This is a complicated issue and I think you should contact a lawyer. Did you accept the change, either expressly or impliedly? Was the change hidden or in plain sight? What is the statute of limitation for contract claims in your state? What does your contract with the builder say? How did the architect verify that he specified something else? Was is clearly written on the plan or is it subject to interpretation or is the architect going from memory? Etc.

Also did you have to have the architect's plans approved by a permit department? Do you have the plans now or is this your memory vs. the contractors?

I agree, consult an attorney on this one.

Are you having the same builder do the renovation this time?

If so, just tell him he will have to incur the costs to change the header out since it was not done properly by him the 1st time. Get a copy of the plans & show that to him as proof.

Keep in mind even if he does accept that he will most likely make it up somewhere else in this new renovation.

If he is not doing the renovation this time then he will most likely just say no to fixing it. It was 5 years ago, there will be too many "he said, she said" stories, and most likely the 1 1/2 X 14" beam meets code. I think you should double check that as that might be the only way to force him to fix it. He can easily say that he never heard of the future renovation 5 years ago.

If it is the principle of the thing then I'd suggest you do as the posts above say & hire a lawyer.

If you just want to get it done & you were trying to save the expense of replacing w/ the 9 1/2" depth beam (since it was the builder's fault) then I think you'd spend more in time & money going through a lawyer and possibly court than it would cost to just pay to have it replaced.

Unless you could easily win this in small claims court, it isn't worth trying to collect from the builder, IMO. Check limits of your court (often $2K to $4K) and how much hassle it would be to file. Sometimes just notice of the hearing will result in a settlement -- if the builder knows he can't win and doesn't want to devote time to this. OTOH, if he is a big builder with legal coverage, he may just let them fight this for him.

thank you everyone. this site is so great -- reading all 4 of your posts helped me think about it clearly, after muddling over it for a week. yes, i'm sure the LVL he used meets code, it's just stupid looking. the architect does have the plans, but i do believe after 5 years it'll be too much of a "he said, she said" thing. i also agree that it'd be more hassle, money and time, not to mention just bad feeling all around to start a legal action. the builder is not doing the kitchen work, my husband and i are. all in all it's probably best to ask the builder, but be prepared to have someone else do it when he says no. (i won't pay him twice to do what he should have done right the first time!)

No, the builder is not responsible, particularly after five years.

And please; fix your keyboard; not using caps is so incredibly difficult to read that your post is nearly illegible.

I usually agree w/ jason but in this case I don't. If the situation is as the OP describes then I think the builder should be responsible regardless of the timeframe. I just don't think they could prove it & even if they could the cost of doing so would be more expensive than if they just go ahead & pay for it.

I'm not sure why it was not noticed by the OPs when it was initially framed but that is not the issue here anyway.

I'm not sure what an OP is, but I'm assuming it's some kind of overseer. Our architect supplied us with the plans only, did not oversee the project. I was probably the one to catch it, and i didn't. Still, the builder was aware of what he was doing, he's a smart guy. He knew he was installing something that wouldn't look acceptable.

jasonmi7 --My keyboard isn't broken, i just type miserably and capitalizing slows me down even more! Sorry it was hard to read.

Thanks again everyone.

OP is the original poster so that would be you.

Hi
I am a builder myself and you have the right to ask your builder to make the necessary repairs.

Here is a link that might be useful: builders

my opinion is to ask him to fix it and if he refuses you just deal with it. legal action won't phase him. if he is a big builder his lawyers will make it cost you more than it is worth, and if he is a small builder he may simply go out of business and open a new company the next day. one local plumber here is up to X's Plumbing 5 now. he had X's Plumbing, shut it down and reopened as X's Plumbing 2, then 3, then 4, and now 5.

just drywall over it and accept the bump out.

I don't know where you are, but if you Google "statute of limitations" and "contracts" and "(your state name)" you should come up with something.