To expect to have a choice of materials

[tiggerkid]

Hi all,

New topic from me. We recently bought a house with no garage, so are having one built at the moment. The builder we are using is also building another house next door. He seems to want to utilise all the same materials that he is using for the house next door, which don't match our house. The discussion started with the colour of brick, which was drastically different from the colour of our brick. Finally, after a lengthy debate, we reached an agreement on the colour. Now, he started an argument with me about other finishing touches. All fascia boards on our house are dark brown. The house he is building next door has white fascia and soffits that are made of shiny low maintenance UPVC that can't really be painted dark brown later on. The builder keeps saying that I can't expect to have our house matched because it's not being built at the same time at the garage.

I don't want to be unreasonable but given the fact that choices do exist, am I really that mad to expect that some discussion should take place before the builder goes ahead and orders a bunch of materials, which we are paying for?

I don't expect to give my 2 pence worth with regards to the tools he is using or the techniques utilised for construction but I'd like some input into finishing touches, location of plugs and things like that.

I appreciate that it is less costly for the builder to use the same materials as the ones he is using on the house next door but that's not what we signed up for so to speak. We only have one house and we live in it. Am I really that crazy to expect to have some say in what is being built and how it's going to be finished?

Thanks. The builder certainly seems pretty cheesed off. I am sure he would probably throw me in his cement mixer if he could :D

I've just dug up the drawings he submitted to the council, which also say "guttering, soffit and fascia details to match existing" ! I shall definitely remind him of that on Friday.

DirtyDancing, for my sake I hope he doesn't like confrontation with women :)

A different incident has just come to my mind: this builder of ours has previously asked me if he can use our water for building the house next door without offering any payment. I said no. He has already argued that we are being petty because it costs pennies but my question at the time was - whose pennies? It would be near impossible for him to pay for water used on his site separately anyway because it's impossible for us to ask the water company to split our bill for us, so to avoid complications I just said no. Perhaps he has never forgotten that and hated me since!

The water thing was very petty of you. However, if you agree to use materials which don't match the council could require you to change which would be impossibly expensive once built. You simply cannot agree and of he won't budge you have no choice but to tell him to stop. If you want to make him believe you are serious day you will get a quantity surveyor to value works completed v works remaining and will pay that amount only.

I don't think the water thing was petty. I assume you are on a water meter. I would refuse too.

Icelollycraving, yes we are on a meter and no matter how cheap or expensive it is, it is us, who are paying this bill, not the builder and I am quite confident that if I asked him to supply anything for free, he wouldn't do it. Maybe it is petty but that was my decision then and it would be now.

So far, we've not paid anything yet but the first installment is due imminently.

So when you have that discussion, you will remind him that you won't be paying any installments if he isn't doing the job to spec.

Actually I'd sit down and say 'look, the materials need to match existing. End of. If you really can't source them then we will help you to find them but using completely different materials that don't match existing isn't the job we want you to do. You wouldn't be happy if we paid with money that doesn't match existing currency, would you?'

You were not unreasonable about the water, unless he was willing to pay. You are on a water meter so it would cost you.

He is completely taking the piss now. I would be very careful about what you pay , and definitely don't pay the final instalments until you are happy with the work.

The water thing is definitely not petty. Builders use loads of water when building for lots of things!

minibmw2010, I initially agreed for him to use water because he asked for a couple of buckets. Then I saw his guys using the hose to wash the mess they made on our entire street. They were at it for over an hour pouring it out like there was no tomorrow. Sometimes they'd stop for a chat and the water kept running and it's at that point I decided that I didn't think it was reasonable to keep letting them wash the entire street as well as use our water for construction of the entire house, so I refused to let them do it.

The builder then came around and asked if he can install scaffolding in our garden because there wasn't enough room in the plot he bought next door to install it, and we let him. Now the lawn that was underneath the scaffolding is dead and he isn't mentioning anything about repairing it. So I don't really think I owe this guy any favours if I am honest.