Is This Really Marble? - New Home closing soon

Hi everyone - I need your opinions (if only so I know how much to keep pushing on this. I am building a new home (and it is not a cheap home)) and for my fireplace surround the standard was slate.

My wife and I really liked the marble in that is the fifth from the left in the image below. It was described as "Walnut Travertine" and the color while "pinky" in nature seemed a good fit for our cherry floors. It was definitiely a polished marble feel. The samples were in the builder's "display".



Now I fully understand that stone is a natural product and has variations etc.

Here is what we was installed. Now while it may look similar to the crappy images I took 3-4 months ago, I am confident it is not. The color is almost "ocher" in nature and not a smooth surface at all. It is heavily pitted and just plain ugly in person.



I am concerned whether this is even marble. I am not a marble expert and it certainly isn't like the granite countertops we have in the kitchen (which looks fabulous). Wherever there is small surface "chips" it is white underneath (almost like it was plaster) What more there is some staining along one edge which to me almost looks like paint/stain!




I am not happy at all about this (and we close in 6 days). The builder claims they relayed to the contractor "what was on the paperwork to be installed as selected by us" - what I am trying to ascertain is is this really marble? Is this walnut travertine and have I been mislead either by assuming the product would look like the showroom product or by the sub contractor?

thoughts?

Jason

You mention both marble and travertine in your post, but they are not the same:

http://www.linley.com/stonefaq.htm

It's really hard to tell anything about the finish of the stone from your pictures. The "paint" that you see may be adhesive residue.

If the builder sold you marble, and it it is rough finished, perhaps he can have someone polish it it place or perhaps he should replace it. First, have him show you the paperwork that he claims as his reason for that installation. You haven't closed yet, so you have some leverage, and since it's safe to assume that there already lawyers involved in the transaction, maybe your lawyer could write a letter to the builder....

To me it really doesn't matter what it's called. You are not supposed to be an expert that's why you have all these people you are paying for directly or indirectly. You pointed at a sample and said I want this and you were told this will be the additional cost and you said ok. If that's not what you got within reason then don't accept it. It's hard to tell from photos but even from your photos I can see its not the same gloss as the sample. Sure the color or stripping could change a little from the sample but there should not be pitting and voids unless the sample looked like that.

You are in control at this point. After the closing it will be 100 times harder to deal with this. Tell your contact how close the closing date is and you would hate to have to push it back over a minor detail. If new material can't be had in that short of a time then have an adjustment made at closing and take care of it yourself.

The old saying "Nice guys finish last. " is generally true.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Repair

:agree: Bud said it better than I did.
The first point and the link were included to give you background for the 'discussion' that's likely to happen.

It sort of looks like some sort of ceramic tile to me. I'm no expert, but I have to agree that it does not look much like the sample. Sometimes the samples are just tiny portions and they show the best parts. But it doesn't even have the same gloss. I'm guessing it is a lower quality product than what was used for the sample-- if it is even the same product at all.

An invoice of the order should help. Ask for the name of the manufacturer of the product so you can find out if it looks how it is supposed to look. If it is already chipping and has stains then it was probably not the best installation job.

Find an expert that sells the stuff and pay him to come out and give you a writtin report on what he finds, he should also see the original samples. If they are no longer available the builder is in a bad place.

See if you can get a left over piece of what they used. You should have some anyway in case there is future damage. If the contractor is in the business, he will have access to it anyway. Scratch a knife across an inconspicuous area or on the underside of the slab piece. If it shows little or no damage, you are looking at durable granite or a manufactured stone. Marble will scratch and show wear marks.

So we were able to get to the vendor and discuss this with them just prior to settlement. It turns out the Walnut Travertine "stone" that we had ordered was prone to large pits and gaps, so they changed vendors which provided a very dark "yellow" travertine. Of course they never mentioned this to us our the builder. Fortunately they had some samples of Antique Marble which my wife liked and agreed with the builders approval (which we obtained prior to closing) that it could be swapped out. The builder also agreed to cover and repair any damage to the mantel that should occur from the replacement work. So the work is not done yet, we are I our new home but at least it is all agreed to in writing....

Thanks for you comments and suggestions!

Glad you got that sorted out, jadrake. Still sucks that there was a lack of communication like that.

zannej said:

Glad you got that sorted out, jadrake. Still sucks that there was a lack of communication like that.

Click to expand...

Happens everyday