We looked a Tilson a few years back and found a house plan we liked. The extras ( which wasn't much) began to add up so we cked with a local builder using a very similar plan and their extras were basic. After it was complete we increased footage and extras and still saved.
Tell me about Tilson homes?
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Last: 3 yr ago by SpecificAG78
quote:
You generally get what you pay for.
Biggest BS quote ever. You generally get what you research, negotiate, and manage.
quote:
We looked a Tilson a few years back and found a house plan we liked. The extras ( which wasn't much) began to add up so we cked with a local builder using a very similar plan and their extras were basic. After it was complete we increased footage and extras and still saved.
This is almost exactly like our experience. We found a house plan through Tilson that we really liked and met with them several times but once we got down to it, the extras/upgrades we wanted became very expensive. We took the basic house plan and made some changes we wanted and went with a local builder to get a custom home that we really wanted with a lot of extras that they did and ended up paying almost the same as we would have on a more basic Tilson.
OUR TILSON EXPERIENCE
On 2 December 2015, the last three replacement doors for our pantry were delivered and installed.
The slab for our house was poured on 19 December 2013, so final completion occurred just 17 days short of two years.
Our experience with Tilson has been a great disappointment. We do not believe they are qualified to be a Custom Home builder.
Beginning with the designers that failed to specify a suitable door and frame for a cinderblock Hurricane Room; failed to specify an offset threshold for the transition from the hall to the recessed floor in the Utility Room; failed to specify a suitable curved shower curtain rod for a 76" opening and designed the guest bathroom so that the specified 36" wide door wouldn't fit. These items were left up to the Supervisor to locate and they simply were not available at local suppliers. I finally had to send the Supervisor a link for the offset threshold.
Tilson would not provide us the Corian countertops we wanted; their color selections for their substitute, Silestone, were very limited as were the selections of backsplash tile and vinyl flooring making it extremely difficult to achieve suitable color matches. Tilson failed to order our first vinyl flooring selection for a year and it was discontinued by that time. Now we had a back splash tile already installed and no really suitable complimentary color flooring. During the six months they resisted replacing the first, botched flooring installation, we were told that they "didn't do much vinyl anymore" and tried several times to get us to select another type of flooring.
Overall we believe the house is generally sound. The sprayed-foam insulation works extremely well. The exterior masonry is excellent. The electrical and plumbing installations appear to be good. The slab, providing the existing cracks do not get worse, is acceptable. Only the housing industry tries to defend the practice of wrecking the forms off of concrete standing over three feet above grade on the same day as the pour.
The framing, from the ceiling up, appears to be well designed and executed. From the ceiling down, it's another story.
After almost two years and $115/SF we have crooked walls, a crooked window sill and a gently undulating floor under the second vinyl flooring installation. The interior trim quality is decidedly second rate, due in large part to the indifference of the subcontractor and a lack of adequate supervision and oversight by Tilson. The painting was done in obvious haste and carelessness. Neither the trim nor the painting is up to Custom Home standards in our opinion.
Around 9 March 2015, after nearly 15 months of construction, Tilson fired the first Supervisor. No explanation or apology was offered; only a casual reference to the fact that 400 days of construction (446 by my count) was "not typical". This observation was accompanied by the unrealistic suggestion that the house could be completed by the end of March. No explanation was given as to why Tilson did not react sooner to the Supervisor's failure to complete our house in an acceptable time frame.
At the least, we expected Tilson to make up for their inexcusable lapse with an extra effort to get our house finished as soon as possible.
That did not happen. They took over eight more months to finish.
We were assigned a newly hired Supervisor who quit inside of two months, on 24 April 2015. The third Supervisor had 18 years experience with Tilson and said he would be the one to get the job finished. He almost made it. He quit Tilson on 18 November 2015, with only three or so items left to be completed. I never met the fourth Supervisor.
To make matters more aggravating, Tilson started two houses in our general vicinity well after ours and finished both well before ours. Why wasn't this manpower used to finish our house? Where was the managerial oversight on their supervisors?
The cabinets arrived with misapplied finish to several doors, various chips, dents, gouges and crude repairs to the exterior. Either during shipment or installation, at least six doors were cracked or broken. While they appeared sound structurally, the finish and appearance was, to us, "cheesy" and not up to Custom Home standards. Replacement doors arrived with the wrong panels, incomplete hinge installation and a bowed frame. For this we paid extra.
Our Utility Room floor was supposed to be smooth, troweled concrete. Neither the Supervisor nor the foundation contractor noticed this and as a result our garage floor is smoother than our Utility Room floor. The painters were unaware also and, apparently unfamiliar with ground cloths, proceeded to spray and splash paint on the floor. When I asked the second Supervisor how he planned to clean up the paint, he suggested it shouldn't be too hard as it was water based paint. The third Supervisor graciously volunteered to have the floor epoxy painted.
If you are looking for a true Custom Home Builder with quality subcontractors and suppliers we would suggest you look elsewhere.
Email FLHP98@yahoo.com for images of our construction experience.
On 2 December 2015, the last three replacement doors for our pantry were delivered and installed.
The slab for our house was poured on 19 December 2013, so final completion occurred just 17 days short of two years.
Our experience with Tilson has been a great disappointment. We do not believe they are qualified to be a Custom Home builder.
Beginning with the designers that failed to specify a suitable door and frame for a cinderblock Hurricane Room; failed to specify an offset threshold for the transition from the hall to the recessed floor in the Utility Room; failed to specify a suitable curved shower curtain rod for a 76" opening and designed the guest bathroom so that the specified 36" wide door wouldn't fit. These items were left up to the Supervisor to locate and they simply were not available at local suppliers. I finally had to send the Supervisor a link for the offset threshold.
Tilson would not provide us the Corian countertops we wanted; their color selections for their substitute, Silestone, were very limited as were the selections of backsplash tile and vinyl flooring making it extremely difficult to achieve suitable color matches. Tilson failed to order our first vinyl flooring selection for a year and it was discontinued by that time. Now we had a back splash tile already installed and no really suitable complimentary color flooring. During the six months they resisted replacing the first, botched flooring installation, we were told that they "didn't do much vinyl anymore" and tried several times to get us to select another type of flooring.
Overall we believe the house is generally sound. The sprayed-foam insulation works extremely well. The exterior masonry is excellent. The electrical and plumbing installations appear to be good. The slab, providing the existing cracks do not get worse, is acceptable. Only the housing industry tries to defend the practice of wrecking the forms off of concrete standing over three feet above grade on the same day as the pour.
The framing, from the ceiling up, appears to be well designed and executed. From the ceiling down, it's another story.
After almost two years and $115/SF we have crooked walls, a crooked window sill and a gently undulating floor under the second vinyl flooring installation. The interior trim quality is decidedly second rate, due in large part to the indifference of the subcontractor and a lack of adequate supervision and oversight by Tilson. The painting was done in obvious haste and carelessness. Neither the trim nor the painting is up to Custom Home standards in our opinion.
Around 9 March 2015, after nearly 15 months of construction, Tilson fired the first Supervisor. No explanation or apology was offered; only a casual reference to the fact that 400 days of construction (446 by my count) was "not typical". This observation was accompanied by the unrealistic suggestion that the house could be completed by the end of March. No explanation was given as to why Tilson did not react sooner to the Supervisor's failure to complete our house in an acceptable time frame.
At the least, we expected Tilson to make up for their inexcusable lapse with an extra effort to get our house finished as soon as possible.
That did not happen. They took over eight more months to finish.
We were assigned a newly hired Supervisor who quit inside of two months, on 24 April 2015. The third Supervisor had 18 years experience with Tilson and said he would be the one to get the job finished. He almost made it. He quit Tilson on 18 November 2015, with only three or so items left to be completed. I never met the fourth Supervisor.
To make matters more aggravating, Tilson started two houses in our general vicinity well after ours and finished both well before ours. Why wasn't this manpower used to finish our house? Where was the managerial oversight on their supervisors?
The cabinets arrived with misapplied finish to several doors, various chips, dents, gouges and crude repairs to the exterior. Either during shipment or installation, at least six doors were cracked or broken. While they appeared sound structurally, the finish and appearance was, to us, "cheesy" and not up to Custom Home standards. Replacement doors arrived with the wrong panels, incomplete hinge installation and a bowed frame. For this we paid extra.
Our Utility Room floor was supposed to be smooth, troweled concrete. Neither the Supervisor nor the foundation contractor noticed this and as a result our garage floor is smoother than our Utility Room floor. The painters were unaware also and, apparently unfamiliar with ground cloths, proceeded to spray and splash paint on the floor. When I asked the second Supervisor how he planned to clean up the paint, he suggested it shouldn't be too hard as it was water based paint. The third Supervisor graciously volunteered to have the floor epoxy painted.
If you are looking for a true Custom Home Builder with quality subcontractors and suppliers we would suggest you look elsewhere.
Email FLHP98@yahoo.com for images of our construction experience.
quote:
Every builder in existence has folks that hate them and folks that love them.
I know one home builder and remodeler who everyone hates. He does not have a single fan.
He's also fled the state because of warrants for his arrest.
Wow... Forgot about this tread. Interesting to say the least, but not an uncommon theme from my experiences.
quote:quote:
Every builder in existence has folks that hate them and folks that love them.
I know one home builder and remodeler who everyone hates. He does not have a single fan.
He's also fled the state because of warrants for his arrest.
You are correct.
Sometimes you do have low down, sorry, no good, son of a *****, big bag of thieving sh** that deserves to be shot in the street as an example.
I'm only half kidding.
quote:"MFBarnes, the busiest man in Homebuilding."quote:
Every builder in existence has folks that hate them and folks that love them.
I know one home builder and remodeler who everyone hates. He does not have a single fan.
He's also fled the state because of warrants for his arrest.
ursusguy
Joined:
Jan 25, 2006
Posts:
26,311
How long do you want to ignore this user?
quote:This one built homes and offices and renovated homes.quote:quote:
Every builder in existence has folks that hate them and folks that love them.
I know one home builder and remodeler who everyone hates. He does not have a single fan.
He's also fled the state because of warrants for his arrest.
You are correct.
Sometimes you do have low down, sorry, no good, son of a *****, big bag of thieving sh** that deserves to be shot in the street as an example.
I'm only half kidding.
His most common pitfall seems to be electrical. In nearly every case that I know of, his projects had serious electrical problems. On two of them, the homeowners called in legitimate electricians to fix the problem only to be told in both cases by different electricians that the only way they would proceed would be to remove all the current electrical work because it was done so bad and redo it from scratch.
In one house that he renovated, the house had to be bulldozed because of very serious unrepairable black mold problems brought about because his shoddy work.
I got a really good look at some of the things in a commercial building he put in. There is a shower (so the employees can clean up after being out working on equipment), but he ran the drain straight to the sewer without a trap. It stunk up everything. They ended up having to break out the floor to install a trap.
There's no vents in the attic and it gets hot up there in the summer. He decided that all of the networking gear would go in the attic. Naturally, the tenant objected to the crazy plan, but by then it was too late to do much. The networking gear is now in the restroom.
They wanted some telephone and electrical plugs in the center of the offices. They got the plugs but with plastic wall plates instead of something designed for the floor.
I was in there a few times before they hung sheetrock. There is no conduit for the electrical wiring at all. I knew the "electrician" on the job and asked him why there was no conduit. He said that it wasn't necessary. Since then someone who knows the "electrician" said that the guy is really good at embellishing his experience and qualifications.
What I don't understand is why the owners of the building and the tenant of the building were not over there daily making sure it was being built correctly. I told the tenant that if it were me, I would refuse to move in there but the tenant had to be out of their current office space within a few days and had no other choice.
quote:MFBarnes can't be as bad as this one was.quote:"MFBarnes, the busiest man in Homebuilding."quote:
Every builder in existence has folks that hate them and folks that love them.
I know one home builder and remodeler who everyone hates. He does not have a single fan.
He's also fled the state because of warrants for his arrest.
Jesus... This thread makes me vomit in my mouth. We are close to signing papers with Tilson to build a Frio on our land (80 acres). These stories are my biggest fear.
Well Tilson builds nearly 1,000 homes a year and has been doing it for a long time. The most vocal critic on this thread has posted exactly twice(both on this thread) which leads me to believe that there is an ax to grind there. I don't think Tilson is perfect but they have many more happy homeowners than upset ones.
You will be ok. Be involved, ask questions, and have fun.
As I tell my clients, building a home is like making sausage; sometimes it's an ugly process, but in the end it sure is great.
As I tell my clients, building a home is like making sausage; sometimes it's an ugly process, but in the end it sure is great.
do you work for Tilson?
Nope. Worked for a production builder and now build customs.
Can't say I've seen it all, but I've seen enough to know not everybody will love me or think I'm the greatest. No builder will ever have 100% satisfaction from customers, and Tilson is a large home builder. They are going to have horror stories due to nothing else but the volume they produce.
Think of buying a car. Even the best car builder like GM are going to have failures because of the number of cars they produce. Now take out the robots and put human hands in there. Can you imagine the recalls on the cars if that happens?
Humans are flawed and when you have 200 people working on one structure you are going to have flaws in a house.
Like I said, be proactive with anything you see and have fun. As long as you go in with the right mindset you will be great.
Can't say I've seen it all, but I've seen enough to know not everybody will love me or think I'm the greatest. No builder will ever have 100% satisfaction from customers, and Tilson is a large home builder. They are going to have horror stories due to nothing else but the volume they produce.
Think of buying a car. Even the best car builder like GM are going to have failures because of the number of cars they produce. Now take out the robots and put human hands in there. Can you imagine the recalls on the cars if that happens?
Humans are flawed and when you have 200 people working on one structure you are going to have flaws in a house.
Like I said, be proactive with anything you see and have fun. As long as you go in with the right mindset you will be great.
rilloaggie,
My Third Post.
I posted here originally because this forum was about home builders and home building in general and Tilson had already been mentioned. I felt our experience with Tilson might help others make a decision regarding a home builder. We chose Tilson because of the positive experience of two close friends. We felt at the time that we were making a good choice.
We expected the quality of the finished house to be a function of corporate standards, not the variable standards and ability of the individual Builder Tilson assigned to supervise the job and his crews.
As for having an ax to grind, I cannot imagine anyone else in my position not being upset with Tilson for their handling of this project.
My second post, OUR TILSON EXPERIENCE, was emailed directly to the CEO and COO of Tilson with images that I was unable to post here or on the Houston BBB website. The images say a great deal about what we experienced and will probably make a stronger case for my opinion of Tilson than I can in writing, thus the email address for anyone interested in seeing them.
Regards,
MaxTorque
Class of '69
Retired Alive
My Third Post.
I posted here originally because this forum was about home builders and home building in general and Tilson had already been mentioned. I felt our experience with Tilson might help others make a decision regarding a home builder. We chose Tilson because of the positive experience of two close friends. We felt at the time that we were making a good choice.
We expected the quality of the finished house to be a function of corporate standards, not the variable standards and ability of the individual Builder Tilson assigned to supervise the job and his crews.
As for having an ax to grind, I cannot imagine anyone else in my position not being upset with Tilson for their handling of this project.
My second post, OUR TILSON EXPERIENCE, was emailed directly to the CEO and COO of Tilson with images that I was unable to post here or on the Houston BBB website. The images say a great deal about what we experienced and will probably make a stronger case for my opinion of Tilson than I can in writing, thus the email address for anyone interested in seeing them.
Regards,
MaxTorque
Class of '69
Retired Alive
quote:
I am a custom builder in the Hill Country so I would prefer you use me. However since I am not in your area I will let you know I am friends with one of the owners of Tilson who is involved with day to day operations. Fido is wrong in that they do not sub the project to a local builder. They have superintendents and sub contractors that travel the state to build there jobs. Every builder of course will have issues but please know they are a great family owned company and yes, they are good Ags. Good luck.
Where are you located?
Have an acre in Hutto, TX. Met with Tilson in Georgetown today. The soil in the Lookout at Brushy Creek has been known to be questionable. I'm really hoping that if we choose this builder, that the soil is tested thoroughly. For a 2350 sq. ft. home, our cost is already up to $317 and does not include the spray foam insulation, water softener plumbing, sprinkler system, alarm, septic .. and gosh knows what else. This seems STEEP considering I live in a Lennar home in Round Rock that's 1900 sq. ft, with all upgrades (wired for solar, water softener, sprinkler system, schlage locks, corner lot, crown molding, max upgrades on carpet, stainless appliances (washer and dryer were included!), crown molding, granite, 4 bedroom/2 bath THREE car garage) all for $165K (brand new in 2011). Plus a fence - that we didn't include in this cost). Makes me wonder what's really involved in the cost of materials in building. And this house is extremely energy efficient (no utility bill has been over $165) in four years. Is there not ANY ROOM for negotiation on their price??? This is insane! And I might add, that my house is appraised at $230k so I already have almost $100K in equity in four years so I'm happy. But... what the heck are they profiting? Oh.. and I didn't include a mailbox.... crap!
I can see how Lennar would be able to cheap out on a lot of what you mentioned because there are a lot of different grades of everything on the list.
There is amazingly cheap granite out there even without going into 2 cm stuff
Schlage is only a small incrimental cost increase from Kwikset
Stainless appliances range way down the market (even in 2011). I bought a stainless fridge for a rental that cost under $800.
...
It all depends on specifics.
There is amazingly cheap granite out there even without going into 2 cm stuff
Schlage is only a small incrimental cost increase from Kwikset
Stainless appliances range way down the market (even in 2011). I bought a stainless fridge for a rental that cost under $800.
...
It all depends on specifics.
I never disparage my competition but that IS insane!!!
1st: yes the soils are crappy. You really need to have a full soils investigation for your foundation engineer.
2nd: that price is crazy!
3rd: your building two miles from my world headquarters! We. Must. Talk.
I build true custom homes based totally on what you want and need. We design a house for you and never build it again.
If your interested let me know.
1st: yes the soils are crappy. You really need to have a full soils investigation for your foundation engineer.
2nd: that price is crazy!
3rd: your building two miles from my world headquarters! We. Must. Talk.
I build true custom homes based totally on what you want and need. We design a house for you and never build it again.
If your interested let me know.
$317 per sq foot? Holy **** that's expensive. I can't even comprehend that. is literally everything made from scratch onsite?
way too much, imo. That house would be the cat's meow of Hutto.
I think he is including lot value as well
I don't think he means $317/SF. More like $317k for a 2300sf house. Not sure if that includes the dirt.
My Tilson was $120 PSF and we upgraded basically everything to their most expensive option and added a covered 600 SF porch on the back without going to their diamond package.
ETA I think you are right as that would make it $137 PSF, but that has to include driveway and other ancillary items. No way you are paying Tilson $137 PSF for 2300 SF.
ETA I think you are right as that would make it $137 PSF, but that has to include driveway and other ancillary items. No way you are paying Tilson $137 PSF for 2300 SF.
quote:
I don't think he means $317/SF. More like $317k for a 2300sf house. Not sure if that includes the dirt.
You're right. Shouldn't post and drink, ruins the comprehension skills.
You are correct. I meant 317K for just the price of the home. With the land, $347K - so do the math on the psf. I think that's really high, that's why I was asking if we could "negotiate" them down instead of going off their base price and then their price list of upgrades. We are still shopping builders, so send me your info homebuilderag.
To add to what Fife said, remember that Lennar is a large production home builder who buys in bulk for most items. This would include appliances, water heaters, door hardware, etc.
You can reach me at: Jeff@bolinsteger.com.
Has anyone had any experience with Tilson in the Iola/King Oaks are?
quote:How far south do yall build? Asking for a family member who is in the market for a building company and they are looking at Tilson as a potential one. They are down in the Friendswood'ish area.
You can reach me at: Jeff@bolinsteger.com.
We build in central Texas and our "world headquarters" are in Pflugerville.
You wouldn't want us in the Houston area. Don't know the subs in the area well and wouldn't be able to give the appropriate level of attention.
More than willing to help advise with general questions though!
You wouldn't want us in the Houston area. Don't know the subs in the area well and wouldn't be able to give the appropriate level of attention.
More than willing to help advise with general questions though!
Met with homebuildingag tonight! Really nice guy.
It was a very early meeting in our "process." But a good starting place.
It was a very early meeting in our "process." But a good starting place.
All the God's, all the Heavens, all the Hells are within you.
Can we update this to 2017?
My wife and I will be building a new home on 10 acres in the New Ulm area (northern Colorado County), and hope to start this summer. We have looked at Tilson Homes and really like the idea of their one stop shopping, one time close, etc.... My wife really likes a couple of their floorplans and the build quality seems decent at their Katy and Spring sales centes. It seems most local builders are booked for the foreseeable future so Tilson is attractive from a timing and price standpoint.
I am concerned about what others have said here and elsewhere about Tilson's foundations. The sales rep said they do not use or build pads, which seems odd - especially for non level build sites. I would rather pay extra for an excellent foundation than go run of the mill. What are some recent experiences folks have with Tilson Homes?
My wife and I will be building a new home on 10 acres in the New Ulm area (northern Colorado County), and hope to start this summer. We have looked at Tilson Homes and really like the idea of their one stop shopping, one time close, etc.... My wife really likes a couple of their floorplans and the build quality seems decent at their Katy and Spring sales centes. It seems most local builders are booked for the foreseeable future so Tilson is attractive from a timing and price standpoint.
I am concerned about what others have said here and elsewhere about Tilson's foundations. The sales rep said they do not use or build pads, which seems odd - especially for non level build sites. I would rather pay extra for an excellent foundation than go run of the mill. What are some recent experiences folks have with Tilson Homes?
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