty work to be matters between itself and its customer.
‘To be clear, Spire and the customer who was featured in the media recently have been in ongoing communications about their home for more than a year and Spire will continue to communicate, perform warranty work, and meet its duties as outlined in the parties’ contract and pursuant to the warranties to which its customer is entitled.’
They issued the brazen slapdown despite the Websters saying they’d been driven to seek media coverage after being ignored.
A North Dakota couple say they spent $1.1 million building this property as their ‘forever home’, but have since been plagued by construction issues and bills that turned it into a ‘nightmare’
Owners Tom and Katie Webster said the process of building their new home quickly went ‘from a dream to a nightmare’
To make matters worse, the Websters said some of the construction workers were arrested for smoking ‘illegal drugs’ on their property, while another was mysteriously extradited back to Texas to face criminal charges.
It is unclear what illegal drugs were being taken and the partying builders have not been identified.
As the couple fight to complete the home, Tom said they have been left heartbroken, describing the process as going ‘from a dream to a nightmare’.
Katie said she and her husband had dreams of making their newbuild in Fargo their ‘forever home’, but ‘from the day we signed, it was one thing after another, after another, after another.’
Upon close inspection, the home was found to be covered in shoddy construction work, dented and broken finishes, and appliances that were poorly installed.
Outside, parts of the skirting boards were held together by tape, and paving slabs were laid with huge cracks running along them.
The Websters said when the construction company laid the flooring, it was put on backwards, while several walls had to be rebuilt up to three times.
When the home was hit by heavy rainfall, it was found that much of the home’s faulty work resulted in severe flooding that put their construction even further behind.
And a painful reminder of the problems with their home is visible as soon as one arrives there, with footprints embedded in the concrete driveway by careless workers who strutted along it before it was dry.
The property was found to have dozens of blatant faults and issues from the construction, including outdoor skirting held together by tape
Footprints can be seen in the concreted driveway from when workers walked along it before it was dry
Paving slabs were laid with visibly large cracks in them
Other issues included cracked and broken finishings, flooring put on backwards, and shoddily constructed walls that needed to be rebuilt several times
Tom, a veteran, owns his own home inspection business in Fargo, which he said was a blessing as he was able to spot some issues as they arose during the building process.
‘It’s just crazy because I was paying them to watch and supervise their work, but really, I ended up having to watch many times,’ he said.
‘Had we not had that knowledge, we would’ve been in an even worse situation.’
After the couple hired a different inspector to survey the home during construction, Katie said they ‘found 87 different regulations that had to be finished before they could move onto the next part.’
Shockingly, the Websters claim their plans were even further delayed by the behavior of the workers on their property.
They said when framers came to install finished to the exterior of the home, they ‘were arrested on our property for having a party and smoking illegal drugs.’
‘Another was arrested and extradited back to Texas,’ Tom added.
By the time the work moved to their yard, Tom said he was stunned to discover their entire property size had shrunk.
When they signed the property agreement, the land was listed as 41,000 square feet. But when they went to install sprinklers, somehow the property was reduced to 32,000 square feet.
Shockingly, the Websters claim their plans were even further delayed by the construction workers being arrested for ‘smoking illegal drugs’ on their property
Spire Custom Homes allegedly told news media 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 shortfalls from the original agreement to the finished product included the lack of a dual zone heating and cooling system, they said.
Over a year and a half since first closing, the couple say they are facing mounting bills and are left to complete much of the work themselves.
‘The quality of work is what really saddens me because we’ve put our entire life savings into this home, expecting this to be our forever home, and right now, we just don’t believe that’s the case anymore,’ Katie said.
‘We can’t keep putting more money into this.’
As they struggle to finish their home, the Websters say Spire Custom Homes, which is owned by Jeff Shipley, is all-but ignoring their attempts to contact them.
According to Valley News Live, when the outlet called the general manager of Spire, he refused to comment, and only responded: ‘This is not my problem.’
As they ran out of options, the Websters contacted the North Dakota Attorney General’s office and hired an attorney to help them chase down the contractors – adding to their mounting bills.
The only silver lining from the construction nightmare, they say, is that the constant issues have led to a blossoming friendship with their neighbors.
‘We have our neighbors calling us all the time, asking about some situation that’s going on with the building, which is kind of embarrassing,’ Katie said.
‘It’s embarrassing being ‘the corner house with all the problems,’ but it allowed us to meet some really great people!’