The founder of Bloomfield Homes met with a Midlothian homeowner after a WFAA report, agreeing to some repairs and standing by the company’s work.
MIDLOTHIAN, Texas — This was no social call. No friendly drop-in.
The founder of Bloomfield Homes rang the doorbell of Donnie Foxx’s Midlothian home — weeks after a WFAA story spotlighted his complaints. Among them was a leaking roof that caused mold in the front room. The Foxxes say that the fix took months to complete.
But the Foxxes say other problems remain — and they’re not alone. Other neighbors have raised concerns, and one has filed suit.
“We’ve also had a lot of compliments,” said Bloomfield founder Don Dykstra during the home inspection that WFAA was present for. “We’ve also had homeowners that told us that someone was going up and down the street trying to get people involved.”
Dykstra said his company has built 20,000 homes and has a good record.
“At Bloomfield, we’re not perfect, but we try,” he said.
The walk-through began in the bedroom.
“That gap shouldn’t be there,” Foxx said, pointing to the space between the wood flooring and baseboard. “That’s a large gap.”
Dykstra said that he agreed with him, confirming to the flooring specialists he brought with him that they would replace it.
He agreed to fix some of the flooring — even what wasn’t required.
“Let’s lean toward agreeing, not disagreeing,” Dykstra said. “This is a gorgeous house. I’d be proud to live here.”
But then came what Foxx called “the elephant in the room” — a cracked granite kitchen island.
“It’s like the slab was dropped or something,” Foxx said. “It was that way when it was installed.”
He said the builder’s warranty rep came out and put glue in the crack.
“I see that it’s there… the question is how did it get there and when,” Dykstra said.
He told the Foxxes he’d consult the granite company, look into what the slab looked like at installation, and whether it could be a natural imperfection in the stone.
Outside the home, Foxx pointed to what he called the “bigger elephant” — the drainage issues.
He said when it rains, the dirt and grass slide. The yard isn’t graded right, he said, and he’s had to bring in dirt and replace the grass annually.
He described the issue as limestone underneath, with a thin layer of sand and grass on top.
Dykstra said Bloomfield didn’t develop the neighborhood — they bought the lots. He showed Foxx an engineering survey that Foxx had signed at closing.
He told Foxx that by bringing in dirt, he was altering the drainage and that it could cause water to get into the house.
“I think what I would say is that this yard is draining the way the engineer designed it to drain,” Dykstra said.
Foxx wanted Bloomfield to install a retaining wall, which he said he’d previously received bids of $30,000 for.
“You are certainly welcome to build a retaining wall, but I don’t believe that is a Bloomfield responsibility,” Dykstra said.
Foxx disagreed, saying he believed it should have been done before he bought the home.
Dykstra acknowledged they had a difference of opinion about the yard but added, “I just appreciate that we were able to communicate. I believe conversation and communication solves a lot of things.”
He said Bloomfield had a good history with Foxx and noted the company had made some repairs that weren’t warranty issues.
He also said there is another lawsuit and that Bloomfield had offered to repair those warranty items. However, Foxx wasn’t left satisfied.
“I don’t think that they’re standing behind the home that they built,” he said. “People expect high quality — and if it’s not high quality and you put in a warranty request, you expect that they’re going to come out and fix it correctly the first time.”
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