I've been tracking this company for decades, always admired their pedestal design. A couple of times I've spoken with them to get prelim info: basic stuff like price range per SF, or range per specific model, just FOB their factory: no shipping, no trucking, no on-site costs. That seems like too big of an ask. Last time I talked with someone there, maybe he'd had a bad day, or maybe he was in the wrong job, but getting even that rough order of magnitude cost information out of him was like pulling teeth. He kept slipping back into what seemed like a scripted focus on how hard it is to determine costs for a *turnkey* project, not the basic out-the-door price ranges I was after. He cited off-putting large costs to prepare estimates, again throwing up barrier after barrier to my genuine interest: nope, he just couldn't help with my inquiry, everything is custom, I'd have to go through a complete estimating process, there's no sample estimates available, no-no-no-no...Why WOULDN'T they be able to easily spit out a generic estimate with some standard selection of materials, so I could get a sense of where the costs are and what options exist? I did finally teased some cost information out of him. By then, I had the sense that he'd about doubled their standard pricing in order to get rid of me. Finally hanging up after that bizarre discussion, I was dumbstruck at how offensive he had been: the opposite of what any company should want in a salesman. read more

I started speaking with TopSider Homes in mid 2017, signed a Design Agreement Aug/2017, signed a Sales Agreement in Feb/2018 and have made my promised payments to TopSider on time and in good faith. My final payment was on 3/1/2018. I have yet to have my house built. Firstly, the house they designed could not be built on my lot and the town of KDH would not approve until it was re-Engineered. It took until the last half of September 2018 before the permit was issued for a house that I was told would be completed April or May of 2018. I have, starting in 1/2018, repeatedly pleaded for correspondence from TopSider via phone messages and emails. I heard nothing from them from 3/2018 through 8/2018. Once the permit was secured it took until December to receive the Piling, flooring and framing. One delivery was to the wrong address and they just left it under someones house. They took it to West instead of East - my builder was the one who found and moved it. Now my builder was waiting on delivery of windows, doors, the remaining siding, etc. January, February and March came and went without any delivery despite repeated and numerous phone calls and email from me to Topsider and the occasional return call from TopSider with dates for delivery which never happened. By the end of March I offered to procure transport of the windows, (I was told they received them on 3/19), and pay for it myself at which point on April 2 I was told by TopSider that the windows, doors and siding would be delivered either 4/4 or 4/3/19. TopSider delivered 3 of my 13 windows, no door, and no outstanding siding on 4/4/19. I inquired via telephone and email as to the delivery of the outstanding supplies. Finally on the 18th I was told they had the rest of the windows and they would arrive in KDH on 4/23 or 4/24. No delivery occured and their was no correspondence with either myself or my builder from TopSider. I called and emailed again and was told they would check and get back to me. On April 25 I received a letter from my builder outlining all of the problems with the house due to the repeated delays in shipping - such as molding, separation of materials, etc. I forwared to TopSider and asked how they proposed to remedy this situation. To date 5/9/19, I have received no correspondence whatsoever from TopSider about my windows, their delivery, the deteriorating condition of the house, or anything else. It is extremely few and far between to receive a return phone call or email from anyone at TopSider. I am so past all the repeated promises of delivery and then I hear nothing and I start with the phone calls and emails all over again. I have expressed my extreme displeasure with their lack of correspondence and misinformation to TopSider several times and eventually receive a phone call with apologies and promises to keep me informed and return calls but to no avail. I still do not have a finished house or any answers on when delivery of materials will finally be fulfilled. TopSider homes may be hurricane-proof but I will never know if I do not receive the materials to build it! TopSider is hands-down the worst at returning phone calls and emails. I have not been kept in the loop what so ever dispite my insistence. Coorespondence from TopSider is sparce. Their literature states that constuction of the "weather-tight" shell for TopSider designs is always faster that the "site built" construction and for some single unit designs, as fast as a week. Their literature also states that house shipments are staged to accomodate builders' requirements for materials. Neither of these statements has been accurate in my experience. read more

I built my Topsider more then 30 years ago and have been extremely happy with it. The design has held up over the years, people are still wowed when they enter because the house is not a conventional type home - and we love it. Structurally absolutely no issues over 30 years. I absolutely recommend Topsider read more

Since I liked the first Topsider Home I bought and erected so much, I bought two. The first one in the Virgin Islands which I built on a beach on the steep slope of an extinct Volcano and the other on a steep slope in the Redwood Forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. I selected Topsider for both houses for three primary reasons: 1. Ease of construction on a steeply sloping lot; 2. Ability to maximize the beachfront and mountain views with 270 degrees of floor to ceiling glass; and 3. The comfort of knowing that the homes could withstand the hurricane force winds and seismic forces of earthquakes in both the Virgin Islands and the very active San Andreas Fault area in California. My Virgin Island home just survived, 100% structurally intact, from the double whammy dead on hits from the eyewall of Hurricane Irma with recorded sustained winds of 275 MPH and 2 weeks later from the opposite side, Hurricane Maria at 185 MPH. All I lost was a few feet of plastic gutter and some decking. Both homes have been tested with multiple earthquakes and although the homes moved on their foundations up to 6" from side to side, the design strength inherent in the post and beam design of the homes allowed the home to flex with no damage. Topsiders flexible design options allowed me to pick a 165 MPH wind force coastal design package and with the factor of safety of 2.0, I got the 330 MPH I needed for Hurricane Irma. 20 of 25 homes in my neighborhood, some of them heavily reinforced concrete homes, did not survive. Having built two Topsider homes and after a visit to their factory, and I can attest to the quality control and customer service exercised by Topsider. They even gave me their home phone numbers and personal cell phone numbers to maximize the great customer service they offer. My two sons and five of their closest friends erected my first home in three weeks. With me supervising and my wife serving as chief cook and site manager, we had a family bonding experience that will give us positive rewarding memories for generations to come. I highly recommend Topsider for your next home. And if your wondering, I do not work for, receive any compensation or other rewards by giving this honest review. They are a great company. read more