PENDLETON — Wes Brooks prevailed in arbitration over the builder of his home near Pendleton, but the process did not make him feel like a winner.

“It’s been pretty miserable,” Brooks said.

Brooks and his wife, Ashley, in 2017 contracted with manufacturer Adair Homes to build them a two-story house for $304,439 north of Pendleton. The construction dragged well beyond the 90-day build period, and when they moved into the home in October 2018 they found missing flooring, bowed walls and much more amiss.

Adair Homes assured the couple it would address the problems.

The company sent work crews multiple times to fix the mistakes, to no avail. A main point of contention, Brooks said, was poor workmanship — some of which, the owner admits, is superficial. Some is more serious, such as kitchen countertops not reaching the wall.

The Brooks began repairing bubbling linoleum and more, as they no longer trusted Adair Homes to complete construction. The couple still owed the company $174,439, with repairs estimated at more than $28,500. Their attorney advised them to stop making repairs at this point.

Brooks then launched his Facebook group, Quality of Adair Homes Review, in an attempt to find other people who had similar experiences with the company. He notified Adair of his intentions to go public with what had happened to his family.

In response, Adair filed a defamation lawsuit in Umatilla County Circuit Court to shut down the group and asked for $550,000 in damages.

Less than a month after filing the defamation lawsuit, Adair Homes filed an arbitration claim.

Contracts signed by purchasers specify and require the use of a Texas-based construction arbitration service. The arbitrator, John Braddoch Sr., awarded the amount of $36,389.29 plus the cost of legal fees to the Brookses.

But that award is to be applied directly to the $174,439 the couple still owes to Adair Homes for the house. In addition, the arbitrator awarded an allowance of $15,000 for the impact on the residual reasonable value of Adair’s unpaid work. The couple remains on the hook for $123,049.71 to the company, with the defamation lawsuit pending.

“I don’t feel the results are justified at all,” Wes Brooks said.

After living in the home for more than a year, he said, they have many of the same issues and repair needs, plus more. Windows do not properly shut, he said, and siding blows off the home if there is a strong wind.

“I gave Adair ample opportunities to correct,” Brooks said.

Adair Homes, a Washington-based organization, proclaims, “It is our privilege to help our customers build the homes they’ve always dreamed of.” The company has built more than 20,000 homes since inception in 1969 and does business in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Arizona.

“We are not able to comment specifically on the arbitration or any other legal matters,” Adair homes said in a statement. “However, our goal has been to resolve the construction items in question and are hopeful that the completion of the arbitration process will happen for Mr. Brooks.”

Umatilla County Circuit Judge Eva Temple set a trial date in the defamation case, but that has been postponed indefinitely due to an anti-SLAPP motion progressing to appeals court after failed mediation. The motion was moved to the appeals court in early March.

Quality of Adair Homes Review Facebook page is active and has more than 1,800 members.

Brooks has posted the full arbitration resolution to the page. Members of the group have shared similar experiences and their struggles with resolution.

The entire process, Brooks said, has been like “seeing all the money we have spent blow away in the wind.”