MONROE, N.C. — Some homeowners who live in the Dogwood Forest neighborhood in Monroe are upset about cracks in the siding of their fairly new houses.
They told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke they expected the planks to last decades, but that the boards have only made it a few months or few years.
Taylor England and Mary Jane Jones say they bought their houses new in 2020.
Jones says hers started cracking the first year. “I found them down low. I found them up high, I found them everywhere,” Jones said.
England says hers started three years in. “It’s super disappointing,” she said. “When you start looking for it and you realize how many there are, it’s super discouraging.”
According to a national law firm that looked into the issue and a news report from the ABC station in Chicago, the siding should last as many as 50 years.
“We love our house. We love our community and our neighborhood and our neighbors,” England said. “And just having the quality of our home not be quite what we expected it to be has been disheartening.”
“I want to leave this house to my children and if there’s no siding on it or it’s all cracked, it’s not going to be worth much,” Jones said.
They want to know why this keeps happening.
Stoogenke emailed the builder, Smith Douglas Homes. It told Action 9 that homeowners need to talk to the manufacturer, Allura, and the siding should still be under that company’s warranty.
England says Allura offered her some money, but not enough. At last check, Jones said she was still waiting to hear back from the business.
Allura emailed Action 9, “Allura is committed to providing high-quality building materials and takes any reports of product issues seriously. We continuously strive to improve our products and processes to ensure the highest standards of performance and durability.”
The company went on to say, “Homeowners with Allura siding can file a claim at allurausa.com/warranties. There they can find all the information related to our limited warranties for all the Allura product line. After the Homeowner files a claim, Allura will handle the claim, and based on the review of the facts, Allura will, in its sole discretion, either: (a) refund or provide replacement pieces of the defective portion of the Product, or (b) reimburse the Covered Person for up to twice the original retail cost of the defective portion of the Product. We will be happy and encourage these homeowners to provide us with specific details about their claim. Each situation needs to be evaluated individually to determine the cause and the appropriate resolution. Please encourage the homeowners to file a claim so we can initiate a thorough review.”
The business added, “At Allura, we stand by the quality of our products and are dedicated to ensuring customer satisfaction. We take all feedback seriously and continually invest in research and development to enhance the durability and performance of our siding. We encourage any homeowner experiencing issues to reach out to us so we can address their concerns directly and provide the necessary support.”
Stoogenke found a class action lawsuit involving Allura siding. The case settled three years ago for $12.5 million. It’s too late to apply for money in that case.
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