New builds and warranties
The show home has a different kitchen from the plot the surveyor walked. Which kitchen was actually inspected?
The kitchen on the plot the surveyor walked. The show home's kitchen is a different room in a different house, however similar the brochure made them look. A show home is not the plot. Any condition comment in this report is about the units, the worktops and the appliances that were actually there, not about the dressed kitchen you were sold from.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Show homes are dressed, upgraded and often finished long before the plot you are buying. Stone you saw on the tour may be laminate on the reservation. Handles, splashbacks and appliances move between the two rooms without anybody updating the conversation. The surveyor can inspect only the room they entered. If that room was unfinished, the report should say what was missing rather than borrow the show kitchen as a stand-in. NHBC's Buildmark, where the policy really is Buildmark, covers the home named in the policy, within its sections. It does not cover the show house next door, and a snagging list is not a set of condition ratings of either kitchen.
Ask the solicitor for the specification that forms part of your contract, and compare it with the plot, not with your memory of the show home. Ask the surveyor to confirm the plot address on the report. If something in the show home persuaded you to reserve, the written specification is what you can point to, not a photograph from the marketing suite. Do not ask the survey to be rewritten so that it describes a kitchen it never saw.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which address and which kitchen did you walk?
- Were units missing on the plot that the show home had already installed?
- Will the report refuse to describe the show-home kitchen as if it were this plot?
What are the typical next steps?
- Compare the contract specification with the plot kitchen.
- Ignore the show-home kitchen when you read the survey.
- Do not ask for the report to be rewritten around a room that was not inspected.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the show home is on the same estate, was it included?
No. A show home is not the plot, even when it shares a site entrance and a brochure.
Can Buildmark be claimed on the show-home worktops?
Not from this purchase. Cover, if it is Buildmark, is for the home named in the policy, not the dressed house next door.