I drilled some faucet holes wrong and may have to eat $7,000.00 worth of estone. Wah. I'm already over feeling bad. Cost of doing business. Make him suck it up; I have to. No sympathy.

No one here can help you more than the people there. Good luck to you and them.

I have to agree with Joseph Corlett. You should not have to pay (financially or emotionally) for his error. Make him correct it. You have too much invested to settle due to his/his crew's error.

well, either they start over and do it according to the specs, OR, they offer you a compromising solution and a hugggeeee discount. (because for them to tear it down and redo another one, is going to cost them big bucks. A really, really good discount would a be bargain on their end. Even if they end up doing it for free for you, it's still cheaper than the alternative for them)

up to you what you want to accept.

What everyone has said. They need to make it right so it matches the plans and they have to do it so that the engineer YOU BRING IN (not the GC's engineer) approves if there's a change to the original plans.

Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate all of the feedback.

Re do and free fix. What "Negotiation" ? To my mind there is nothing to negotiate. .

Its not complicated. If you superimpose the as-built foundation rectangle on the plan of the house should be obvious what the builder is trying to do. The built wall will stick out 2 ft from one side of the house and it will be set back 2 ft under the house around the corner.

The part that sticks out must be removed and it appears he wants to leave the other wall and build a new one 2 ft in front of it thereby reducing the useable size of your basement.

The builder probably hasn't shown you a sketch or made any attempt to document the problem and the solution. Force him to put everything on paper.

The alternative would be to remove two sides of the foundation and replace them in the correct positions. If the builder cuts the wall, the engineer will need to draw a detail for the footing and wall joints and the builder will need to propose a way to waterproof the foundation for the given site conditions. Force them to put all of that on paper.

Whatever happens don't waste time. The less time the concrete has been curing the easier it will be to remove it. Hopefully it doesn't contain much reinforcing.

Good luck

No discount is the answer a redo is the answer and all on their dime and now you will also need them to ante up for the delay in home delivery. This is a huge deal and needs fixing NOW. A modular home requires the foundation to be perfect in all dimensions period.

Have you called the modular company to see if shipment can be delayed? You on,y get one chance to do the foundation, you’re better off delaying so the foundation can be fixed properly than trying to rush.

Next step will be having an on-site meeting with the builder and engineer to determine a path forward. It would be best if the engineer works for you, not the builder. You need to have someone with your best interest in mind. At that meeting, take notes or even record the conversation so you don’t second guess later what was really said. do not immediately commit to a path forward unless you are 100% happy with the recommendations. It’s ok if you want to think about it for a day. Put everything discussed in writing, ask the contractor to confirm before giving approval.

Please let us know what happens

Thank you all for your time and comments. We are already going to be out of pocket about $28,000. I can’t afford an engineer on our end. I want to insist they start over. But I don’t think they will. Also, winter is setting in, we have septic that still needs to be Installed. I worry about the ground freezing too much and they will not be able to dig.

My question:

1. If they superimpose as res2 said, will the foundation be strong? Or will my new house be apt to have a bad foundation in the long run.

The other problem I worry is they will leave the extra two feet out looking like a sore thumb.

We worked to hard for this and I am at a loss. But, your words have helped. Thank you.

They have to re-do. They built it wrong. I'm sure at this point you feel worn down and over-whelmed. Been there. Do you have a family member or good friend that can be your voice?

A few delays is better than not getting what you are paying for. Tell the inspection and the builder that fixing it is non-negotiable. It is their problem not yours. Stay strong

You want to insist..........and you DO that. If you don't have an attorney, get one on board. There is nothing anyone can do here, for you.

Anything short of that, is to settle for what happens, if , when , it happens. All we can do is sympathize. Good luck to you!

How much have you paid the contractor vs what you still owe?

Have you told them that youd prefer they start over and do it properly? I assume they’ll try to sell you on easier fixes, but if you’re polite and firm they may do the right thing.

This is one of those times when a mistake is literally "cast in concrete." But that doesn't mean a complete tear out and do-over is required to remedy the problem. They need to excavate, cut and remove sections of the existing foundation and pour new footings and walls properly mated to the existing ones and properly waterproofed. That's where the engineer comes in.

If the engineer is a licensed professional engineer (and your state's laws should require that) I wouldn't worry too much if the builder is cutting their check. A licensed engineer isn't going to put his/her license, professional reputation, and future earning potential at risk to design a less than appropriate solution for your foundation in order to save the builder a couple of bucks.

For folks wondering how to prevent a similar mistake on their own project, it's fairly simple: 1.) have a surveyor produce a site development plan which shows the location of the home, driveway, walks, etc. shown in relation to property boundaries and building set-backs, and 2.) have the surveyor layout the excavation as per the site development plan before any excavation work begins. Many lenders require a foundation survey as proof it was constructed in conformance with the site development plan before dispersing funds to the builder.

Thank you Charles Ross Homes. I read your comments to my husband. He felt a little better as he gave the contractor a verbal go ahead to “see what the engineer thinks.”

We are practicing patience and kindness in this situation. We are also trying to be firm. We can come up with a compromise as long as the foundation is still strong in the end. *Strength of my foundation is my concern and that it gets fit right.

I can lose a little footage in the basement, but they should compensate some for that, just not sure how much?

Let me preface by saying I know nothing about building a house. But you are already negotiating with yourself. Don't make that your starting position. Demand a proposed solution immediately
- make sure you have someone giving you both legal (lawyer) and technical (engineer) advice to make the right decision on their proposed solution. You cannot not afford to have knowledgeable people advising you. Take kindness out of the equation. I can see how you are putting yourself in the GC's shoes and trying to make it easy for everyone. Think of yourself first. As Joseph Corlett said, this is cost of doing business. And this is how they learn to be more careful next time.

when I mentioned discount, (jan and others) it with the caveat that a compromise would be reached. Obviously something still has to work. maybe OP has to sacrifice 2 feet, I don't know. Or as was suggested, cutting portions, installing new fittings, etc. But the point was, if OP has to sacrifice what she really wanted,(plans or even time frame) but they could still make it work, then I think a break on their price would be warranted.

Obviously OP would have to work it out w/plans and engineers to see if it's possible. And if it's really not something they want to do, they can have the company start from square one.

Mistakes do happen. Often times they can still work. maybe not exactly as planned, (hence 'compromise' and then 'discount') but they can work.

When I got married we got to the reception venue just a bit ahead of schedule. In the hubbub of greets and all that, I didn't look closely at our band. My dad walked up to the table and said "those guys are getting ready to pack up!!!" 'I looked closely..........and said "well guess what? No biggie Dad, that isn't OUR BAND.

YOU GET MY DRIFT..........

Buildingsmall11, I’m so sorry this should-be happy project is kicking off with major stress! Love that you’re bringing kindness to the dilemma. Losing basement footage might not be the only issue. What about access when you need to install new outlets, move plumbing or utilities or install radon mitigation? Will the “lost” area, and living space above it, be colder and damper since it won’t have the same air circulation as the rest of the basement? When you go to sell buyers will be wary and wonder why it wasn’t done right from the start, costing you value. I support the suggestion you consult a lawyer to understand all of your options.

Thank you Mama Cita, good points to think about!

You are welcome! I would tell the GC that you will need to have your own structural engineer validate any solutions that the GC’s engineer endorses, other than a complete demo and rebuild. The GC should agree to reimburse you for the cost of getting your own engineer’s opinion. You can prepare by identifying an engineer now so that you’re ready when the GC comes back with his engineer’s recommendation. The County inspectors, a local universities engineering department or your fire department may be able to suggest structural engineers for hire in your area.

P.s. — your engineer’s role should include both a desk review of the proposed solution, and field inspection of the “fix.” People add basement under expansions all the time and tie it into existing basement without problem. To me a bigger worry is the proposal to leave a false wall, and making sure things are done correctly. Especially since it’s now an added expense for the GC, and he will be under pressure to do things quickly to avoid liability for further delays.

Just another comment - When we built our addition the city required us to have a licensed surveyor do a wall check survey after the footings and crawl space walls were in place. This verified we were in the right place on the lot, were not building too big a footprint, and were within all the setbacks. I'm surprised that other locations would not have this requirement.

I do recall that the deadline for the wall check survey was no later than after the first floor walls went up, so if we had delayed it they might have gotten much farther along before finding a mistake in the foundation.

Bruce