It sounds like he's admitted error, though contracts sometimes prohibit verbal amendments, and you'd have to look at the contract to know if, legally, he's responsible for fixing it. Is he offering you anywhere near the amount of money it would take to change it?

Are all of these communications verbal? I mean the current ones where he offers concessions.

What does your construction contract say? What do your construction documents show? What does your contract say about cancellation and expenses?

Is this a custom house design on your own land, or is this a tract house in a builder's development?

Do you own the project now (you and the bank), or does the builder own it, and you don't take possession until occupancy?

Have you put down a deposit and are you current with progress payments? How badly do you want to live in this neighborhood, on this property, in this house?

Have you discussed the cost to remove, replace the trusses and create the vaulted interior? Are you willing to split the cost with the builder in some amount?

Do you still have an amicable relationship with the builder or has it deteriorated?

The answers to all these questions will guide you to your follow-up strategy.

The cost difference between the trusses might be minimal, but everything that goes with it after the trusses are up is what costs real money. Unless you have a signed contract specification for vaulted , or signed change order for vaulted, change isn't happening if the roof is already on.

If you'd noticed it when the trusses were delivered, or even the first couple of ones were installed, maybe something could have been worked out. But eating the whole cost of the trusses and the labor and everything else that has come after is never going to happen without having the correct design in the blueprints and the correct specifications in a contract.

Is this a tract house? The builder owns the lot? And the house plan? Try having him shift you to a different lot and a new build. He can finish that one on spec and sell it. He might be willing to do that.

If its your land, you own the poor architectural specifications, and the poor contact both. The remedy is to fire the builder and find someone new and pay for all of that to be redone with him. That isn't very real world practical or economical though. But it can be done. If your bank cooperates and you have the additional cash funding that it will cost to do it.

Unless you have a signed contract specification for vaulted , or signed change order for vaulted, change isn't happening if the roof is already on.

Why wouldn't a credit memo serve as an exception to the statute of frauds?

I would argue that a written offer to refund the OP some monies for lack of performance proves the addendum exists. However, I am still not sure the OP is going to get a correction, but a written settlement offer with admission will give the OP more leverage.

Hi, Danielle,

I'm sorry for your experience. I can't turn the clock back for you. I can't advise you about next steps without knowing a whole lot more than you've provided nor can I provide legal advice. What I'd like to do is to share some thoughts about the process of designing a custom home in the hope that others might avoid a similar experience.

The process of designing a custom home may include discussion of many design alternatives and may involve a number of plan revisions. The final plans should aim to document the owners' final choices in sufficient detail to prevent confusion, errors, and finger pointing. That's a tall order, but it's in everyone's best interest.

It is incumbent on owners to thoroughly review the plans and specifications before approving them for construction. Most designers and designer/builders will be glad to take the time to review the plans with owners to confirm everything is correct. Time spent on the front end can help avoid situations like the one experienced by the OP. If you don't understand something on the plans or don't see something you think should be shown, please don't hesitate to ask.

" . . . the illusion of a larger space . . . "

A vaulted ceiling can turn a 300 square foot room into a 300 square foot room. Seek a compromise that will make all parties have a happy reality.

So where's the copy you signed off on? Tell him you need to see that copy.

Also if the ceilings aren't vaulted how high are they?

Plans are gospel, as modified by your agreement.

he has already admitted he was fully aware of the plan to do vaulted and that he dropped the ball. I am sure if this gets very messy he won’t be able to “find” that blueprint. We never actually signed off on a blueprint per se anyway he just showed it to us and we signed a contract and spec sheet.

The reason you sign off on plans is to ensure that all parties are on the same page, however, plans are not necessarily an enforceable portion of a contract even if signed off on.

His admission is typically enough to establish that portion of the contract, however, that admission is going to do little unless you have it memorialized in some way. So my question still stands, have these offers and admissions been memorialized in some way or are they only verbal?

If the trusses were just put up and the roof isn't on, it can be corrected. It may cost some time and money and you might want to consider shouldering some of that cost just to grease the wheels, but first we need to look at how much bargaining power you have.

At what point was this problem found out? If I were building a house I would be on site every day to see. At least at the end of the day if local. Personally I like to see it being built and take pics. Do you live where the house is being built? You might need to contact a *%&$^#% lawyer to view the contract. ! That is a MAJOR builder error on the MOST expensive item you will ever purchase...!!!!

Do you have an estimate for correction?

My crazy guessing spreadsheet says $5000 for new trusses and $5000 for labor. Can this be split between you and builder?

8 foot ceilings all around on a new house isn't particularly common in my area. Going to 9 feet is such a minimal cost with a significant benefit. Vaulting is similar cost. I think you probably need to remedy this one way or another. How much deposit does he have and how much does he know you "need" this land?

"At what point was this problem found out?"

Robin did you read the post? It is spelled out very clearly the timeline for catching it.

There are always conversations about "what ifs" when designing and pricing a project. Written contracts & plans are the only way to insure all has been agreed to.

Emails are pretty good too. Texts are unreliable as not all are delivered or transmitted.

First of all, it sounds as though you have a good guy as a builder, and have a solid relationship -- if I were you, I would want to keep it that way!!! There's a looooooong way to go, and creating hostility between the two of you is not going to serve you well. Let him know your disappointment, but stay very friendly.

With only one conversation and text, I think you need to kindly discuss all the options, including how much it would cost to redo it, and how much you guys could possibly split the cost. I would not die on this hill, but my personal feeling for vaulted ceilings is what Mark Bischak posted above. Maybe you could talk him into adding more windows (to me, lots of light would make the area feel larger), a great outdoor living space, big porch, or something like that which may still be done.

If it was talked about from the very beginning why isn't it in the plans? I think the fault is split here sadly. Also what does your cost estimate include as there is a price difference in the cielings that should also be reflected there.

If it was talked about from the very beginning why isn't it in the plans? I think the fault is split here sadly. Also what does your cost estimate include as there is a price difference in the ceilings that should also be reflected there.

There is a big difference in feel between 96” and 108” ceilings. You should have your own personal copy of the plans. What ceiling height is indicated? What is written in your contract?

A few thoughts.

- That your builder admitted that it was his fault without anything in writing speaks a lot to the integrity and character of your builder. As mentioned above I would do everything possible to preserve a good relationship. It should not be unusual for a builder to have this level of integrity but sadly it is. You may be hard pressed to find a better builder.

- IMO much of the fault lies with you. You should not have signed off on the project without checking over the plans to make sure that what the plans indicate is what you wanted built. Truss designers and framers and everyone else working on this project are not mind readers. They will build exactly what is on the plans. Yes, it's lots of details. And things will get missed. That's life.

- Finally, I am not a fan of vaulted ceilings. IMO they actually do nothing to enhance a room and often make a space feel less personal and less human. Are they impressive? Perhaps. But I'd much rather have a home that is comfortable for the humans who live there than impressive for the few people who visit occasionally.

We are building a 7,000 sq ft house with one of the three highest end builders in our state - and we've got 9' ceilings on our main level and 8'4" on our second level. No vaults. And this is more and more typical in the upper end of homes. We want a home that is comfortable for humans, not one that is fake impressive.

So, given your situation I would very strongly reconsider how important the vaults are and if they are worth what it will cost to get them at this point. As mentioned above, maybe get some more or better windows.

So here is what I would do if I were in your situation.

I would write the builder an email (send it with a read receipt), a text will also work if you get a text response.

I would thank the builder for his integrity in admitting the mistake and inquire as to the amount of the discount being offered. I would also explain that I am very concerned about the house and would like to get a cost and a timeline to correct the mistake. I would keep it polite and simple, and avoid saying that I would assume the cost.

This accomplishes three things. First, it gets the builder's admission of fault in writing. If he responds with an amount of discount offered for the mistake, he is owning the mistake.

Next, it moves the builder away from the idea that it is not fixable and to the idea that it is expensive to fix.

Finally, it puts the builder on notice that there is a problem and he must act appropriately to mitigate the problem.

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I am not sure the OP is responsible, even if the OP signed off on the plans. There is an asymmetric information problem here. The builder is the one who is supposed to be proficient at spotting problems in plans, to say that the OP didn't spot a mistake in the plans and thus owns the mistake is only relevant if the builder in no way assumed that responsibility. Which from what the OP has said, the builder certainly did.

I don't see how the builder would be able to shift the responsibility of this error onto the client, given what we have been told. However, before you go any further, you need real information with hard numbers anyway so getting cost information will help.

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There are certain vaulted ceilings that I like, however, I don't like most. I like 9' ceilings a lot more than I like vaulted ceilings. So personally, I would check to see if you have 9' ceilings and then thank your lucky stars that you don't have vaulted ceilings.

However, it is your house, so get what you like.

Here is an example of a vaulted ceiling that I like, and one that I don't.

Like:

Don't like:

Those are just my opinions, I am sure you have your own...

First of all you don’t even have a clue how high your ceilings are. If 8’ I agree with you they are too low. However if they are 9’ you will not feel closed in and I’d take the money and let him finish.

Everything can be fixed. It sounds that both you and the builder made mistakes communicating.

I’d ask him to stop and have him quote $ for replacing the half built roof with the vaulted. If it’s not prohibitively expensive then discuss how to split cost and negotiate something fair.

A couple of thoughts on @Bry911 vaults. Agree that the second is, IMO, quite awful in every way.

The first is aesthetically very pleasing to me and I think aesthetics are important. I think that it'd become somewhat uncomfortable to live in. The room is not human scale. I'd love a place like that for a weekend or week or even a month, but not 12 months year after year.

Do you have a copy of the blueprint? Maybe the vault could be cut back to something reasonable and workable with just a few trusses changed out. The truss company production time will be the biggest holdup. If the house had just been old fashioned stick framed, there wouldn't be an issue at all.

"he wants the builder to pay the full cost"

I get that but just remember you have months left to deal with this builder. You cram this up his butt today and he will not have a warm fuzzy spot for you going forward...........................

I agree with Millworkman, but try not to visualize it. Try to create a win-win solution. The builder may be able to offer something else of equal or greater value to you.

Looking for a win-win strategy with a builder who is still working on your house only makes sense.

Do you have any idea what a builder can do to a house under construction which you will never know about...until later?

my husband is upset with me and said by asking for the cost it somehow implies we are willing to help pay for it and since the vaulted language is listed in the signed contract he wants the builder to pay the full cost

In this case, your husband is wrong unless you agreed to something you haven't discussed here.

I would advise the same thing. The most important thing is to move the builder away from the "it is too late to fix it" defense. So long as he answers your inquiries with some indication that it can't be fixed he will likely continue working on the house until it really can't be fixed. However, when you ask him for a price to correct the issue, you automatically move him off the "it is too late to fix it" defense. It also automatically creates a duty for him to mitigate the cost of correction by stopping additional work that would increase the cost to correct.

Your stop work order does the same thing, but shifts responsibility for loss mitigation to you rather than the builder. Now you have a stoppage that you demanded and you have to act to limit his losses on the stoppage by making a decision quickly.

Sure, there is a little bit of greasing the wheels by implying that you might pay for the correction, but that implication isn't a contract, nor is it going to overrule the existing contract and obligation. Really, you are strengthening your case, as you now have objective evidence of the cost to correct and thus have monetary damages that you are fighting over rather than professional judgment.

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Having said all this, as several posters have mentioned above, you don't necessarily want the builder to pay for this.

Remember your goal is to get the best house built for an amount that you find reasonable. It is not to win this fight with the builder.

You and the builder have asymmetric information, simply put he knows more about building a house, and the costs associated with it, than you do. You want your builder to make a profit on your house, you don't want a situation where the builder is acting to mitigate his loss on your house. In the end, he can simply cut corners that you can't know or find in order to recover some of his losses. Remember, he just needs to make some profit on your build, you actually have to live in the house.

While not likely, it is possible to have the original truss manufacturer engineer a "repair" to the trusses in question. These often include significant amounts of labor and plywood essentially sandwiching the trusses. This can cause headaches for the builder as the build continues, as well as attic access issues for you down the road. But, if it's important, it is worth looking into. Keep in mind that this is not something the truss manufacturer will want to do, so it may take some gentle encouragement to see if they are willing. I have found speaking directly with the truss representative can be helpful. Not all trusses/roofs are candidates for this, so don't get your hopes up too much.

Good luck

I just reread the thread and now I’m confused.

This evolved from “can’t find anything written in the contract about vaulted ceilings” through “handwritten on draft but not on final blueprints” to “since the vaulted language is listed in the signed contract he wants the builder to pay“.

The approach to resolve this depends on the real situation.

Given how diffuse this is, I’d still say it’s best to pursue a cooperative strategy.

Good luck!