Wellcore Corporation

Dear Private User,
Thank you for your feedback even though at first we thought its posted by mistake, as in past eight years our service department does not have any records of the such issues, on any of our projects. Also you mentioned that you purchased a Wellcore home, but we are not the real estate developer. We build home additions and custom homes for the homeowners.
So, it took us a bit of time to investigate what project you are referring to, I believe we finally figure this out and we did an extensive review of all records, contracts of the contractors who worked there, receipts and my emails with the original homeowners of the property back to the time of the project was build, and I believe your review is not entirely objective.
1. It was not a brand-new custom home, but a second-floor addition with interior renovation of the existing house. There are many ways (within Ontario Building Code (OBC) rules, of course) to connect new and old structures, some of them are expensive with obviously less issues, and some of them are easier on the budget, but they come with potential additional works in a future. We explain both paths to the homeowners, but the final decision is up to them. Homeowners’ decisions determine the whole construction process, our role is to explain the pros, cons and the cost of every option.
2. In your review, its not accurate information that project value was around 1.4 million dollars, in fact our budget did not exceed $300 k total. In fact, we only brought the project to the rough-in stages (Electrical, HVAC, Plumbing). We successfully passed all ongoing inspections up to rough-in`s and handled the site to the homeowners to complete the rest. Therefore, we can confidently say that all plumbing, electrical and HVAC rough-ins were installed properly and according to the OBC. You can request the rough-ins inspection records from the City archives to validate that.
3. As we mentioned, we did not manage the site after the rough-ins inspection. Also, the final inspection was passed in fall of 2014 and correct me if I am wrong, you purchased the house in summer of 2015. If any alterations were made in that period, we are not aware of them and we are not responsible for them.
Please allow me elaborate a bit further on the issues you experience with your property:

PLUMBING – We used standard PEX-pipes which rarely explode inside the walls. Our plumber is licensed, highly skilled, with decades of experience, as all our trades. Plumbing inspection, including the rough-ins and the water test, was successfully passed. So, it s very important to find our where leaks were exactly? If it occurred some where outside of the walls then most likely its from the plumbing fixtures, the cause is the faulty or improperly installed faucets or toilets, which were purchased by the homeowner directly and installed by other trade. I am not insisting that’s what happened but it require more information on this topic to be able to determent what is the problem.
As for water distribution, the homeowner opted out of upgrading the main water pipe to 1’’. The upgrade (usually value of 5-6K) is recommended for all new houses with 3+washrooms, but not mandatory. The homeowner was advised of potential problems with water pressure but decided to leave the existing water service. I am not sure if the upgrade happened later, you could request the city records to double check that.

ROOF – Our records show that it was a standard roof with regular soffits. I am puzzled how it could cause water buildup and resulted in flooding unless anything was modified without our knowledge.
The compliance of the exterior insulation with OBC standards can be validated through the insulation inspection.
The windows were selected by the homeowner upon comparing several quotes and deciding to proceed with the most budget-friendly option. As I mentioned before, our construction budget lies strictly within homeowners’ choices, and we cannot make any upgrade on our own.
HVAC – As a lot of things in construction, there are minimal hardware requirements and a lot of room for upgrades. Our records show that the selected AC unit was on the lower model end, but it met the specifications from the HVAC permit. It is possible that it could not handle the peak loads, but the homeowners were offered a better unit which they declined.
VENTILATION – Same issue as with the ducts through out the house. Our HVAC contractor is licensed, highly skilled, with decades of experience, as all our trades. HVAC inspection was also successfully passed means there were no unconnected pipes… why it was disconnected need further investigation.
ELECTRICAL – Electrical inspection stands apart of plumbing and HVAC ones because it has the strictest requirements. It is done by the Electrical Safety Authority and no electrician would risk his licence by leaving live wires in the walls.
As for the wiring scheme, it is always discussed with the homeowners which switches should control what. The final payment to the electrician is not released before the homeowners confirm that everything was done to their liking. Again, if there were some modifications done after Wellcore left the site, we are not aware of them.
FOUNDATION – The hidden room in the basement is a so called “crawled space”. It is outlined in the permit drawings, and it is the easiest and more affordable solution to provide foundation for future addition. We advised the homeowners that with time, the existing foundation will settle under the load of the second floor and some minor repairs will be required. Unfortunately that’s inevitable.
COLD ROOM – Cold room was a part of the existing structure and was left as is as per homeowners’ request. Ontario building rules allow it. We were aware of the cold room not meeting the modern OBC standards, but to bring it up to the OBC was not part of the construction budget.
FRONT MAIN STAIRS – Homeowners requested to level the existing porch steps with the entrance. This was done. They opted out of constructing the new porch.
FRONT ENTRANCE – As we mentioned earlier, there are minimal requirements to the construction materials and a lot of upgrades are available for the additional cost. The multipoint mechanism is highly recommended for the 8’ tall fiberglass doors, but it come with additional 1K charge. This upgrade was declined by the homeowners.
FRONT HOUSE FACADE – The stone veneer was installed after we left the site. We, unfortunately, do not have the contacts of the installer as he was hired by the homeowner, to address your concern.
GLASS SHOWER ENCLOSURE - The doors were installed after we left the site. We, unfortunately, do not have the contacts of the installer as he was hired by the homeowner, to address your concern.
WIRING – Ethernet and TV cable wires are part of the extra options, available to the homeowners. Should the customer decide not to proceed with them, our electrician has no power to run them.
DECK – We passed the inspection confirming that the deck footings were done in accordance with the OBC and the permit drawings. So I am very puzzled what happened to deck? was it sinking?
In conclusion, we are sorry that the purchase of the fully renovated house did not meet your expectations and incurred additional financial burden on you. We also understand that our name (due to us being in the industry for over a decade) was probably the easiest one to obtain as we were the largest contractor on the project. It is also easy to find us on the professional construction sites through our extensive online presence.
However, we were swept away by the fact that Wellcore was suddenly pinpointed for all the problems eight years later, without knowing our role and areas of responsibilities on the project and without any service requests from you in between. Quality of our workmanship was always priority and never was questions by any of our customers. We are confident that if you hired us directly and let us complete the whole project and be the single point of responsibility, you would say the same.
Should you require our assistance to pull the inspection records or building permits to validate our response, please feel free to contact me personally at alex@wellcorecorporation.ca

Sincerely,
Alex