Can anyone see this post?

That is a very large chunk of stone. Are you in an area where succulents & cactus would grow?

I do not believe you have any legal recourse., but if you are considering this path you need to consult a lawyer. Legal actions may be a tough thing to do, as you inspected the lot and house before you signed the papers.

You did not say where you live, nor did you speculate on the size of the boulder.

If it is not part of a huge boulder that extends some distance in all ways you may raise it an plan your landscape around the boulder. (I would give any thing to have a large boulder in my yard for landscape purposes)

If it can not be raised, then you could try to add soil over the boulder so you can grow grass over the boulder.

As I see it those are your only options.

Austin, Texas? I don't know if you have legal recourse, the builder may not have known about that big ledge of limestone and the landscape crew may not have mentioned it to him/her.

A boulder is better than lawn, it requires no maintenance. Remove the grass that is shallow and expose the part of the boulder which is close to the surface and quit worrying about it. It will be unique.

I've really pondered that idea. I'm worried about drainage, but don't know the first thing about drainage! It would be nice to have a "minor formation" in the backyard!

also, this is in northern Collin county, TX

I would love to have a huge rock in my yard. Lawn maintenance is the biggest waste of time I can think of. I finally became so tired of the grass/weed patch in front of our house I put round up on the whole thing. Now I am making plans for salvaging the area somehow. Lawn care is not my idea of something worth doing, but that is just me. Some people actually like the crap.

I think you should dig around it and see how big it really is and how deep it goes. If it's not too big maybe you can rent a jackhammer and start chipping away at it.

You still don't say where you are. We live in an area where it would be surprising NOT to find boulders. Some people have them graded out, but most of us just live with them. Make lemonade out of lemons. You could put a cool patio over that boulder with a fire pit or some kind of seating / water feature.

You can find out how deep it is with a sharpened steel rod. Water it good and go around pushing the rod in the grass and make a map of the depth.

Or you can drill holes and use wedges to crack it into small pieces.

Wow, did tibiaron wander into the wrong room!!

Better post pics if you DO decide to excavate it, I have to see how massive that thing is underground.

I'm always amazed at the interesting ways builders and landscapders find to screw the homeowner. Even if you had withheld final payment you probably never would have caught this one. Nothing to add, just amazed and sorry to see that...

While previously I recommended taking it out. Get some idea of the size of rock that you have. A friend of mine had what he thought was a small rock in his yard. It turned out to be over 6' in diameter.

Some years ago on I believe the TV show "This old house" the called in professional to blast a rock that was causing problems in one of the homes they were working. I assume it would be expensive, but it is another option.

There's this stuff too

http://www.betonamit.net

You drill a hole, put that in, add water and it expands to crack the boulder.

I bet this is a part of the Preston Hollow Quadrangle. It may not be too deep.

For others who do not know what the Preston Hollow Quadrangle is.

https://sites.smu.edu/shulermuseum/publication_pdfs/field_lab/Hall1953.pdf

i would contract the contractor, they obviously knew the boulder was there and laid the sod directly on top of it. I would contact them and ask them to do the right thing and remove it, and if they dont, advise them that your lawyer will (even if you dont have one yet). give them the opportunity to do the right thing. very obvious they knew about the way that sod was put over it.

Quote "do the right thing and remove it"

He still needs to try to determine the size of the rock. From the picture it looks like it is huge. It may be impossible to remove it, only make it less of a problem.

The size doesnt matter...the issue is the contractor clearly knew it was there and tried it cover it by laying sod directly on top of the boulder. the contractor figured he would just cover it and be on his way instead of letting the owner make the decision how to proceed. its bad business and i wouldnt let them get away with it. if it was a boulder that was 6" under the ground, they would have no way to know and i wouldnt suggest to contact them...but as shown in the pics, the sod was laid right on top (no soil).

Builder is coming out to the house tomorrow (Thursday). I'll keep you posted

Agreed it was a bit nefarious, but I'd probably just drill holes or use that cracking compound somebody suggested, then stuff the cracks to make myself a little succulent garden with a nice seating area around it, maybe a fire bowl in the middle. I think it looks cool, definitely unique to your property & even if they removed it that would take so much fill dirt & leveling...You'd be fighting it for years to get the grass looking good. Is it Bermuda grass?