I have the new home about to close (in about a week or two). Today I did measurements of the house. To my surprise the overall depth on the side with the garage is one foot short. It turns out the builder made the garage depth one foot less than the plan/spec (23' depth x 22' width but now it is
22x22). I have the furnace, water heater and a chest freezer along the inside. My extended size vehicle will still fit but very tightly. During the planning/contracting I specifically told him I want 23x22 because of my extended car and it is marked on the floor plan drawing. WTF he wanted make it 1' less!!! How much he would save on the cost by cutting that 1'!!! But I guess I don't have much to do with it, house is nearly completed. I kept watching the jobsite from time to time but it still screwed me over.
You have to watch them every step of the way. I made specific arrangements on my house for them to leave 11 feet on one side. After they dug the foundation I went over and measured and it was only 9 feet. No reason for it other then their stupidity. Got them to swap the AC (ground mounted) location to the other side of the house to unclutter the area so I'd still have decent drive thru clearance. They also put one of the hose bibs on the wrong side of the house so I get a free hose bib out of the deal when they made that right. They skim on concrete strength and thickness on the driveway - at least 25% of the homes have significant driveway cracks as a result. They had to replace one of my slabs before we even moved in it was so bad. It's all just blow and go.
-- Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts:
"What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . . Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise a standing army upon its ruins." -- Debate, U.S. House of Representatives, August 17, 1789
Most all contractor bid jobs by the amount of square feet of the house. You take the 1 foot wide area by the 22 feet long and you get the house being shorted by
22 sq. ft. . If the contractor bid the house at say $60.00 a square foot. Deduct
22 X $60.00 = $1,320.00 . You can get the valve of the shortage by deviding the price of the bid by the sq. ft. of the house and get the square feet verses the cost of the square feet. Like 2000 sq. ft. house and cost $100K will give you $50.00 a Square foot. $50.00 X 22 feet = $1,100.00 .
Your house is 22 sq. ft. smaller than it should have been.
Can I assume you also check the 22' width? I'm just wondering of you are talking inside dimensions and he is talking outside? If not, you got screwed. You should be able to recover something.
That is a poor way to buy a house. The kitchen may work out to $250 a square foot, the garage that is little more than a shell can be $15. I don't want the builder to decide where the money should be apportioned.
It was explained to me, by several realtors, that square footage is measured from the outside of the house. If the house is a block home, like here in the Florida, the difference could be substantial......Ross my .02!
It was explained to me, by several realtors, that square footage is measured from the outside of the house. If the house is a block home, like here in the Florida, the difference could be substantial......Ross my .02!
I know the sizes include the walls. On the drawing, the overall outside sizes of the foundation walls, as well as individual sections sizes, are marked. The overall width of the foundation is 54'. The depth on the side with two small bedrooms is 32'. The side with garage is 43'. The 54' and 32' are right on. But the garage side is only 42' so I went in and measured inside. It turned out all the heated spaces are all right, just as shown on the plan. But the garage is 1' short. The spec size 23x22 includes walls I know it. 22 is right (measurement includes walls). The inside depth should be a bit less than 22', taking 2x6 studs walls and 5/8 sheetrock (garage is fully sheetrocked by 5/8 and insulated - but not heated). But the actual inside depth is a bit less than 21'. So I know it is the garage that is short of 1'.
At this point I don't think any change to the house is practical. Probably the only thing I can do is to ask for some credit for that mistake (I still don't think the builder did this intentionally as I know this won't save him a lot - only needs one more 2x6 stud on each side, and overall I think he did a decent job on other stuff). I don't plan to take advantage of this and demand $$$ or ask him to do outragous things - I would be mad if my current car does not fit at all. But I don't feel comfortable just swallowing it.
I am trying find what to ask when I bring this up to the builder. This builder quoted just the total so I don't know his cost for the garage. I had bid from another builder for the same plan (back in summer) that quoted separately with $12,000 for the 23x22. If I take this figure the garage turns out $23.70 per sqft. 22 sf would be $520 (maybe a little more because the other bidder's quote is for the spec with sheetrock only on the walls adjoining living space, no insulation). Do you guys think this is the right amount to ask for compenstation?
I do like the house and want it. I don't want to bust the deal. The local house price has gone up a bit during the course of construction. If the builder sells the house to someone else he may be able to get a few thousands more out of it. We do have the pre-sold new construction contract (this is legally binding) but I am not sure when I demand the compensation and he is unwilling what will happen. Can he refuse to sell it to me?
I'd start out with a polite question of "how did the garage come up a foot short?"
He should then take out his tape measure and verify the error. Assuming he agrees, point out the original plans, acknowledge that it is a difficult (and very expensive) problem to fix and offer to work with him for some compensation. At that point you can ask for some upgrade in another area. Additional walkway? Landscaping? Finishing in the basement? Rather than a cash settlement it would probably work to the benefit of both of you to agree on and alternative method.
Take some of the responsibility yourself! You use the typical I-am-a-total-helpless-victim terms such as "hate such builders" and "screwed me over" , "to my surprise", and "I specifically told him" . You further assume, likely incorrectly, that he "meant to" screw you over. The lesson is this. First, he has responsibility to follow plans, and this sounds like a verbal side agreement, which rarely stands up in claims court, if it not on paper. Secondly, there was possibly no swindle intent, likely just tape measure dyslexia, or absent minded error, both of which are common. Further, when we contract a home, I consider it my duty and responsibility as owner and de facto uber-supervisor to take the few minutes per room to actually measure, the day the foundation forms are up, or later, when the interior room 2x4 plates are nailed down, to check the measurements against any written agreement or plans. "Catching him" at the very end of the process is unfair to him and you as well. Such mistakes are easily rectified if you measure as you go, at the appropriate time of construction. Was the foundation already there when you made this agreement? If so, there may have been no option to move the wall further back. If you
No i don't know exactly and don't have housing contractor wrote on my shirt, but i was give him a yard stick to estimate a cost of the short fall and just giving him a '' ideal '' to where to start estimating the short fall.
Now I'm a HVAC contractor and if i put a 2.5 ton cooling system in your house and the contract called for a 3 ton cooling system. Would you tell me to forget about it because you was a nice guy and did not want to upset me?
I was giving him a starting point as to a high value and then discuss it with the contractor to decide on a more real price . The contractor know what a sq. ft. cost on any part of that house and ask for the moon and let him work it back to reality on the earth price.
This is Cover in Horse Trading 101 tought in Killage.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.