Why not just use the supplier you like? The builder might get kickbacks, but you really should pick what you like, rather than what makes the builder (who won't live there) richer.
Renais

It's quite likely he has a cozy arrangement, whether it's a straight up commission on your purchases or referrals.

But it's your house and your money, and apparently the contract doesn't require you to use the builder-specified source.

Tell the builder that you were not satisfied with the selection and prices from the company he recommended. You saw nothing you want to live with.

Tell him your KD will order the tiles with enough lead time to have them on-site, with enough extra to deal with normal installation losses. She will provide the manufacturer's installation instructions and specifications for his crew in time for him to read them and follow them.

As for "warranty issues" he may bring up, they are easy ... if the tile crumbles when you wash it, it's the manufacturer's fault. If it falls off the wall, it's his fault.

Who is laying the tile? The builder? Or a 3rd party? Is the installer supplied by the store?

One reason I could imagine is that if you're installing something and have no say in where the materials come from, you could end up with something that's a major PITA to install nicely. I am in the process right now of installing hardwood in my old house. I wanted the cheapest stuff available because we're selling as soon as the new house is done. This stuff is crap. At least 10% is simply not useable. I can imagine a professional hardwood installer being furious at being forced to install this.

Many years ago, we got a "fantastic deal" on slate tiles. BIL installed them, and swore at them every time he came over for years afterwards. Apparently they weren't a uniform thickness, and it took him FOREVER to install nicely. He did an amazing job, but he was bitter about it. :)

If the supplier of the tile is also supplying the labour, then the builder may be questioning the quality of that person's work. He might be fabulous. He might do sub-par work. If he's not fabulous, you may be mad at your builder.

Or maybe he's upset at having to give up his markup/kickback.

He really thought you were going to hire a designer just to pick paint colours, when you have a million other design decisions to make?

our builder requires flooring and other tiles to be purchased from a specific place also i think he has a contract with the people who install those things who actually work for the flooring company he did
allow us to purchase a mosiac/mural from another company but the installers had to agree to put it in
we were able to purchase lighting and fixtures from any place we wanted, but those are not covered in the warranty

The GC is upset because 'he' is losing his discount the one they won't give you.

Does the builder get to mark-up the materials that come from each supplier? If he loses his mark-up to the designer you hired then that is the reason he is upset.

There's a lot of crappy tile sources out there that sell private label virtual seconds (Floor&Decor comes immediately to mind.). You only have to look at the thickness and spacing on some of the mosaics to get an idea of how bad some of it is. I say mosaics because it's easy for a layperson to see some of the abnormalities in a couple of squares of it. It's less easy to see it in larger tile. But, it cabn have warpage, not be square, or consistent in thickness or color.

Dealing with sub par materials is hard enough. Doing so when you have a picky customer is a guaranteed nightmare. Time is money, and the additional time needed to be able to make some of these products look acceptable probably wasn't on his sub's or his radar. Probably not on your radar either fr additional install costs.

Then there is the issue of the builder's markup. That IS part of his compensation for the project, and he IS due his markup on the tiles, plus the change order fee. Having a $10 a square allowance from one supplier using an approved level of quality of tile does NOT translate over to another supplier. Just because you know your ''allowances'' does nott mean that they translate to different choices. There is a WORLD of difference in the floor stiffness and flatness needed between a standard 12x12 porcelain tile and a 12x24 marble tile. That means a difference in the floor joist thickness and spacing. Plus the different and more expensive setting materials cost.

When you choose materials outside of his supply chain, you are affecting far more things than you realize. So, don't be surprised to have to pay his 2% on top of an additional labor fee to be able to use what your designer has selected. Believe me, he's earning every bit of that fee to deal with the headaches this will cause him.

Never ever trust a designer who wants to ''just'' change everything without consulting the GC of the project first. That's someone who hasn't learned the hard lesson of having to know about structural considerations. Plus, they just burned the bridge with that GC who could have given them more business down the road. That is not at all smart, and shows poor respect for working with other trades. They are likely to make your project more difficult by this conflict inducing behavior, not easier.

What shoul have happened is that the designer should have met with the builder first and ironed it all out behind the scenes so that everyone woud be on the same page. I'd ditch this designer and work with one who actually knows how to collaborate properly on a project.

The contractor may be in fear of the six-week lead time from Italy of China screwing with his schedule; His tile source may be same-day, always in stock.
Such cynics here.
Casey

Here is a novel idea, ask the GC why?

My designer was open to meeting with our builder. He was not interested in meeting with her. I employed him before I found her. She has done business with other builders in the area (just not our) and has done both new builds and remodels. He only builds one home at a time. She is not just a KD but a whole house designer and helps out with ALL interior materials including finishes and furnishings. She would have even helped us with our plan if we had found her ahead of time. But we had already completed our plans.

I have a meeting with our builder this evening. I will see what he has to say about it. I am willing to go look over what his Tile Store Designer has to offer on Friday to see what they can do for me, too.

It may come down to a compromise. I could do the standard stones (Marble, ledge stone, and Travertine) from his Tile Company but if I cannot find the glass accents or nice looking porcelain that we found that I loved with her, I will order them from our Designer. I pay her by the hour and am not obligated to buy anything from her, but we will be purchasing all our new furniture and window treatments from her eventually.

Our builder has recently balked about our installing a Hide a Hose system bc he has never seen one before. But he knew that we planned on installing one from the very beginning of our working with him. We have already found an installer for the system who does it locally and again it is not one of his people. He was concerned bc it had to be installed before the walls were up. Well my husband said so is the plumbing wiring and the ducts for the heating/ac system! We are also putting a Jason Tub in our master bath and he understands we will not be purchasing that from his Plumbing company. We have already found our own supplier for this.

I just think he is a control freak. He did say he would have to charge us extra if we used the designer. I will see how much.

I had a general contractor tell a client flat out that he would have charged more if he had known, that I as the interior designer, was going to be making sure he did everything exactly according to the plans and detail drawings. Maybe he should because he is giving up a certain amount of flexibility if someone is coming along behind him saying "This is not how it is spec'd on the plan".

In this day and age money is a driving factor for EVERYBODY. Whether putting it out or pulling it in......

What kind of contract do you have? Cost plus....Fixed price.....Cost plus fixed fee...etc?

insist on getting what you want. Our builder never lets anyone go outside their network, but just did not like any of the selections at their store. We fought to get the tile we wanted, which we ended up purchasing ourselves and bringing to the job site. We sent the exact specifications to the installer ahead of ordering them, and he okay'd them. Now, we supplied the tile and the installer was a builder's sub. If we wanted a different installer, I'm pretty sure the answer would have been no way, and I do understand that.

Bottom line is I believe he IS getting a kickback from his tile people. He told me the other night he needed to be paid for taking care of the materials and guaranteeing them... bull I know. He even said he would have to charge me more if we bought our tiles from the designer! He said we were getting into cost plus territory

I spoke with my designer and told her that he would be calling her and that if he wants to add his "kickback" so we could use her we would go for it. I just went this am to see his tile person. The woman they use is a sales person. She is NOT a designer. I brought a list in with me to see what I would pay for each piece. I did not get that when I went in... but was assured I would not be paying the retail price on the tiles. So I assume based on the amount I purchase I get a discount. No one told me how much.

I love both my designer and my builder and do not wish to give either of them up nor do I want them at each other's throats. I selected them each for the expertise. Both of them are excellent at what they do and I love what I see coming from both. I apologized to both of them for not introducing the two of them before hand. My Designer told me early on to let him know that she also sells items such as tile, counter tops and interior surfaces. I could have sworn we did. I think he forgot.

Just got back from seeing his tile person. I went through the entire house and found pieces that were comparable to my decorator's plan and some were actually the same. (everyone has their own marble and travertine for instance) I actually found a few things I liked better particularly for a back porch area which I had yet to address with my Designer. What they don't have and I know they probably cannot get are the decorative accent glass pieces and backsplash I fell in love with. I was told that they are limited to specific companies. So I would never be able to get those pieces from them.

What I plan on doing is having both of them total their tile up for the rooms. I may have to decide who we will go with after that. But I am leaning towards buying most of it from his tile place to make him happy and let him know I am going to buy specific glass accents or backsplash tiles from her. I am not sure how that will go over... but I will want I like. And if his Tile people don't have it then he will have to accept that.

Our Builder gave us a fixed price to build the whole house and then added in some of the extras that we were doing ... cost for a custom staircase that he is building, stone frplace that he is building (still don't know if that includes the materials!), and for the extra glass and doors to enclose our LR and DR. Then he gave us a sheet that specified his allowances. He didn't even specify our countertop prices (said granite) and we had to call him for that price. We choose this builder specifically bc he does all his own wood (cabinets included). And the work is ALL custom done bc he has his own woodworking shop. His woodwork is stunningly beautiful.

His contract gave us the allowances... $3.50 for tile per square foot which is LOW. And we will be going over. So I do not understand why it matters where we go to him. He did NOT specify ANYWHERE in the contract that we had to use HIS SUPPLIERS. He said it was assumed based on the contract. (Sorry that doesn't cut it!)

Bottom line. His tile lady said we will not pay the price that was on the front of the tiles. We would get a discount. She said he does NOT get a kick back from them (something that some builders get... you pay for the tile and when he picks it up he gets a rebate or a commission fee back from the tile company). But for all I know they could be lying.

All I want is what I fell in love with.

Oh we can still be charged for change fees..... and have to pay anything over and above his allowances. We are already over them on many items. (Jason Tub, Steam Shower, some of the bathroom fixtures, and soon will be kitchen sink most likely)> Luckilly we were able to save money on our appliances bc my husband works for the company and gets them lower than elsewhere.

An Allowance is effectively a small "Cost Plus a Fee"contract within a Fixed Price contract. The agreed upon markup is the Fee. The contractor can only charge the actual cost plus the markup and must provide an invoice to the owner if requested.

Limiting the suppliers can lead to sweetheart deals (kickbacks are a contract violation and potentially fraud) so its important to put a clause in the contract that permits the owners to supply the materials if they are not happy with the contractor's price.

These situations are usually the result of sloppy contracts which are usually written by the contractor.

If Allowances and their buy-out procedures are not properly described in the contract, don't sign it.