Los Altos - Construction Issue

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Oregon Duck

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I purchased a Stonegate East - Los Altos plan 1. I have a major issue with being able to smell my neighbors cooking through the range hood vent. It is very potent. (this is not outside or through open windows) Thought I would post to see if any other owners are having the same issue and maybe get some advise.
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The builder is now suggesting that we put in a recirculating range vent and close the outside vent tube.
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This change will cost me 80.00 yearly in charcoal filter cost plus I don't think it will work as good as venting outside. I really feel we are getting hose and my house will have a diminished value if/when we decide to sell.
 
When the homes are so close there is really nothing you can do. The filter does not work and you have to close your windows from now on. I hope the smell is not shrimp paste then I really am sorry for you.

The odor is penetrating though your opened vents such as hood, attic, plumbing and hvac.
 
The windows are closed. This is with the house closed up. When they cook the air is vented out and because the vents are so close the air is pulled in through our exhaust vent.  If we turn on our house fan then it really pulls it in. So for now, when they cook I have to turn on our insanely loud hood fan to push air out and prevent it from coming in.
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It is Indian, so I get really hungry at times. lol
 
That sucks. I'm sorry. When I lived in Irvine I was in your shoes except the odor was cigarette smoke. Blech.

I'm glad I live on a 5,500 sqft. lot now. I can't smell, see, or hear my neighbors.
 
You get a 50/50 chance among the Chindian population. Indian are known for being cheap so don't get your hope too high for seeing designer drapes out of your windows.
 
What kind of range hood do you have right now?  There are some quiet models out there that have fairly high CFMs.  A simple hood like this left on low will be pretty quiet and might move enough air out to meet your needs:
http://www.sanyangpai.com/RangeHoods_Detail.asp?Model_ID=1

If your hood is a microwave/hood combo, then you might have to sacrifice the microwave (although there may be good models nowadays that include a microwave - I'm not sure). 

It's not an ideal solution by any means but something to consider.
 
SoCal78 said:
That sucks. I'm sorry. When I lived in Irvine I was in your shoes except the odor was cigarette smoke. Blech.

I'm glad I live on a 5,500 sqft. lot now. I can't smell, see, or hear my neighbors.
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That is an estate size lot by today's standard. If it is freeway close then you are in heaven. (sarcasm)
 
That was the first step. Builder already installed.
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Still getting the smell, so they then suggested pointing both vents in opposite directions. They did this on another unit (year another unit having the same issue) and it did not fix the problem. So I guess they are just left at eliminating the problem by closing off the vent.
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You think a college educated designer would have thought of this when they built condo's with kitchen against kitchen.
 
zovall said:
What kind of range hood do you have right now?  There are some quiet models out there that have fairly high CFMs.  A simple hood like this left on low will be pretty quiet and might move enough air out to meet your needs:
http://www.sanyangpai.com/RangeHoods_Detail.asp?Model_ID=1

If your hood is a microwave/hood combo, then you might have to sacrifice the microwave (although there may be good models nowadays that include a microwave - I'm not sure). 

It's not an ideal solution by any means but something to consider.
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It is a Maytag - not microwave combo. I couldn't find any reviews on it, but it is very loud. After all this I just realize everything with these places are cheap. For the price, floor plan, and tiny sliver or patio/yard I couldn't beat it at the time. This is our first home and it has been quite an experience.
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
Irvine Pacific does not use the brightest designer and this is a long serie of consequences.
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Yeah. The light bulb is coming on.

When we bought I thought it was great. Irvine Pacific = Irvine Company so good to go. Boy was I wrong. I still love our place,  I'm  just realizing my expectations were way too high.
 
Just consider this as education. You would be a lot smarter the second time around or hire a site/ architectural analyst who knows all the possible flaws when you select your lot, location and plan. All your problem could have been avoided. The fee is not cheap but you will end up with the best house, lot, orientation and resale value for a well chosen location. The little things like smell, glare, wind, noise and etc could eat at you slowly everyday and destroy your quality of life.
 
Just look at who is running Irvine Pacific. A 5 term mayor politician from Santa Ana. During his term Santa Ana had the worst crime, schools, reputation and etc that irvinites would not even touch with a 39 and a half foot pole.


Oregon Duck said:
[
Oregon Duck said:
irvinehomeshopper said:
Irvine Pacific does not use the brightest designer and this is a long serie of consequences.
Click to expand...
Yeah. The light bulb is coming on.

When we bought I thought it was great. Irvine Pacific = Irvine Company so good to go. Boy was I wrong. I still love our place,  I'm  just realizing my expectations were way too high.
Click to expand...
te author=irvinehomeshopper link=topic=2301.msg31973#msg31973 date=1327552058]
Irvine Pacific does not use the brightest designer and this is a long serie of consequences.
Click to expand...
Yeah. The light bulb is coming on.

When we bought I thought it was great. Irvine Pacific = Irvine Company so good to go. Boy was I wrong. I still love our place,  I'm  just realizing my expectations were way too high.
[/quote]
 
Just be careful with fire when you have 5 neighbors adjoining your rear yard.
Oregon Duck said:
For sure. I'm coming to grips with this slowly. At least so far neighbors are quite, no smoke, very little issues other than this. Plus I got my fire pit :)
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... hire a site/ architectural analyst who knows all the possible flaws when you select your lot, location and plan...
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is this realistic?  how would this work?  you basically pick a new community to live in and have no preference for which lot or plan and have the architectural analyst tell you the best?  wouldn't you give up a lot of negotiating power?

 
I think this is how it works. The buyer select the top 5 choicelot then seeks help from the analyst. In the case of Oregon he missed the vent to vent alignments. There are a lot more problems between home to home relationship that a non seasoned buyers would not know. By the time the buyers discovered them it is often way to late. In the case of Oregon he could not even sell the home if he wanted to because of the no sell clause in 12-18 months he signed.
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
he could not even sell the home if he wanted to because of the no sell clause in 12-18 months he signed.
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Is this to be taken sarcastically or that's a legit thing in this tract?
 
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