When issues of substance are discussed in a meeting with a general contractor, someone should record them in writing and submit the notes to both parties. Unfortunately, it appears many homebuilders don't think that is their responsibility so I guess the owner needs to do it. When I'm involved, I do it.

Buy your sister a gas cooktop and put the electric cooktop in your new kitchen.

If the gas appliance is written in the contract, the builder owes her a gas line.

So the builder provided the appliances? Then it’s on him to provide the correct utilities to run them.

M Miller - the issue is that the cooktop is in the island so they’d have to run a new line to that. I believe (don’t quote me on this because I’m not an electrician) that there’s a 120V but they need a 240V for an electric cooktop. They were wanting to charge a couple thousand dollars for the new line. She’s not willing to pay it though because she feels it’s not her cost to incur.

Mark - I wish it was that easy lol she HATES cooking on gas so she’ll just have to figure out how to get the electric there one way or another.

Melissa who paid for the appliances?

I think this is on the builder. Did they have an electric walkthrough to confirm appliances, outlets, and switch locations? Most builders also run both gas and electric to the cooktop location, knowing people may switch later. Even production (non-custom) builders run both where I live.

Also as a compromise, I would consider splitting the cost with the builder. The benefit is that there will now be both gas and electric, offering options for the future.

Pay the cost that i would have cost you to run the line originally. Which would probably be maybe $250-$350. And the builder pays the difference that it cost now, as a much more disruptive installation. With any and all drywall repairs associated. That's fair. You pay for something you should have been charged for, and he pays for his inattention to detail.

This isn't that big of a deal though, if the island has the standard conduit chase under the floor, to be able to route a new wire through. The burdensome thing is the new line from the panel to the origination of the chase.

He bought the appliances? And didn't pay attention to the specs of what he bought? No project manager or designer on board, just him? He fixes the issues. It's a hard lesson learned if he has to pay for it. He also might learn that he needs help to do his job.

Given that the builder ordered the appliances it was his duty to detect any problems with their installation and so the builder is on the hook for any damages caused by that oversight.

However, damages only include costs that you have incurred BECAUSE of the builder's mistake. That doesn't include any costs that you would have had to pay if the mistake was not made. So your sister would have had to pay to run the electrical line to the island anyway, and if the kitchen is decently far from the breaker a 50amp line is not going to be cheap as the wire could be $500 alone.

If the builder has to remove flooring, cabinets, etc. because they didn't run the wire when they should have, those costs should be absorbed by the builder. You should realize though that it may not be worth the fight.

She had an allowance for the appliances. The Project Manager asked her for a list of the appliances she wanted & she sent them over. He ordered them.

There was an electrical walkthrough where did mention that she wanted all electric appliances. I know that she mentioned it because I was there for it. Again the Project Manager didn’t write it down so there’s nothing in writing confirming that conversation took place.

She has decided that this isn’t a fight she wants to take on & will just pay for an electrician to come in after CO.

Running a dedicated high amp circuit will be costly AND disruptive depending on how far the appliance is from the breaker panel, if you can get to the backside of the wall the cooktop is on, etc.. She may be in for a monetary surprise - I'd avsie to get estimates before walking away from the builder's responsiblity here.

Usually, at the electrical walkthrough during framing, the appliances are drawn out / labeled on the floor / walls and the electrician runs necessary wiring to them.

There was an electrical walkthrough where did mention that she wanted all electric appliances. I know that she mentioned it because I was there for it. Again the Project Manager didn’t write it down so there’s nothing in writing confirming that conversation took place.

Thus far you have described the mistake but not the damages. Are there any damages? His not writing down may be part of the problem but it doesn't establish any damages.

Intended Scenario: An electrical line would have been ran to the island at a cost to your sister of some amount of money (suppose $1,000).

Actual Scenario: No electrical line was ran to the island and now an electrical line needs to be added at a cost to your sister of some amount of money. Unless that amount exceeds $1,000 there are no damages.

Your sister only has the right to be put in the position she would have been in were no mistake made (in this case $1,000 out of pocket). Now if the contractor is charging more than $1,000 then you have a legitimate concern, but just because you have to pay now rather than before a mistake was made doesn't mean there are damages.

If the contractor paid for the appliances the mistake is on him. Yes she has to pay for the electrical work since it would have to have been done regardless but any other remediation is on the contractor. He can’t claim he didn’t know if he paid for the appliances. He didn’t check- that’s different from not having the information.

Bry911 - I clarified in an earlier comment but there was electrical and gas ran to the cooktop; however for the electrical it was only a 120V not a 240V. The 120V would have been supplemental power for the gas cooktop but it’s not enough to power the electric cooktop.

So she did already pay for the electric to the island & even for the gas line to the island.

Just for clarification. They may have to run the gas that was in the plans. Often a developer must agree to supply gas to the range, water heater, and furnace locations in order for the gas company to run the line to the neighborhood (even if those lines are capped and not used). Also, if that change occurred after the job was bid you might not get a credit for it as the plumber may accept the job as bid.

The electric to the island seems a legitimate complaint if it is a dedicated circuit (which it probably is) as I assume there is another line ran to the island for outlets. So your sister should get a credit for that, but please realize that 15 or 20 amp circuits are a lot cheaper than a 50 amp circuit. I mean 100' of 12/2 romex is going to be about $85, while 100' of 6/3 romex is going to closer to $450.

Please make sure this gets fixed by the builder, regardless of who pays, and not after CO. As others stated, this may involve tearing out drywall or even cabinets and counters, depending on where the other end of that conduit is. I know ours is behind the cabinets.

OP said custom - so there shouldn't be a "developer" in the typical sense of the word nor should there be rigid plans.

Wire is pricey but nothing compared to retrofit. I have to imagine you can save cabinets - I mean pull out drawers and maybe cutting in to the back of deep shelves - but not actually removing cabinets - but I guess anything is possible.

The lesson here is always run both in a custom house. I'm on a slab so that made it more of an issue.

100% on the builder. I mean my electical guy had my appliance list - because they need that. He had to know how many lines to the island (again slab makes it tougher). Each installed appliance requires a dedicated circuit by code - dishwasher, microwave drawer, cooktop. Our fridge needed 2 circuits which isn't typical. This is something that always needs planning.

I am pretty sure you can do 8/3 wiring as most induction cooktops don't need above 40A and are usually way less. Apparently you can use 10/3 on many. I would think that 100 feet seems like a lot since kitchens are usually first floor and centrally located - especially an island. It would seem that 10/3 $1; 8/3 $2 and 6/3 about $4 a foot (roughly).

Even if subs messed up - this should be on any pre-drywall checklist.

I just read the post where the OP says it is a couple of thousand dollars. Sorry I didn’t notice that before.

Here is my advice. Have your sister pay it under protest. You can look up specifics on how to do that if you want, but the long and short of it is… send an email noting that the payment is being made “in the interest of moving the project forward.” e.g. I feel that it should have been verified when the appliances were ordered but in the interest of moving the project forward will pay X.

This makes it clear that the payment isn’t a negotiated amount (settlement) and preserves the right to address it later. If everything goes well from this point on it probably isn’t worth dealing with later for a couple of thousand dollars, however, you have that right.

My house is custom, as is every house in my neighborhood, and there was still a developer. Utility requirements are in our deed restrictions.

I did assume a 36” induction because that is what we were shopping. There are some that are 40A (e.g. Bosch) but the higher amperage is generally recommended and most are 45A to 50A. I was actually shopping for the highest amperage because our last cooktop was underpowered and struggled at times.

Thanks bry911. David Cary is correct. There was a developer for the lot but it’s not in a neighborhood so there was no such agreement.

Thanks everyone for your advice. It seems pretty clear that the Project Manager & Builder should have caught the issue before now.

Just as an FYI...

Paying things under protest is a great tool for anyone building a home. It shifts the resolution to the end of the project and allows you to move the project forward without conflict. There are often many advantages to avoiding conflict during the construction of your home. It also means that you don't have to fight over every $2,000 problem, you can get to the end of the project and have one fight over all the $2,000 problems.