PRESCOTT, AZ — A new home was meant to usher in a peaceful retirement for Martin and Pam Husereau. After falling in love with the community and the beautiful views in Prescott, they bought a new home in a Dorn Homes community.
Martin says, however, that just months after moving in, they were facing a mess.
"After one big major rain and windstorm, I came outside my front yard and I started seeing patches of gray," Martin recalled, explaining the gray patches were parts of stucco that peeled off his home and now littered the ground.
"The whole entire side of the house started peeling off," Martin said.
Martin says when he and his wife notified Dorn Homes, they were told to enter the issue in the company's online portal. Martin says after months, his home's stucco was still peeling off, so he reached out for help from ABC15.
The Husereau's home isn't the only home in the community facing this problem. Driving through the neighborhood, ABC15 saw several houses that seemed to have issues with their stucco.
The Let Joe Know team asked Dorn Homes about the stucco: What's causing it to peel off homes? How many Dorn Homes have reported stucco peeling? What's being done to address the homes with the peeling stucco? What's being done to ensure new homes being built don't face the same issue?
A spokesperson with Dorn Homes responded in an email, although some questions weren't answered:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond. We certainly empathize with Mr. Husereau, and other affected homeowners, for the aesthetic impact of the delamination of the finishing coat of the stucco.
We have been in continuing contact with Mr. Husereau regarding the repair timing.
The repairs are scheduled to begin the week of July 10th, weather permitting, and will be completed as soon as the process allows. There will be no charge to Mr. Husereau and there is no structural damage to the home.
This is a limited issue and has been investigated thoroughly by Dorn and the responsible parties.
By late July, Martin says they'd received at least one coating of stucco. In August, the stucco was completed.
But now, Martin worries about the potential for other workmanship issues down the line.
"I don't want to be coming out in a couple of years or a big storm and seeing that up there going or either other side of my house starting to peel away. You don't get a good feeling," he said.
Martin filed a complaint with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors to address issues with his new home build and he's not alone.
According to ROC, 18 complaints were filed against Dorn Homes' license from January to July of this year. Those complaints were for abandonment or poor workmanship. The 18 complaints in the first half of 2023 doubles all of the complaints against the company in 2022.
If you have workmanship issues or just have a question about a contractor, don't wait to reach out.
You can file a complaint on the ROC's website anytime.
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