We are not building a house yet but are talking to as many homeowners as possible and reading extensively in this forum to prepare ourselves and at least avoid the biggest mistakes.
Yesterday, we had an interesting discussion with friends who have since abandoned their house construction because they became frustrated. I would like your opinion on one point from the discussion:
The architect prepared a tender for the brick facade. He calculated a certain area x and included this in the tender documents. The homeowners awarded the contract to a company. Only afterward did it become clear that the facade area was much smaller than stated in the tender. The facade company now wants to be paid for the difference. Who is liable here? The homeowners awarded the contract and initially face the problem. However, they relied on the architect’s professional expertise. Can they hold the architect liable?
How can such a misunderstanding be avoided? As homeowners, you can’t verify everything, can you?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
Yesterday, we had an interesting discussion with friends who have since abandoned their house construction because they became frustrated. I would like your opinion on one point from the discussion:
The architect prepared a tender for the brick facade. He calculated a certain area x and included this in the tender documents. The homeowners awarded the contract to a company. Only afterward did it become clear that the facade area was much smaller than stated in the tender. The facade company now wants to be paid for the difference. Who is liable here? The homeowners awarded the contract and initially face the problem. However, they relied on the architect’s professional expertise. Can they hold the architect liable?
How can such a misunderstanding be avoided? As homeowners, you can’t verify everything, can you?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
HilfeHilfe schrieb:
Yes, but sorry, the architect is the one designing the house! They get paid well for that. Around 2-3% of the square meter cost is reasonable. But seriously miscalculating is a no-go. The architect prepares the tender documentation according to the plan, but on the construction site, there are always adjustments or changes, so the quantities in the tender may no longer be exactly accurate.
At least that was our experience; during the build, we removed or altered walls, adjusted the staircase, and repositioned windows.
That’s the advantage of contracting each trade separately and being on site several times a day.
We were able to make final decisions when needed and adjust things without the general contractor attaching a huge price tag.
Of course, this meant more work for us because we decided on each trade contract ourselves.
You simply have to know what you want.
bibi80 schrieb:
At least that was the case with us; during construction, we omitted or changed walls, adjusted the staircase, and repositioned windows.However, you really shouldn’t do things like that. Once construction begins, the planning should be finalized. Sometimes it works out fine, but usually it causes problems you don’t even consider at the time.I would also advise against making changes during construction. Then someone still has the old plan version, or you spend hours on the phone checking with all other relevant trades whether it actually works that way... no, there has to be a limit somewhere, otherwise mistakes are far too likely to creep in, and second, it puts even more strain on the nerves than necessary.
H
hampshire14 May 2019 11:37Schlenk-Bär schrieb:
How can such a misunderstanding be avoided? As a client, you can’t verify everything, right? Main cause 1: Both parties have different recollections of what was discussed. Meeting minutes that are exchanged can help here.
Main cause 2: Both parties assume different conditions regarding what was discussed. It helps to clarify, ask about, and document these assumptions.
What to do?
Write your own summary of meetings or as a response to information you don’t understand, and don’t let others write it for you. Use wording or formats like these in an appropriate manner:
- "My understanding of what was discussed is as follows: ..."
- Indirect speech for particularly important points: "In response to my question ..., you said that ..."
- "If I have recorded anything incompletely or incorrectly, please correct me."
This way, you create clarity and build a documented record.
Note:
Many people have preferred language patterns that appear very frequently (I emphasize really very often). Here are some examples that can serve as early signs of potential communication difficulties. The first two are classics for misunderstandings:
- "I assumed that ..." (sign of a lack of empathy for the other party’s perspective)
- "That is obvious ..." (sign of a limited viewpoint)
- "The problem is ..." (sign of problem-focused instead of solution-focused thinking)
- Accusatory phrasing such as "But you said that ..." (sign of a strong focus on justification and being right)
- "Yes, but ..." (sign of tiring communication due to constant opposition)
Helpful:
Ask many questions, try to understand, repeatedly make it clear to the other party that you are not an expert—no matter how much you think you know—and avoid trying to do the other person’s job better than they do.
Maria16 schrieb:
I would also advise against making changes during construction. Someone will inevitably have an outdated version of the plans, or you end up spending hours on the phone coordinating with all other relevant trades to confirm whether the changes really work... no, there has to be a limit somewhere, otherwise mistakes will easily creep in and, secondly, it puts even more strain on an already stressful process. I’m also a fan of making decisions on-site during construction… many things can only be imagined properly once they are actually there… for example, we looked at the distance of the kitchen island 100 times, even marked it out full scale with chalk… but it still looked different in reality… just one example among many… not everyone can visualize everything from plans alone.
It’s a good idea to know exactly what you want when signing the contract with the general contractor. But if you have to change everything afterwards—from doors to flooring and so on—it will get expensive.
Let me clarify: changes that affect third parties or involve dimensions that increase the risk of errors tend to be problematic. In particular, modifications during the shell construction phase (relocating walls, altering supply or drainage lines, etc.) often lead to follow-up issues.
On the other hand, whether the kitchen island is moved 10cm (4 inches) to the left or right seems minor to me, as long as the electrician’s work isn’t involved. We also only decided on which bathtubs and sinks, as well as their sizes, would be installed in the bathroom after the plastering was done, including whether the spacing between them was sufficient. However, if you then want to change the overall position of the bathtub again, it becomes prone to errors once more.
On the other hand, whether the kitchen island is moved 10cm (4 inches) to the left or right seems minor to me, as long as the electrician’s work isn’t involved. We also only decided on which bathtubs and sinks, as well as their sizes, would be installed in the bathroom after the plastering was done, including whether the spacing between them was sufficient. However, if you then want to change the overall position of the bathtub again, it becomes prone to errors once more.
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