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Work Orders & Warranties

Work Orders

To submit a work order on a Habitat Home, please email workorders@fchabitat.org with the issue at hand.

Habitat for Humanity One Year Warranty

Your home was built with generally accepted building practices and has passed all municipal inspections. Your house has been issued a Certificate of Occupancy by the local authority(s). Your home is sold to you as is, with no other warranties expressed or implied, other then the items listed in this document.

Habitat’s warranty starts the day of closing, and runs consecutively one calendar year to the same date the following year at 4:00 pm Central time. If this date should land on a week end or Holiday, this warranty shall be extended to the end of the next business day at 4:00 Central time. Habitat during this period will remedy all items covered by this document, utilizing volunteer, staff, or assigned third party contractors, at Habitat’s sole discretion. All suspected deficiencies will first be inspected by a representative of the affiliate, and the course or degree of repair will be at the sole discretion of the affiliate.

Habitat will ensure that all persons that are sent to effect repairs on your property, are insured against injury, and shall hold the homeowner harmless for such injuries, as long as there is no evidence of homeowner negligence. Habitat shall be held harmless for all repairs, maintenance or other activities, by volunteers, staff or third party contractors, except if evidence of intentional or reckless conduct on the part of Habitat’s representatives exists.

Evidence of neglect, misuse, or repetitive damage to any component of a home, may, at Habitat’s discretion, void the warranty of said component. Some manufactures warranties, require the homeowner to request such work or replacement parts, under these conditions, the homeowner will be responsible to coordinate this with the manufacturer.

All manufacturers transferable warranties are hereby assigned to you the new homeowner, and all copies of long term transferable warranties have been included with this document. If there is no separate warranty for any item, it is warranted by Habitat.

How to Obtain Needed Warranty Service

In the new homeowner packet provided to you before you move into your home, you will find work order forms.  Copies are provided here in.  This convenient form helps you list the items in need of repair and the room location for each item.  Use these forms to request any service provided by your warranty.  When completed, please mail, fax or drop the form off at Habitat’s office.  Please do not delay in reporting your concerns because you are not able to locate a form – written communication from you will be accepted in any format.

Except in the event of emergencies or priority requests, verbal messages or telephone calls will not be accepted. Habitat’s staff wants to respond to your service requests and therefore must have them in writing to avoid misplaced notes, errors in verbal communications or delays in messages not reaching the appropriate person to process your requests. A list of the current contractors that worked on your home will be included in your new homeowner packet. Do not call for warranty service to these contractors before you consult with Habitat staff, or you may be responsible for any charges incurred on non-covered items. Once your home has matured past the warranty, it is not necessary to utilize these contractors, but rather you should get quotes from many different contractors to get the best possible price for your required repair.

Please keep in mind, your warranty service program does not include general maintenance of your home, nor those items not specifically covered by this warranty.

Quick Review Warranty Coverage

Note:  This quick review identifies the principal warranties of your home.  Not all parts discussed, however, will be found in every Habitat home.  Donated materials will be covered by Habitat if not covered by the manufacturer. All associated warranty information will be collected to a centralized location during the construction process, and will be reviewed with you on your pre-occupancy inspection. By code, the furnace materials must be kept with the furnace. The following are general guidelines; review your materials for actual warranties and conditions.

Furnace:  Furnace warranties are normally longer than two years.  There is normally a heat exchanger warranty included that will generally be of a longer period than the remaining components.  Please see the manual that comes with your heating unit.  Installation labor is warranted for one year.

Appliances:  Whirlpool supplies all Habitat homes with new stoves and refrigerators.  They will warrant these appliances against defects in material and workmanship for one year.  Please contact Whirlpool with any problems.

Cabinets:  We warrant your cabinets against problems with the hinges when opening and closing doors and problems with drawer hinges for one year unless abuse is evident.

Carpet:  Based on factory warranty and vendor warranty.

Doors:  A door that does not close completely or properly needs to be reported within 60 days after move-in.

Drywall:  We will touch-up plaster cracks one time during the first year, at your request.  Habitat will not do any painting following any plaster touch-ups.  Extra paint will be left for you in your home.  Nail-pops are the homeowner’s responsibility.

Electrical Wiring: One-year warranty except when misuse or abuse is evident.

Faucets:  One-year warranty except when misuse or abuse is evident.

Floor Noise:  We will attempt to locate the source of the noise and stop it.  We cannot guarantee a solution because of the difficulty involved.  This warranty coverage is for the first year.

Floors, Vinyl:  Based on vendor installation guarantee and manufacturer warranty.

Foundation: Cracks in foundation walls are a normal part of the concrete curing process.  In order to improve the appearance of any larger cracks that may appear in your foundation, it is our policy to repair any cracks over 1/8 inches wide if they appear within the first 12 months of occupancy in your home.  We will repair such cracks by caulking.  Cracks that let water during the first year will be reported to the original contractor for repairs. Basements are in no way guaranteed to be water tight.

Gas Leaks:  If a gas leak occurs anytime in your home, you should call WE Energies immediately (if you live in the Fox Cities service area) or whoever your service provider is. We advise that you write the number of your service provider down with your other emergency numbers in case of a problem.

Gutters:  Based on installer’s warranty.

Laminate, Countertops:  We will repair laminate if it loosens due to improper installation during the first year.  We will not replace any plastic laminate or warrant any other visible laminate concerns after your move-in orientation.

Lawns:  We are responsible only for establishing the necessary grades, swales and the actual planting of the yard. We will ensure it meets drainage requirements as set forth by the municipalities.  We will maintain only grades and swales pertaining to drainage as required by the local municipalities during the first year until the ground has stabilized with the proper foliage. Habitat will not maintain the grade to the house (either the lawn or the driveway), as with all houses that have a basement, this will settle over time, as long as 7- 10 years depending on the size of the original hole and soil conditions. If your lawn was sodded, you will be responsible to ensure proper watering. Two hoses and a sprinkler will be provided with your home as part of the yard installation. This warranty remains the same whether your yard was installed professionally as a gift-in-kind to Habitat or if it was installed by volunteer help. We will perform repairs only during the first 12 months.  During construction season, if you see that you need a load of dirt, feel free to contact Habitat to check availability on dirt that is currently being excavated. We will supply dirt if available and only charge a $50.00 delivery fee.

Light Fixtures:  There will be a one year warranty provided by Habitat if not covered by the manufacturer unless misuse or abuse is evident.

Outlets, Switches and Breakers:  Based on subcontractor’s warranty of one year.

Plumbing Fixtures:  One-year warranty except when misuse or abuse is evident.

Roofs:  We will pass directly to you the manufactures warranty that usually covers the materials used on your home. We will fix any leaks that occur during the first year. Wind damage, hail or any other acts of nature are not covered by Habitat, but may be covered through your homeowner’s insurance policy.

Sidewalks, Stoops and Steps:  Cracks in concrete flatwork 3/8 inch or more in width or vertical displacement of 3/8 inch or more, reported in the first year, will be repaired.  We will make these repairs by caulking the cracks. These repairs will be made the first year only.

Vinyl Siding:  We will pass to you the manufactures warranty on all purchased siding. This warranty normally covers defects in the manufacturing process or color fading. Habitat will repair for one year any siding that breaks or comes loose from the home, as long as it is not caused by wind or other acts of nature. Wind, hail and other acts of nature may be covered under your homeowner’s insurance policy. Donated siding will be guaranteed by Habitat for one year against defects.

Water Heater:  Water heaters normally carry a warranty for two years against rusting, leaking and recovery.  See manufacturer’s warranty.

Waterproofing (if applicable):  We will pass on to you the warranty that the contractor provides us that can last for up to five years. Your basement or crawl space has been coated with a material that is designed to prevent running water. This warranty will not cover dampness in the cement. Some degree of dampness is normal on basement walls and floors. During the warranty period expressed by the original contractor, advise Habitat of your concern and a Habitat staff member will contact the original contractor to remedy this repair. Repairs will be either made by the original contractor or their agent. 

Water Supply:  All service connections to the municipal water main are Habitat’s responsibility for the first year. No leaks of any kind should exist.  We do not warrant against condensation on piping because it does not constitute leakage.

Windows:  We will pass to you the manufactures warranty as supplied to us against excessive air leaking, warping and condensation (between the two panes of glass).  See manufacturer’s warranty.  We do not warrant against broken glass after your move-in orientation.