[Porsche-O-Phile]

So you paid to build a custom home - did you bother to have anyone oversee construction or did you just hand everything over to the General Contractor?

If it's the latter (and it sounds like it is) you kind of deserve what you're getting, sorry to say. Any time you're spending money for construction you really ought to have somebody who knows the industry advocating on your behalf. This is why on bigger jobs owners pay to have Clerks of the Works, Construcuon Managers, testing agencies and / or architects and engineers out there regularly to see what's going on.

I realize residential is a different animal but in my experience the GCs that "specialize" in residential construction are bottom-of-the-barrel anyway - particularly the subs. There are some great ones and some real craftsmen but the residential construction industry is chock-full-o guys who think they walk on water (and whose work sucks in actuality) or that are flat-out scheisters. Be wary. This is one reason I won't touch residential work (no fee in it, fickle / cheap owners and the worst the contracting world has to offer - no thanks).

Anyway (as has been said) there is very little recourse that you're going to have past the standard one-year labor and materials warranty. Even if you were to put in a claim with the manufacturer of the product they're going to point to "improper installation" and the onus would be on you to prove it was installed properly (good luck with that).

These guys know how to play the game and frankly they get away with it so often it makes it worth their while to keep doing it this way.

Most houses are built to flip or end up being sold within 3 to 5 years anyway so tell me - where is the incentive for them to use 10, 15, 20 or longer year products and workmanship quality? This is why for residential in particular you really need an owners advocate during construction but (like I've said before) the nature of residential ("el cheapo") makes it the least likely construction project type where you'll get an owner who understands this and is willing to spend money on CA (Construction Administration) services, so you get what we've got - lots of piss-poor residential construction and lots of sleazebag, fly-by-night contractors willing to take advantage.

Sorry to hear of your trouble. As has been suggested it sounds like you're probably looking at a full demo, re-prep and compaction of the top couple of feet underneath, followed by a new slab. If you're going to stay in the house it might well be worth it.