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Should have been planned to be stuccoed if you wanted a flat smooth surface vs the classic rough beton brut as a style statement. That’s neither fish nor fowl. Stairs should have applied formed treads of some flavor.

So again to be clear I’m not looking at what should have been done. I’m asking about the proposed improvements and if they are acceptable.

Surely it’s not acceptable for the membrane to show through?

Also are the stairs considered acceptable? The fact that they are uneven and not consistent etc

What should have been done can still be done. Design errors can be corrected even at a later date.

They want to sack the walls not stucco.

Can anyone else comment on if sacking is a suitable fix for the walls?

Sacking is reasonable. The corner of the foundation could be improved but the rest of the foundation looks typical. Usually eyeballs don't get this close to a foundation but it can be critical in a high traffic area such as the main entry.

Difficult to see examples of other issues on my screen. Membrane? Are the steps consistent with local practices and other similar projects from this builder?

Thank you!

Yes it’s membrane showing through.

This is a custom build. We did not see cement steps in other projects we looked at so I don’t know if this is their norm. They originally said it was very poor work and needed to be corrected. Now they are back peddling and saying they think it is acceptable and are getting the home owner warranty people to inspect as they want it deemed acceptable.

Regardless of the outcome of that meeting with the warranty folks is there any fix for the stairs? Even if we have to hire ourselves we likely would as we find it so atrocious.

Custom build and you didn't look at their work? There is a wide range especially when looking for lowest bid.

Sacking the foundation at the corner would be reasonable. If that green is membrane, it can be removed. Forget the metal.

Step improvements could be done with overlays, stains and/or masonry. Not cheap, but these are also not warranty issues.

@Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor we did look at their work. I said that in other projects of theirs we went through there were not similar steps to compare. So no I do not know if our crappy steps are their norm because in the three homes we saw they did not have cement steps...We were on site every single day. We said from the get go that the steps looked shoddy and we were not happy with them. We got the, "well they are done now and it is what it is" answer. The stairs have also weathered poorly. They look far worse now 1.5 years in than they did when we moved in.

We did our due diligence when we hired this builder. We called people who had worked with them whose names they had given us as well as people whose names they had not. We talked to designers/architects they had worked with too and we actually went as far as to talk to neighbours who lived beside a house they built to try and see what the job site ran like and their perceptions. I do not know what more we could have done.

I'm surprised that it wouldn't be a warranty issue because the stairs are not even, do not have an even tread etc and that lack of consistency could make them unsafe in addition to being unsightly.

Pictures can be deceiving, but it looks like the risers are different height -- more than allowed by code.

PPF because of the variations in the steps yes the risers are not all same. One section in particular they are very inconsistent. But this house passed final inspection.

They do nice work overall. I can see why you didn't notice flatwork or concrete steps in their other projects as they're probably rare. They did a nice job on yours with lots of great details from what I've seen in prior photos.

The chip should be filled in front. Then get some pots and plants as the foundation is rarely pretty enough to not be covered by shrubs and/or masonry. Normally we would have a 2' planter strip between house and flatwork for this purpose.

If the steps are uneven especially in relation to the patio ("landing"), it may have multiple sloping issues due to a nearby drain so it's hard to tell from photos if it is out of code compliance. This is a discussion with the builder. This is not a discussion with aftermarket warranty company. If the finish is not what you like there still is not a warranty issue.

Thank you for your advice. We may need to let the steps go

Here are some before and after pics. It’s definitely better but not as great as I wanted. Since builder is footing the bill it’s good enough! 😜

Also do people seal concrete? If so with what? I sense there is mixed advice on if it makes sense to or not?