In early 2023, Cody and Nicole Hamby were preparing to close on their new Betenbough home, excited to embark on a new season for their growing family.

“We were so excited,” shared Cody. “This was our first home, and our first child was on the way. Everything was so new.”

Just a few months after settling in, and only a week before their baby was due to arrive, Cody and Nicole began to notice a spongy feeling when they walked across the floor of their front bedroom. The glue used in construction had started to seep up between the edges of the vinyl planks laid in that room. The Midland warranty team was called in to evaluate the situation and create a plan to repair the issue. The team took extra precautions to mitigate fumes from the glues and cleaners used, coordinating closely with our flooring partner to schedule the reinstallation of the vinyl plank.

”I typically try to take things into my own hands to take care of my family,” shared Cody. “In this situation, I couldn’t do that, so I prayed and said, ‘God it’s in your hands, you take care of it.’”

With previous experience as a firefighter, Cody knew the importance of collaboration and cohesion in the workplace. He also knew the impact a disunified team could have and the challenges it could pose to the tasks at hand.

When he observed the Midland warranty team at work, Cody saw unity in action. Though he was frustrated with the situation and the issues he was experiencing in his home, Cody couldn’t help but notice how the team rallied around one another, and around his own family, to fix their floors.

“He saw something different with everyone he came into contact with,” reflected Jesse Gutierrez, Midland warranty manager, “and I think it was something he wanted to be part of.”

Shortly after the Hamby family began experiencing issues with their home, Cody applied for an open position on the warranty team. Even though issues in his home were still being uncovered, the unity he saw in the team working on his home made him want to be part of it.

“Cody was the kind of guy you liked immediately,” shared Roy Sanders, general manager for Betenbough Homes’ Midland region. “The decision to move forward with him during the interview process was very easy.”

A month later, Cody joined the very same team that had been hard at work to restore his family’s home.

It wouldn’t have been unreasonable for Cody to want to use his opportunity as a member of the warranty team to ensure his home’s issues were fixed first, but that’s the exact opposite of how he approached the situation.

“Cody was always willing to push his home down the list so that other buyers could get their homes repaired sooner,” shared Roy. “What an awesome, humble heart.”

When the team got back to work on the Hamby family home, they conducted daily moisture tests, and it quickly became clear that the home’s humidity levels were higher than the normal range. While this temporarily delayed the new flooring installation, it also made it evident that this would not be the routine fix the team hoped for.

“At that point, it would have been really easy to just say ‘We did everything we could,’” shared Jesse.

“BUT WE BELIEVE IF THERE’S EVEN A 1% CHANCE IT WAS OUR FAULT, WE SHOULD FIX IT. WE WANT TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND TO SERVE OUR HOMEOWNERS, EVEN AFTER THEY’VE MOVED IN.”

– JESSE GUTIERREZ

After months of testing possible solutions, the team discovered the issue was not with the glue or vinyl flooring, but with the concrete slab underneath. This issue was not contained to the front bedroom as they had initially thought, but affected the home in its entirety. In late January, the Betenbough Homes Midland team arranged for the Hamby family to stay in an Airbnb while their floor was replaced.

“The consensus from all Midland leadership was, ‘We’re going to do whatever we need to do to fix this,’” recalled Jesse. “There was never any talk of how much money it would cost, we just knew there was an issue affecting one of our homeowners and we needed to help fix it.”

In late January, Cody, Nicole, and their nine-month-old baby packed up their things and headed to an Airbnb. A non-pressure-sensitive glue and moisture barrier sheeting were used to install the new vinyl floor at the Hamby’s home, ensuring the issues they’d experienced would not be repeated. As an extra precaution, the warranty team also decided to install a Bluetooth moisture sensor that would allow the moisture levels to be read even after the flooring had been laid.

Over Easter weekend, the Hamby family moved back into their home just in time to celebrate restoration and new beginnings.

“Being displaced from our home was inconvenient, but I believe everything happens for a reason,” reflected Cody. “It led me to join the Betenbough team, and that’s been a blessing for my family.”