can't believe you would even hesitate to speak up! totally not acceptable! Get a 2nd party involved, come to the table with photos of what a finished, professional job should look like. I sure as heck wouldn't sign off on this type of work. or pay someone else to have it cleaned up. that is your builders responsibility.

This is beyond sloppy and should have been cleaned while the mortar was soft. Even a first year apprentice would know better than to let this harden on ledge rock. It is not a cosmetic issue that can be tidied up at the end of the project. Removing it (chiseling it off) could very well loosen the bond between the stone and wall ultimately causing the stone to fall off. Removing it will require chiseling, wire brushing over a muriatic acid solution and will result in a weak wall. From the picture I am assuming this is approximately 2" -3" ledge rock? If it were my project I would have it torn off and redone.....end of story. BTW...from a comment above....home inspectors are not building professionals for the most part. It takes 6 hours and $150 to become a licensed home inspector...they are a blight on the industry.

DHPM: That's the way I feel about appraiser's, especially if they are appraising for a bank loan.

I noticed a comment or two stating you get what you pay for and I just want to add that I've worked with many an inexperienced person with wonderful results. The trick is to understand the job, lay out the plan and the steps to achieve it and then supervise. Although some jobs require a true artisan ( I would not attempt to study up and then explain Venetian plaster to someone), I don't think faux stacked stone is rocket science. It does require a conscientious person who takes pride in their work and vigilant supervision. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I also don't rush workers even though I frequently hire people for time and materials. Getting it done correctly the first time is important to me. Personally, I find it much easier to work with an inexperienced person than a contractor at two or three times the cost who isn't willing to discuss methods and materials with me and who isn't open-minded to new ways to do things. And these days, I can tell almost instantly the contractors that are comfortable working with a woman and in my experience, I can tell you, many aren't. I'm fortunate that I have a couple contractors in my area that I enjoy working with for the tough jobs and that I'm not afraid to turn my back on.

I cringe when someone says "get a home inspector". Most are failed realtors charging $500 or more for a cursory opinion that is worthless in court and (read the fine print ), they bear no liability for their errors. If you want something inspected hire a professional in the field....i.e. an engineer. He/She will have liability insurance and their opinions are considered evidence if you ever have to go to Court.

This veneer job cannot be "cleaned", properly anyways, for less than the cost of replacement and without damaging the bond to the wall which will ultimately lead to early failure....after the warrantee expires.

If you don't get satisfaction, the place to go is the Contractor's Board in your state. There is a time limit, though, so be sure to lodge your complaint before that expires.

Say something, that's horrible!

I feel horrible for you.. To make the decision to take on something expensive and then the discomfort of having to challenge him on crappy work... Wow... Personally I'd show him this feed back page... and then say you will print his name in the largest font possible in the next comment box if he doesn't get it done right... wow! Poor you... :(

Ok again we have zoomed in pics of specific areas. Everybody go take pics or corners or eyes in your home with a high zoom, defects are being highlighted on here daily and everybody screaming it is junk.

What does the entire job look like? Are the edges nice and tight, rows level, etc. Anybody who has done any masonry knows this happens. Some work top down so this does not occur.

Lets all calm down and look at the remedy which is simply taking a hammer and a chisel and knocking the mortar off. It wouldn't take 15 minutes. You will have mortar showing elsewhere with a stacked stone look. I think they look ridiculous myself as you wouldn't really use stacked stones without mortar between them in that application. But to each his own.

I do agree they should come back and do it without hesitation. I am sure they aren't going to loose a sale over 20minutes of work. If they do hesitate it gives you reason to walk away before you get into further problems and financial issues.

Say something now, I made the mistake of not and I've paid the price since.

Anybody that has worked the trade knows that nothing takes 20 minutes, just getting, setting and taking scaffold down takes 2 hrs minimum; besides, who's fixing it? the same contractor that couldn't get it right the first time? Usually somebody else is called to fix something like this and then is when the game starts, because the price doubles.

Last thing , the only ones starting cultured stone application at the top are the hacks that cannot keep it clean.

What a mess!!!!

Ask the contractor to correct this as it will bother you for as long as you own the home. We have built 5 custom homes & this is something I have learned the hard way.

Pretty sure the stone should butt up to your siding not your gutter. Stone is usually under the gutter

lynnemcdougal it's hard to tell, but that is a white trim piece under the gutter. Thank you!

IMO It looks cosmetic to me from the photo. Like someone else in the post said a 15 minute job to correct. That's all I was saying. I also said inform the project manager about it so it can be corrected. I am sure they will correct it. If not then I agree that builder sucks! Never in my experience has something like this not been taken care of. Why is everyone so sensitive these days? No need to attack my comment.

Also have the builder commit to a time and date to come back to fix it. Did you move in???

Not intending to slur pigs in general, but was one working for your contractor? That is an awful job. Of course you should have them fix it, and not the slob who did the job....he could actually make it worse.

I always walked the job site daily when building my past two homes. It helps the builder understand that you are not going to settle for less than the best. I would point out things and even if the builder had not gotten to them yet, he was aware that I was keeping an eye out and doing my homework. The builder never took offense and appreciated my feedback. Remember they work for you!

absolutely unacceptable. As a General Contractor , I can't even imagine walking away from this. could have easily been cleaned up before mortar had set. Now it will be difficult to remove without damaging Stone. They should be embarrassed and ashamed

Totally unacceptable. Builder should be held responsible and should come and clean up all the mortar squeezing out. Don't accept anything less

Unacceptable, especially since it appears this is a dry stack stone that should not have any exposed grout. Contractor should have all exposed grout cleaned off stone. This is an excellent example of where customer should do a final review with contractor communicating issues and withholding final payment until issues are resolved.

friends of mine built their first home about ten years ago. every day they were at the building site video taping the progress. the contractors all knew they were staring in the video. it wasn't for ins. purposes or cause of problems but when something came up they did have a record of it and things were quickly taken care of. One problem was two different batches of shingles, said they were the same color but once on the roof -no way! Was fixed within days. And now they have a great video of their home-full of everything from rocker light switches, to gray water holding tank.

Wannabath: This was just a small job that was done about three years ago along the foundation of my little house. This was the first time my friend had ever worked with cultured stone, although he is a wonderful tile guy and very talented with tools in general. I'm not an expert, but I've read and watched quite a bit and nowhere have I ever seen it recommended to allow unwanted mortar to set on the face of the stone. It costs a lot to hire someone to do a job that the homeowner usually plans to live with for many years. Sloppy work is unacceptable and the fact that this job was left in this condition is certainly something to "scream" about, or at least not sign the bottom of the check until it is corrected. As to working from the top down, wow, that just seems wrong. As I said, I'm no expert, but I like supervising exterior wall jobs and and a correct first course sets the stage for the rest of the project.

My whole, extended family is into building things, so we've been through this over and over from childhood to the grave! My Dad's (he's a lawyer) best advice is to be present. For example, he wouldn't allow them to close a wall or any space until he checked it, first - eliminated poor wiring and plumbing issues, which are a pain to deal with after the fact.

My Mom is a writer. On the last house they built, they rented a portable office to keep on the property. Mom would write and, periodically, take a walk around, talk to the folks, ask questions, and things like that. Oh, and she kept drinks and snacks for them, too. (We're Southern.) Not only were errors not made, but time wasn't wasted and no materials went missing from the job site, either. My Dad would come over when he got through at the office and do a walk through to check anything that needed closing up (!).

On the more positive side, Mom and Dad did a lot of the site cleanup - trash, loose nails, things like that - so it was cleaner for the workers (and kept nails out of the yard, too) - and "installed" small touches like electrical switches and face plates, cabinet knobs, things like that.

It sounds like a hostile experience, but they really didn't peer over the shoulder of the workers, and they did have a new set of friends when the house was done. The workers were very proud of the house.

I would definitely have the builder fix this before you sign off and move in.

satchlimpit: Doesn't sound hostile at all. Sounds fun! I always photograph stuff before it is covered. Not too long ago we were doing something to the doorbell in my house and I was asked if I knew where the wiring for the doorbell ran. I was able to pull up the photos and show the guy. I have photos of the electrical, plumbing, insulation, septic tank, leach lines, etc. I know my house better than the contractors and I love relaxing here knowing that every phase of the remodel was done with care and consideration and I also know exactly what materials were used. I will say this, though, my electrical contractor would not allow me to install a duplex. He might let me put on the face plate. ;)

Not acceptable

The only thing I can add to this wowza of a thread: Approach the situation calmly and rationally. Getting all freaked out and angry will only put off your contractor and whoever else is working on the house. It is never good to p*** off anyone working on your house, in any capacity. Although it's too late for this particular situation, taking an example from satchlimpet is great: be vigilant, but respectful to the people working on your house. Try the honey before the vinegar, to use another southern idiom. But keep your steel magnolia backbone, too. :-)

Thanks everyone for your input! The issue has been resolved. I contacted the builder who eventually did address the issue — I also contacted the contractor and they were very apologetic and as they said "there are no excuses for this". They have provided in writing to us an extended warranty on the stone as well. We are still not moved in as we are resolving some other minor issues, however, hope to be in by Friday!

Glad to hear that the issue was resolved. Sometimes we second guess our self about the "finished look" of a completed job on a house or car or "whatever". Go with your "gut feeling" that what doesn't "seem right" is most likely "not right". Good job!

Absolutely unacceptable...it won't go away until someone takes it away....if they are a reputable company, go to the Better Busniess Bureau for satisfaction...they are very good and understanding

Very happy with your end results. So important, for peace of mind if nothing else. Glad you got extended warranty as well. Watch for signs of leakage inside but hopefully all will be well! Congrats on surviving the process! lol

Unacceptable and needs to be addressed.

Well, I'm no pro but it would not be good enough for me. I could do a better job diy and I really don't do grout often so I can be sloppy at times. My sister uses it a fair amount in her artwork and she is self taught. It would not be at all acceptable to her use and I would have to concur.

My non- pro opinion - Yes that grout will break (or wear) off. Good chance some of the brick could go with it. My larger concern would be how well that grout is actually stuck in there. One little hole can let in a lot of rain and that's going to be a really big problem for you to fix/possibly major repair sometime long after you realize the damage has been done. I would not be at all accepting of it...but that's me

Wow... me again. I hadn't realized how long this thread was when I answered. I think on the long threads people have already gotten more than enough opinions but I answered so need to re-comment. I stick by my initial comment but cannot begin to believe how vehemently negative maNY of the comments ae here. If you have run into a major dispute with the contractor fixing the issue then yes you can follow some of the suggested paths suggested. But if you haven't spoke with your contractor about fixing the problem then you should always give them the opportunity to make things right. In the case of a contractor that may (or maybe not) subcontracted that stone siding he needs to know that the person he hired did not do a good job. That is a big thing for a contractor that wants to keep a good name for his company. Glad to hear it was resolved politely and with consideration on both sides. As I am sure you have realized not everyone has the same success you have had. Live long and happily in your new home.

Potentially, this is a much worse issue than sloppy cleanup. It is a symptom of unskilled workmen on the job, and I wonder what is hidden behind that stone waiting to spring forward at the first bad winter. No adequate worker would find this acceptable, as it is easier to clean these "mistakes" as you go than coming back and fixing a mess months later - I can't believe that any experienced mason would think this was acceptable work or way to leave a job site at the end of the day.

To me, it looks like a contractor bid the job based on the cost of skilled labor, then hire unskilled workers to actually install the stone, intending to pocket the extra profit.

The homeowners should constantly be in the job site looking for these problems to nip them in the bud early on. After bringing this to the attention of the masonry contractor, if the problem persists the owner needs to jettison the contractor before expensive damage occurs, hidden behind a stone veneer.

@Paul Marks, read up in the thread and you will see the contractor remedied the situation and the OP received an extended warranty to protect them against potential future problems for a long period, so everyone is pleased with this outcome.

Any self-respecting professional would be embarrassed to leave a job looking like that!

Say Something! It's your money and you want it right!

Omg people please - don't come on these posts and comment unless you are willing to read the whole thread first. If you don't have time that's fine - just don't comment. Basic social media manners.

I truly hope you did not pay for this sloppy work, speak up , stop payment of check!

Unacceptable!

The best way to ensure all contractors respond to defective workmanship or material failure is to draft a contractor's contract that includes the right of the client to hold a percentage of the final invoice know as a retention - a warranty guarantying performance. Usually a retention is 5% of the total job cost and for most contractors the final payment if a progress payment system was agreed is the profit payment so failure to attend to defects and not get paid can hurt.

Unfinished stone cladding work like this is where retention of monies really has an impact and puts some power in the hands of the client but the defects also have to be genuine and clients expectations reasonable.

absolutely NOT

NOT ACCEPTABLE

I'm no expert but I know a dismal mess when I see it. sorry

Makes me wonder what the installers were smoking. No, not acceptable.

Sloppy redo! Missed? Really, perhaps they need a visit to the eye doctor!

I've got a very sad story with my renovation. The company (Resource Companies in Tampa) was hired to do several improvements, and nothing was an above-average job. Most everything was shoddy. I checked the comments online, but only 3 in five years were negative.

I was excited to have my tiles installed, with cobalt blue walls and talavera tiles on the floor. At first glance, it did not look too horrible; however, after careful inspection I noticed big gaps along the bottom where the walls meet the floor. The shower drain was chopped off so they wouldn't have to spend more than $14.99 for a new shower drain. The sharp edge at the bench is an accident waiting to happen.

I take some of the blame for just going with the lowest estimate. I learned a big lesson and now understand why new construction is appealing.