What to do if you find the wrong materials installed
If you've spotted something installed that isn't what was specified, raise it with your builder immediately. The window for fixing it cleanly is short and the fix depends on the cause and how far the install has progressed.
Step 1: Stop and check
Confirm what's installed against the most up-to-date materials tracker entry for the item. The tracker is the live record of what was specified and ordered — that's the thing to compare against, not your memory or an earlier draft of the design.
Step 2: Tell your builder
They're closest to the install. They may have a quick answer — for example, the spec was changed and not properly recorded on the tracker, or an item was swapped at the supplier's recommendation, or what's there matches the order and only looks different in situ.
Step3: Decide the path forward
Three common scenarios:
- The wrong item was installed by mistake. The builder removes and replaces. The cost sits with whoever caused the error — supplier, builder, or you depending on the cause.
- An informal substitution happened. The builder substituted something without going through the change-order process or without updating the materials tracker. Either way, the swap needs to be unwound or formalised: the item either comes out and is replaced with what was on the tracker, or the substitution gets written up as a change order so the tracker, the contract, and the site all line up. Talk to your builder about which makes sense — sometimes the swap is genuinely better and worth keeping; sometimes the original spec mattered for a reason that's only obvious in context.
- You changed your mind about the original spec but the original is what's installed. That's a customer-led change. Talk to your builder about whether substitution at this stage is feasible. If it is, you use the change-order process to scope, price, and approve the swap before it happens.
Step 4: Loop in your build advisor if needed
If your builder's first answer doesn't resolve it, or you and your builder disagree on the cause, your build advisor is the next step.
How to avoid it
Most "wrong materials" incidents come from drift in the materials tracker or undocumented changes mid-build. Keeping the tracker current and using the change-order process for every substitution closes most of the gap. The article How the materials tracker works covers this.
Who pays
Responsibility sits with whoever caused the issue — supplier, builder, or customer. The Home Improvement Contract sets the framework.
- Supplier error. If the supplier sent the wrong item, they cover the replacement under their terms. If your builder could have caught it on receipt and didn't, the builder and supplier work out where the cost lands between them.
- Builder error. If the builder installed something different from the materials tracker, putting it right sits with the builder.
- Customer-led change. If you've changed your mind and the original spec is what's installed, the cost of swapping it sits with you, through a change order. This is why it's worth going through the materials tracker carefully before the build starts — your Beams designer is there to talk it through if anything's unclear or you want a second view on a spec.