Customer Service

Customer Service at 3ES

Our customer service process starts at the engagement process where-in our staff helps you select among different options for your new home including kitchen cabinets, floors, roof, counter-tops, wall colors, and appliances. Our staff will also contact you at key times during the construction process for on-site inspection to ensure that your selections are installed by our tradespeople and partners as per your satisfaction.

3ES site supervisors are responsible for delivering our homes with the least number of imperfections possible. When time permits, our customer service staff will go through the home a couple of days in advance of your Pre-Delivery Inspection to find any items that need to be addressed.

BEFORE YOU TAKE POSSESSION

Each new 3ES Home owner is provided with a new homeowner information package. This package includes home warranty information from Tarion Warranty Corporation, which explains homeowner rights and responsibilities under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act.

Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI)

Before you take possession of your new home, we conduct a pre-delivery inspection, or PDI. Our site supervisor will guide you through a comprehensive inspection and can demonstrate how to operate the home's systems such as the ventilation, plumbing and heating.

Any item that is damaged, incomplete, missing or not operating properly should be noted on the builder's PDI Form to verify that these conditions existed prior to occupancy. If something has not been installed or completed, this should be noted as well. When the inspection is over, you will be asked to sign the PDI Form.

You may wish to print a copy of the Tarion PDI Checklist or the brochure Getting Ready for the Pre-Delivery Inspection to help guide you through the process.

There is a set of procedures and documents provided by Tarion to help record and correct warranted deficiencies.

Please use this page as a reference in understanding your role in the warranty process. Links are provided throughout this page directing you to supplemental information on the Tarion website.

Get started by watching Tarion's video library, where you can learn about the details of your new home warranty.

WHAT DOES A NEW HOME WARRANTY COVER?

New home owners benefit from One Year Warranty Protection and Two Year Warranty Protection against defects in work and materials, and Seven Year Warranty Protection against major structural defects.

Warranty coverage begins on the date of possession of a home, and remains in effect until the end of the warranty period, even if the home is sold before the warranty expires.

30 Day Service

The PDI provides an opportunity to record your home's condition before you move in. Any issues should be noted on a PDI Form. The PDI Form does not represent a request for warranty service, so if you fail to note an item it does not necessarily impact your warranty coverage. However, if the problem concerns a damaged or missing item, it may be difficult to establish that this condition existed before you moved in if it is not noted on the PDI Form.

Any items that are not corrected by the time you move in should be listed on the 30 Day Tarion Form. The 30 Day and Year End form represent a request for warranty service and listed items that are covered under warranty must be addressed by your builder within a specific time frame.

We ask that any items you notice after the 30 day service check point, with the exception of emergency items, be noted and included as part of your year end service request.

ONE, TWO AND SEVEN YEAR WARRANTIES

In addition to deposit protection and delayed closing compensation, homeowners may be entitled to the following:

One Year Warranty

  • Requires the home is constructed in a workman-like manner and free from defects in material.
  • Protects against unauthorized substitutions.
  • Requires the home to be fit for habitation.
  • Protects against Ontario Building Code violations.
  • Applies for one year, beginning on the home's date of possession even if the home is sold.

Two Year Warranty

  • Protects against water penetration through the basement or foundation walls.
  • Protects against defects in materials that affect windows, doors and caulking and defects in work that results in water penetration into the building envelope.
  • Covers defects in work or materials in the electrical, plumbing and heating delivery and distribution systems.
  • Covers defects in work or materials that result in the detachment, displacement or deterioration of exterior cladding (such as brickwork, aluminum or vinyl siding).
  • Protects against violations of the Ontario Building Code that affect health and safety.
  • Applies for two years, beginning on the home's date of possession.

Seven Year Warranty

Your home's seven year warranty covers major structural defects and begins on the date you take possession of the home and ends on the day before the seventh anniversary of that date.

A major structural defect is defined in the The Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act as:

Any defect in work or materials in respect of a building, including a crack, distortion or displacement of a structural load-bearing element of the building, if it,

  • results in failure of a structural load-bearing element of the building,
  • materially and adversely affects the ability of a structural load-bearing element of the building to carry, bear and resist applicable structural loads for the usual and ordinary service life of the element, or
  • materially and adversely affects the use of a significant portion of the building for usual and ordinary purposes of a residential dwelling and having regard to any specific use provisions set out in the purchase agreement for the home

The seven year warranty includes significant damage due to soil movement*, major cracks in basement walls, collapse or serious distortion of joints or roof structure and chemical failure of materials.

In addition to the general exclusions, the seven year warranty specifically excludes: dampness not arising from failure of a load-bearing portion of the building; damage to drains or services; and damage to finishes.

Limitations and Exclusions

Please contact our customer service department and also check Tarion's Construction Performance Guidelines at https://www.tarion.com/resources/construction-performance- guidelines if you are in doubt about whether an item is covered under warranty.

Correspondence

Prior to contacting Tarion, please contact our customer service department for any issues with your home. To ensure accuracy, please include your name, lot number, street, address, telephone and email when submitting your service form.

Please email your form to [email protected], or call +1226 899 3264 or mail to head office.

3ES Builders Inc.
Beechmount Plaza
5-420 Erb St W, Suite 432
Waterloo
ON N2L 6K6
Our Customer Service Department is available Monday to Friday from 08:30 am to 5:00 pm.

WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY?

Certain severe conditions constitute an emergency situation. An emergency is defined as any warrantable deficiency within the control of the builder that, if not attended to immediately, would likely result in imminent and substantial damage to the home, or would likely represent an imminent and substantial risk to the health and safety of its occupants.
Examples of emergency situations include:

  • Total loss of heat between September 15 and May 15*
  • Gas leak*
  • Total loss of electricity*
  • Total loss of water supply*
  • Total sewage stoppage*
  • Plumbing leakage that requires complete water shut-off
  • Major collapse of any part of the home's exterior or interior structure
  • Major water penetration on the interior walls or ceiling
  • A large pool of standing water inside the home
  • Any situation where the home is considered uninhabitable for health or safety reasons
  • *Emergency situations due to the failure of a municipality or utility to provide the service are not within the builder's control.

EMERGENCY SERVICE AND AFTER REGULAR HOURS SERVICE

Please email at [email protected] or call at (226) 899-3264 to report the emergency or after hours service request.