We bought a new home with Standard Pacific Homes and escrow will close in July. We decided not to go with their standard flooring and the sales lady told us that the flooring company or contractor will be responsible for leveling the floor, not Standard Pacific. She said that it is mostly level, but there might be some small areas to sand down and level. She said the only way it would be covered is if we went with their standard flooring or upgraded flooring through their design center.

The flooring company sales guy told me that the builder should be the one to level the flooring regardless, but he will do it if needed.

I am at lost and don't know what to think or do! Who is right?

IMO, the home builder is correct. This is why I think so. The builder is only responsible for delivering a home built to standard specifications, including for flooring. I'm sure the standard floor covering is carpet and vinyl. Those products do not require the same level of care and preparation as wood floors typically do, so the slab is poured and finished for vinyl and carpet. If you were to purchase an upgrade from the builder's design center, then the slab would be prepped according to what is needed, just as the salesperson told you. But if you want to buy your flooring elsewhere, then whoever installs the flooring is responsible for prepping the slab. You will have to pay extra for the prep. BTW, it is my understanding that one cannot buy a new home without the flooring covering installed. Here's why. The builder will NOT turn over any home to a buyer before escrow has closed NOR will the builder allow any buyer to work on a home that has not closed escrow. The lender will not fund the new mortgage without the home being completed, including floor covering. So, typically, in situations like your's, the cheap, standard floor covering gets installed, escrow closes, the homeowner moves in and has the flooring torn out and the new floors installed. OR, the homeowner finances the upgrade of the flooring purchased through the design center, with the new mortgage on their home. But bottom line, whoever installs the floors is responsible to ensure the prep is done to floor manufacturer's specs and whoever owns the home at the time of the work is responsible for paying for it.

Thanks Gary! I guess we will have to shell out some money for floor prep then.

They are allowing us to close escrow with no flooring. They are waiting for us to decide whether we want the standard flooring, upgraded flooring through their design center or if we are going with our own flooring company. We just have to have the floors installed within 30 days after Escrow. You are right, builders usually don't do that. Maybe things are changing, or with the market being a little slower? My husband thinks it might be because they had only sold 4 homes out of 12 for phase 3 and they want all of them to close escrow in July. They also had a few standing that fell out of escrow in phase 2.

They were offering huge incentives, $60,000 off and you could actually take it off the price of the home!!

Most consumers and flooring people don't know, but just like flooring has specs, so does residencial concrete foundations. There are flatness specs for concrete. ¼" in 10 feet. Anything out of that tolerance, is concidered defective craftsmanship. Things must be done to spec, or you doing the work, can be held liable.

That spec, is seldom met, or enforced and has always been the floor guys problem, since the invention of concrete. So, it has always been understood, that the floorguys job, is to become a concrete finisher, along with a flooring specialist. Some can't or don't understand what it takes to get a floor within spec.

I never put a firm $$$ on floor prep. It is the big unknown. You may need a lot and you may need very little if any. So if I charge you $1 a foot or more for floor prep and very little is needed, what are you going to think? If I charge you a $1 a foot and it ends up costing me $6 a foot in materials alone, what do you think is going to happen? Most walk away and don't finish, because they see they are going to lose their butts.