Cardel Homes

My home was built by Cardel Home in 1998, found serious water damage on the dry wall, ceiling and floor of the upper, main and lower level this year, 2017. We invited Shaw Construction for inspection, and found out the problems were caused by the poor construction. The "white" paper should be installed under the "black" paper, but it is overlaying the black instead. it is the black paper that keep the water from seeping into the dry wall. With this incorrect install plus eh poorly framed the window, water comes in and created longstanding problems over the years. The lesson learnt from this is that never buy homes built by this company.

The balconies in our complex were not properly waterproofed. All owners have been forced to pay special assessments to redo the balconies. Cardel has refused to take any responsibility for the poor workmanship because the work was subcontracted, obviously with no oversight. If you must buy from this uncaring company, I strongly recommend an independent home inspection before the purchase, with special attention to balconies.

New house was built by Cardel in Quarry Park. Garage was not level properly so there was little puddle left near the garage door. Unfinished basement was not roughed properly. Heat vent in the basement was not installed in the bathroom zone which caused major issue when developing basement and verified by the city inspector. Plumbing did not roughed in properly in the unfinished basement. CArdel inspector was careless. Tankless water heater was installed only 4 years and had problems. Cardel representative did not solve the issue. I will neither buy or build any house built by CArdel again nor recommend any friend to build house by CArdel anymore.

Where to start. We went with CARDEL in Ottawa after reading good reviews. We had read about their past stucco issues but were ensured that these were isolated issues that had since been resolved - APPARENTLY NOT! Having over 25 years experience in construction myself, I told them the stucco flashing was not done correctly. CARDEL kept saying it was "the new way" it's done now. I asked for proof from the manufacturer and it was never supplied. I start seeing stucco repairs being done in my neighbourhood. Fast forward to our 2nd year warranty inspection and they finally ADMIT there are issues. They offer me one time slot to fix SOME if it. I could not attend that day so they decided to cancel ALL stucco repairs! Along with numerous other issues (parging, hardwood, stairs, poor drywall, walls not square, etc.) I regret ever letting these lackies build me a house. I highly recommend you go with anyone else but CARDEL.

My wife and I purchased our new home from Cardel last year and have been in the house for around 4 months now. The entire design and build process was phenomenal. Our designer helped guide us to what ended up being a beautiful finished product and also happened to be right on budget. When it comes to the construction side I was very pleased with the quality of work and the willingness to go above and beyond to ensure things are done to our satisfaction. They finished the house 1 month early (our request due to being out of our old house early) and delivered it to us with only seasonal items remaining (landscaping). I am 100% satisfied with the way things went and would not hesitate in recommending Cardel to friends/family/strangers on the street. When you build a non-custom home it's important to keep your expectations in line with reality. My new home is perfect for my family and was an absolute pleasure to build.

The story of our house begins with walking through the door to pick up the key to our $750000.00 house and finding several men still working, unpainted front door, unpainted garage door, broken window in living room broken cupboard in bathroom upstairs….After a discussion with our lawyer we were informed that the we have no choice but to take possession of the house as is since it is “livable” despite 49 issues identified on the pre-delivery form. This was followed by a 61 points needing to be addressed on the 30-day form. While some of these are expected in any new home, others were very concerning, like the above mentioned broken window in Living room area, broken cupboard in bathroom upstairs. The most concerning, however, not-fire proof drywall behind fireplace discovered after using the fireplace! Most of the points were addressed by Cardel but of course involved having a wall taken apart and build up again around the fireplace. No acknowledgment of the safety concerns with this oversight or inconvenience of the repairs were ever expressed by Cardel representatives. At a one year point few more issues came up leading to an 18 point list on Year-end form. Some of these expected, others very disappointing. The biggest issues included ice buildup in corners of windows in dining room and popping up of tiles in kitchen, hallway and dinette. The tile problem led to a discovery of discrepancy between a membrane under the tiles paid for (ditramat) and actually installed (statamat). After initial attempt at repairing the tiles demonstrated that the work needed to be done is more extensive than anticipated and 2 months of planning the work, Cardel contractors re-used the old tiles, including some with small chips as no new spare tiles were secured before work was started…After another meeting to discuss further steps I was informed that not all the chipped tiles will be exchanged as some are “minor and not readily visible”.
So close to 2 years from the time of getting the keys to my “dream house”, I am still dealing with deficiencies and some attitude.
Is Cardel the right builder for you?

We've been in our home for 4 years and never had any problems with the construction of our home. We had minor issues but they were resolved in a timely and professional manner. Our home didn't need a lot of upgrades because the standard selections were great. We are overall satisfied.

Poor quality and service. Been in home for approximately 4 years and continuous problems since we moved in that Cardel won't take responsibility for -- cracked foundation, 3 separate roof leaks, gas line leak from fireplace, furnace issues - just replaced control board, plumbing issues, windows won't close, door issues, hardwood flooring issues. When brought to VPs attention immediately after warranty period, no response.

That is the best home builder in town. Everything was built as we want it. On time and with a quality. I'll recommend this builder to all my friends that are going to build a house.