Pulte Homes of New England

Faulty design of utility closet that houses hot water on demand system. The unit I own is in a midrise building built in 2010 in [redacted]The utility closet that houses the on demand hot water overflow tank and hot water pipes is located on the balcony of my condo. It also house the ac condenser unit. The closet is equipped with an electric heater which must remain "on" from the fall through the spring. Last winter my pipes froze 3 times which meant the loss of heat and hot water. The reason the pipes freeze is there is no insulation around the ac condenser which is located on the outside wall. You can feel the cold air coming in directly onto the hot water on demand system. The "cheater" heater is placed above the ac condenser meaning the entire bottom half of the closet is without heat. The cold air blows in directly onto the hot water system.The first time it happened I called a local plumber who was able to determine I had no hot water but was unable to help me due to the design of the system. They were unable to tell where the pipes went. They recommended I call the plumber who installed the system for the builder. That plumber, [redacted] came out and had to teat the ceiling apart and unwrap pipes to unfreeze the pipes. They suggested I turn my cheater heater up to high instead of leaving it on medium as instructed to do by Pulte when I bought the unit.Needless to say my electric bill went up significantly.A few weeks later I lost heat and hot water again and had to call [redacted] out again. They determined, with the management company, that the heater was not giving off enough heat. The management company had me hire their electrician who replaced the heater with a "blower" heater. My electric bill tripled after this.A few weeks after that I again had no hot water or heat. Needless to say, it was not the heater. [redacted] came out again and this time the technician pointed out that he could feel the cold air coming in around the ac condenser. I was shocked to feel the constant flow of cold air streaming in. The technician wrapped some kind of tape around the condenser to help insulate it.This design is sufficient for warmer climates but not for New England. I have no idea what to expect this winter.I have missed 3 days of work and have spent close to $1000 to date. I have not yet had the closet repaired. That will likely be another [redacted]Desired SettlementI would like Pulte to repair my utility closet, reposition the heater in the closet for maximum distribution of heat and insulate the closet to be able to withstand a New England winter.Additionally, I would like reimbursement from Pulte on the money I have spent to date.Business Response Regarding case #XXXXXX, The home in question closed on [redacted] 2011. The Pulte Homes Home Warranty covers missing insulation for a period of one year and frozen pipes for 2 years. Regardless of the warranty expiration date by almost 1.5 to 2.5 years no complaint whatsoever was ever recieved by Pulte Homes at the time of the alleged incident. This complaint to the Revdex.com is the first Pulte has recived. Due to the action of others regarding the temperature settings and removal or addition of any insulation outside the control of Pulte Homes any waranty coverage is expired and no further action will be taken by Pulte Homes.

Faulty design of utility closet that houses hot water on demand system. The unit I own is in a midrise building built in 2010 in [redacted]The utility closet that houses the on demand hot water overflow tank and hot water pipes is located on the balcony of my condo. It also house the ac condenser unit. The closet is equipped with an electric heater which must remain "on" from the fall through the spring. Last winter my pipes froze 3 times which meant the loss of heat and hot water. The reason the pipes freeze is there is no insulation around the ac condenser which is located on the outside wall. You can feel the cold air coming in directly onto the hot water on demand system. The "cheater" heater is placed above the ac condenser meaning the entire bottom half of the closet is without heat. The cold air blows in directly onto the hot water system.The first time it happened I called a local plumber who was able to determine I had no hot water but was unable to help me due to the design of the system. They were unable to tell where the pipes went. They recommended I call the plumber who installed the system for the builder. That plumber, [redacted] came out and had to teat the ceiling apart and unwrap pipes to unfreeze the pipes. They suggested I turn my cheater heater up to high instead of leaving it on medium as instructed to do by Pulte when I bought the unit.Needless to say my electric bill went up significantly.A few weeks later I lost heat and hot water again and had to call [redacted] out again. They determined, with the management company, that the heater was not giving off enough heat. The management company had me hire their electrician who replaced the heater with a "blower" heater. My electric bill tripled after this.A few weeks after that I again had no hot water or heat. Needless to say, it was not the heater. [redacted] came out again and this time the technician pointed out that he could feel the cold air coming in around the ac condenser. I was shocked to feel the constant flow of cold air streaming in. The technician wrapped some kind of tape around the condenser to help insulate it.This design is sufficient for warmer climates but not for New England. I have no idea what to expect this winter.I have missed 3 days of work and have spent close to $1000 to date. I have not yet had the closet repaired. That will likely be another [redacted]Desired SettlementI would like Pulte to repair my utility closet, reposition the heater in the closet for maximum distribution of heat and insulate the closet to be able to withstand a New England winter.Additionally, I would like reimbursement from Pulte on the money I have spent to date.Business Response Regarding case #XXXXXX, The home in question closed on [redacted] 2011. The Pulte Homes Home Warranty covers missing insulation for a period of one year and frozen pipes for 2 years. Regardless of the warranty expiration date by almost 1.5 to 2.5 years no complaint whatsoever was ever recieved by Pulte Homes at the time of the alleged incident. This complaint to the Revdex.com is the first Pulte has recived. Due to the action of others regarding the temperature settings and removal or addition of any insulation outside the control of Pulte Homes any waranty coverage is expired and no further action will be taken by Pulte Homes.