New construction builder installed wrong type of counter help!

[acezarra]

Hi all! My husband and I are building a home and are set to close on the 29th of this month (less than three weeks!). We went by last night and saw that the builder installed their standard quartz countertop instead of the upgraded granite that we picked. We even went to a slab yard to select the slabs they were going to use for our counters. I do not currently have a copy of the home warranty (it has not been given to us) and I can't find it online. I am worried this will either delay closing or be something they won't fix. The builder doesn't want people in the house 30 days prior to close but the house was open so we popped in to look. In theory we aren't supposed to know the counters are wrong. Do we wait until our walk-through a week prior to close to say anything? Anyone have experience/advice? I'm freaking out as we have already given our 30 day notice to our landlord. Thanks I'm advance for your help.

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

Can you ask to see the house sooner? I would definitely say something and have it replaced before closing. Once you close, you have no leverage. You could always put your things in storage and go on a vacation, or get an Airbnb, if there is a gap between housing!

 

[vintageinjune]

Can you see the counters if the door is open, or from an obvious window? "We were driving by and noticed" is a perfectly acceptable answer, and even if they are disgruntled by your looking, them having to fix it later after everything else is installed will be a PITA.

They will certainly want to know sooner rather than later - this will save both of you some headache, so tell them immediately.

We weren't supposed to be in the house either (I thinks it's more an insurance thing, and to keep out people not contracted to build the house from working on it prior to close because again, legal issues), but we did and I'm glad because I caught two issues and let them know right away and in my case they were very thankful we let them know because if we had waited until our pre-closing walk through, it would have taken them a week or more to fix the issues.

 

[m-cubed]

I’m sorry, what? The builder doesn’t want you in the house you are paying him to build? That is BS. If you need an escort, that is one thing, but you need to be able to go in and inspect as things go along to identify errors such as these. Let him know right now that there’s a problem and that you are expecting it to be fixed prior to close.

 

[acezarra]

Thank y'all! We went to the house today to ask if we could see it early and let them know that the counters were wrong. They were very appreciative that we said something. Now we just need it to be fixed. Thanks again for the encouragement!

Also, @m-cubed my best friend said the same thing. You are paying THEM, it is your house! I agree but they have this idea that they don't want you to "see the sausage being made" as they call it.

 

[m-cubed]

Thank y'all! We went to the house today to ask if we could see it early and let them know that the counters were wrong. They were very appreciative that we said something. Now we just need it to be fixed. Thanks again for the encouragement!

Also, @m-cubed my best friend said the same thing. You are paying THEM, it is your house! I agree but they have this idea that they don't want you to "see the sausage being made" as they call it.

Yes, they don’t want you to see the sausage because it is horrific. My parents worked in the trades, and the stories they could tell would curl your hair. Personally, if I’m ever so lucky as to have a house built to spec, I would plan to either be in there supervising or I’d have an independent construction inspector in there regularly to catch problems. Once the walls are buttoned up, it’s a hell of a lot of work to fix improperly done plumbing or add lighting/electric, so you need to be sure everything is right at each stage.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My Gary has been a builder his entire life - trade qualified carpenter and joiner
for the last 7 years of my prevouse employment i worked in the office of a timber yard and we sold our own kitset houses as well as supplying trade and retail with building materials
we worked with both the builders and the clients throughput the durraction of the build

Not being able to see your house being built is nothing but complete and utter BS

 

[Austina]

Unfortunately due to travel restrictions, we can’t see our house being built. Hopefully, when we’re able to travel, we can get over there and actually see what’s going on. We get weekly updates, although virtually nothing has happened so far, just the lot being scraped.

 

[jgyoukr]

It's always better to speak up about issues like your countertop as soon as you notice them. During my house renovation, I had a similar situation where the contractors used the wrong materials. It was a hassle, but I decided to deliver the correct materials myself.

 

[Betty Baguette]

One additional thing to consider...if you can live with the countertops not being the ones you picked out, you could try negotiating a substantial discount on the sale price. Maybe you can turn a profit on their mistake and also prevent countertops from ending up in the landfill.

 

[TWoodman]

I would ask for a walkthrough video update

 

[HGar]

This thread is over 2yrs old - I’d hope the issue was well and truly resolved by now.

 

[Betty Baguette]

This thread is over 2yrs old - I’d hope the issue was well and truly resolved by now.

D'OH!

 

[jgyoukr]

It's always better to speak up about issues like your countertop as soon as you notice them. During my house renovation, I had a similar situation where the contractors used the wrong materials. It was a hassle, but I decided to deliver the correct materials myself.

Forgot to add that, doing it with just my car was tricky, but after some searches I found a great second-hand Ford truck on https://www.boomandbucket.com/equipment/generators. It made the whole thing a lot easier, and if it gets too critical, you should think about doing such things on your own.