Heck, I'd point it all out, using little strips of blue tape. Trim not matching level is not ok with me. I'd never put it in that way & I'm not a carpenter. Paint not done correctly is not correct. Did you pay for a amateurish job, or did you pay for a professional job? If it doesn't look professional, than they need to make it right IMHO.

Point it all out and then hash out which is more important to fix. Unfortunately they will probably not agree with you on all of it, and better to get the worst of it repaired completely than all of it completed half@ssed. Unfortunately contractors have to be babied a lot of the time, especially at this point in your project. Put too much "pressure" on them and they will disappear, never to return.

If its not acceptable to you then don't accept it. When we built our previous house and did walk throughs, the contractor actually pointed things out to us. For example he said, "Don't worry about that window well being a little crooked, it will be straightened" and "that wood border in your family room is too narrow, it will be replaced". We were pleasantly surprised at how he took care every issue big or little.
Your contractor may be like mine was and notice those things that are not right. If he doesn't notice them on his own he may still be happy to fix things if you point then out to him. So you might as well speak up about every thing that bothers you. Your bound to get at least some of the issues taken care of.
Good luck. Your kitchen and entire home is incredibly beautiful.

That trim thing will make you nuts, eventually.
I second the tape idea. If it's all marked out, you don't have to say a word.

Take pictures of what you tell him.
Make a list where he can sign off that he's seen what you're talking about.

Hash it out is right. Nicks can be filled, so compromise on the smaller ones, but definitely the seams and mismatched trim needs to be fixed.

In what world is mismatched trim OK?
Good enough for now isn't good enough, IMHO.

Some of it is pretty clear. He can't disappear, we owe him way too much money yet. I still have tile issues unresolved that I won't pay for until they are fixed. These d*mn tile people were terrible right to the bitter end!

I was over there today doing my own pre-walk through and I went into a closet and the door closed behind me and THE DOORKNOB FELL OFF and I was locked in the closet! I tried to call my neighbors (who didn't answer their phone) and so I called my fiances dad to come and get me out (he's like 30 minutes away too!)

So, my neighbor ended up getting the message before my fiance's dad got out and he came and got me out. He's a building inspector too who works w/ my builder occasionally, so I thought it was very funny (once I got out of the closet- I did NOT think it was funny when I was locked in... and the light works on the door jam switch so when the door shut and I got locked in, it was in the dark!!!

Do it like an actual home inspection. Start at the front door and go round clockwise. Make a numbered list for a spreadsheet and take pictures that correspond. Once you input it, you can change the sort and print up several reports by category, referring to the numbered master list that you give to the builder. (Paint, Trim, Tile, etc.) That will make it easy to give an individual list to the right trade. I'd also print one sorted by room for you, because that will be how you'll view it again for the next walk through.

I wouldn't use blue tape. I don't think it will show up with all the rest of the blue in your home! ;) They also make a green painters tape that would work nicely. If that can't be found, pick up some caution tape from the hardware store and cut it into strips to tape to the wall so that the problem is easily seen. You want it to SHOUT, irritatingly so. Heck, if I could find some crime scene tape, I'd use it! If you can get some help for the walkthrough, you can have one person tagging with tape and one person writing it up and one person taking pictures. And the reinforcement of family and friends all agreeing that the issue needs attention will be nicely supportive and keep the builder from being too argumentative about it being a "tiny" issue. When the walk is over, you can all go and have a nice drink!

I'm not going to advise you on the trim issue as I'm suuuuuper picky, and my trim painters weren't happy with my dozens of blue tape pieces they found when they came back for touch ups. :-/

I can comment on the Tapmaster. Mine sounds the same as yours. Very easy to manipulate in socked feet, either side and to the back. On the rare occasion I lock the control on, I turn the bottom of my foot up towards the control to push. I *can* lock it with the side of my foot, but it's a bit of effort and is easier when I turn my foot. Tapmaster is one of my fave new things in the kitchen. LOVE!

Ditto the above posters--Make them fix what is not right. make a list, take pictures, have the contractor agree to fix specifics in writing, mark with tape, have reinforcements on your side at the walk through. All excellent advice!

I agree with the spreadsheet idea. Make a list of EVERYTHING and do not accept anything you have the least bit of qualms about. He may want to negotiate, but start with everything and work from there. Do not sign off on anything until everything that bothers you is fixed or you come to terms on it. Otherwise if you give an inch, he will take a mile. Trust me, I've worked with several contractors, on a professional basis.
Good luck!

Hubby is a contractor and at the end of a job, we always walk through and make a "hit list". The owners are asked to do the same. When the final walk-through is done, lists are compared. That way, both the home owners and contractor are assured that each item is addressed. Make that list and be thorough!

Regarding the tapmaster, if anything, I struggle with turning it off, from the full on position.

Test all the knobs thoroughly, too! If you hadn't had your phone that would have been horrible.

Yikes! :o

Well, I coulda been there and then you would have had company to freak out with while sitting in the dark!!! lol

I think lwo gave you a very clear way to make a list. Everyone here has the right idea on what is and what is not acceptable.

Good luck, keep us posted

Bee

OMG...I became claustrophobic just reading your post! Being locked in a dark closet would petrify me! So glad you had your phone!

You have so much gorgeous trim that I am sure the builder has been paid handsomely for crafting. Part of doing a job is FINISHING it! It will drive you insane every time you see an imperfection. I'd point out everything you have noticed...then just let the builder talk. Sometimes, when I am trying to get someone to do something they aren't inclined to want to do,
I find that rather than arguing, I just look at them...I find they keep talking and eventually talk themselves into doing what I want. Contractors are
used to people arguing...silent stares freak them out!

Beagles, I have to believe that your builder was not in charge of installing your gorgeous custom cabinets- they must have been installed by the cabinetmaker's crew correct?

At the end of every job there is a "punch list" that are all the fixes necessary. With what you're describing I would do a written list, room by room, and hand it to him before the walk through.

Even better, if you have time, is to take pix of everything and illustrate the list (even if only for youself) so you have something to compare the fixes to.

Finish work -- the fine points of carpentry that you're discussing -- is a relative thing. By which I mean that one contractor's evaluation of good may not be the same to another. If you can see gaps in corners, uneven baseboards -- anything were there is a gap of space that should be tight -- needs to be fixed. But whether it's worth removing and replacing vs having the painter do a proper job of caulking and repainting is your call.

Paint not coming down to baseboard and bad taping is something that I would go after. Because, later on, when the house settles, a bad tape job gets worse. The drywall seams can become visible along with indentations if they've used screws. The original builder here did a bad one and we had to remove some drywall and redo it. Our contractor had a great taper (not the easiest thing to find it turns out) so the differences could be seen. Nicks can be repaired by sanding or with caulk, then primed and painted over.

Holding back money is the smartest thing. In the end, if you don't get things to a point where the finish work is really acceptable to you then I'd look at taking a hefty deduction in the final contract price, particularly in any area where it would be necessary to find someone else to come in and remedy or redo.

This is awful and tedious to have to do. But I'd spend the time now even though it seems overwhelming. No job is perfect -- not saying it would be. But I'd go for the stuff that would bug me when I got in there and things that might not be expensive to repair now but would be if you have to find someone to come in later to do little jobs and fixes.

I was so overwhelmed when we moved back into our apartment that I didn't catch everything and ended up with little dust-trap holes on the sides of baseboards and raw plaster edges (untaped) around an inset closet, which they just painted over as if it was OK. Those never stopped bugging me.

In addition to nini804's silent stare, don't forget Marcolo's slow look at the shoes. May not be effective with a GC's boots (I'm stereotyping here, I'm afraid) though!

Good luck!

Totally agree that you should be picky. My GC thinks I'm a pain, but I really don't care. Make a list, mark areas with tape, and do not make final payment until EVERYTHING on your list is addressed. GC will be very attentive at this point b/c they want their money!!

I looked at EVERY nook and cranny, tested all of the windows, cabinet doors/drawers, doors, appliances, faucets, etc. Checked to make sure all light fixtures were centered too, noticed a few that weren't. If you designated caulk in certain areas, verify! They grouted some areas where I specified caulk. Look at your grout color everywhere and make sure it is right/consistent, I had them dye our master backsplash (color was wrong) which was nice b/c the dye also seals the grout. I found out that some of our natural stone in the house was not sealed (put water on the stone and it should bead up on the stone as it dries if it has been sealed). Look at windows at different times of day. At sunset there were streaks on many windows, we are going to have them re-clean.

I am also very unhappy with my tilesetters, there are a few things I ended up having to live with unfortunately...no one will notice these imperfections but me. Hopefully I will grow blind to them over time.

That's awful about being stuck in the closet!! I'm going to make sure I have my cell on me while prepping for the final walk through this week!

Make sure GC gives you a list of all of your subcontractors (contact name/phone number for each) and you should also have all of your manuals.

Good luck and enjoy your beautiful new home!

lolauren, I have a telescoping downdraft and my GC said that if I don't think it is strong enough they can install an external blower later. Not sure if that could be an option for you ???

Here's a very helpful GW post...

Here is a link that might be useful: helpful walk-through GW thread

Thanks everyone. We did a spreadsheet w/ a detailed list and we will go back w/ tape (we didn't have time to tape before our meeting w/ the builder) Our builder pointed out a lot of the trim problems himself and is going to take care of pretty much all we pointed out. So, it looks like it was an easy transaction overall! My builder really is great. The tile truck was there when we got there too, so I guess they're trying at the last minute. The good news, although it didn't help us unfortunately, is our builder is pulling his business from the tile guys after the problems on our job and one other bad one. So, the tile people will pay for their bad behavior in the end because I have to believe it's going to hurt them to lose all the six-figure jobs in this economy!

scrappy25, yes our cabinet maker installed the cabinets. We also had trim carpenters of course. But they are all the builder's people.

LOL beekeeperswife hopefully we would not have BOTH been in the closet and you might have been able to let me out!