WEST JORDAN — The houses on Tupelo Lane in West Jordan look new and sleek, like those in most 3-year-old subdivisions on the outskirts of town.
But residents here say their Richmond American Homes development at The Maples has problems that run deep beneath the surface of their freshly painted walls — straight down to their foundations.
Four houses sank — including the model home, which sank twice — within two years of their completion in 2004. The homes have been repaired by Richmond with expensive helical pier systems, but lingering foundation problems, crumbling concrete driveways and unfinished roads have infuriated residents and prompted the neighborhood homeowners association (HOA) to consider a lawsuit.
"We can't have this happening in the neighborhood," said HOA president Paul Sheppick. "There are homes for sale and they can't sell them. Even before the market started to level out, people would come in and see the homes being dug up and jacked up and say, 'What's going on?' and it slowed things down.... It's our job as a board to make sure we hold our property values the best we can by keeping the community nice and free of problems like this."
The HOA hired a consultant to examine the foundations of 104 homes in the neighborhood, but the majority of the neighborhood's problems stem from Richmond's reticence to repair crumbling concrete and finish their road.
Without a final grade on the road, manhole covers rise several inches above the pavement, and in Sheppick's shared driveway, a gaping hole has snared more than one vehicle. Sheppick says the association has been asking Richmond to repair the hole for months, but the development company has been unresponsive.
"We don't know what that says about our neighborhood and the longevity of (Richmond) taking care of our problems," Sheppick said. "They don't return calls, they don't deal with problems when they arise and we think it's a big enough issue that we want people to be taken care of."
Sheppick says the consultants may be witnesses against Richmond if the association files a lawsuit against the company.
Richmond American Homes declined to comment on the homeowners' complaints, and did not elaborate on how the issues are being resolved, but a spokesperson for the company said, "our representatives have been working directly to address the matter."
According to West Jordan building and safety inspector Bill Bailey, the homes could have settled because they were built on bad pockets of soil that were overlooked during the required geotechnical testing. Some settling with new construction is normal, but excessive sinking requires elaborate repair, Bailey said.
West Jordan's Fire Station No. 55, which is located a half-mile from The Maples neighborhood on 7800 South and about 6700 West, started sinking in 2004. Although the fire station is in the general proximity of the neighborhood, Bailey called the common foundation problem a fluke.
The fire station was reinforced with helical piers and has not had additional problems.
"If I was looking at a home and I found out it had helical piers under it, I would have every confidence in it," Bailey said. "It's probably less likely to settle than the home I live in."
Still, as cracks begin to form and doors start to mysteriously creak open — the telltale signs of a sinking foundation — some residents are worried that they might soon have to spend months in a hotel while the floorboards of their living room are torn out. The homes don't have basements, so a pit for the piers is dug right beneath the first floor, making the house uninhabitable for a time.
"It's frustrating and a little nerve-wracking," said Ellis Christensen, a retired homeowner whose doors started swinging open about a year ago. "We just hold our breath and say a little prayer."
E-mail: achoate@desnews.com