Our construction company sent us to a building materials dealer in their town to choose tiles. Unfortunately, the selection there is quite limited and the prices rather high. The contract states: "You will make the selection of the flooring on the occasion of the sampling appointment at the specialist dealer’s sample exhibition."
Are we obliged to select other tiles there that we do not like, or can we place the order ourselves elsewhere? Additionally, the desired size would be included in the value limit of the construction service description on the internet, but a further price surcharge would have to be paid at the local dealer.
This is common practice. Whether the general contractor operates its own sampling center or outsources it to its suppliers makes no difference. The fact is in both cases that the entire range of worldwide variety is not available. That you signed with a company without the possibility of prior sampling is just how it is. Ultimately, every general contractor has their building materials dealer, who in turn has their purchasing association, and both have purchasing conditions, discount scales, and quantity bonuses, etc., that do not work together with the widest possible selection. If all this is unpleasant, apparently you have chosen a general contractor that does not suit your taste. Your alternatives, which can be procured on the "Internet" at a more favorable list price/appearance ratio, will be most expensive if you release yourselves from this point in the construction contract to procure the goods freely. So say goodbye to the idea that what you call the "value limit" here is a freely convertible "currency." The dealer’s price list to the general contractor practically applies.
Whether the "shortcut" via "direct" deals with the general contractor’s tile laying subcontractor is even up for discussion would have to be clarified with them. You will find the problem explained here under the search term "upcoming trade" regarding incorporating "owner-supplied" materials for processing. At the latest, with the topic of "acceptance," there is potential for dispute here. I always say, going to a general contractor without a tender is always unwise. Sampling (not only in terms of "decoration," but also "quality level") is a point regularly addressed too late. The more opinions diverge here, the smarter it can be to commission a general contractor not for "turnkey" completion, but for the "closed shell." (Not only) this forum is full of stories in which builders have paid a lot of tuition for symbolically deducting finishes or gritting their teeth to give up their dream staircase because that would have cost twice as much on this path.