Hello everyone,
I would like to ask for some advice or an assessment here:
We moved into our house this summer.
Right after the screed was poured in the basement, we noticed how low the basement’s ceiling height is.
Only then did we realize that, according to the building plans and contract we signed, the basement height was specified as 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) from the finished floor tile to the ceiling. We were quite disappointed by this. The basement was equipped with underfloor heating, windows, etc., so such a low height was unexpected. It’s our fault for overlooking this clearly. However, I still believe there should have been better clarification and planning for us as laypeople, especially since we had clearly communicated how we originally intended to use the basement.
If I understand correctly, this cannot be reported as a defect since we signed off on everything.
Now that we are living in the house, it turns out the walls don’t even reach the 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) height. All rooms in the basement measure only 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) or 2.07 m (6 ft 9.5 in) in height. None actually reach 2.09 m.
The difference of 2 or 3 cm (about 1 inch) may seem small, but with such a low ceiling, every centimeter counts.
So my question is: we are living here, and the final inspection (handover) has already taken place.
Is this considered a defect, or is there a tolerance for this? Can it still be claimed as a defect after the fact, and what could I realistically expect to achieve? From a technical standpoint, it seems nothing can be corrected anymore...
We are located in Rhineland-Palatinate, if that is relevant...
Thank you and good luck!
I would like to ask for some advice or an assessment here:
We moved into our house this summer.
Right after the screed was poured in the basement, we noticed how low the basement’s ceiling height is.
Only then did we realize that, according to the building plans and contract we signed, the basement height was specified as 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) from the finished floor tile to the ceiling. We were quite disappointed by this. The basement was equipped with underfloor heating, windows, etc., so such a low height was unexpected. It’s our fault for overlooking this clearly. However, I still believe there should have been better clarification and planning for us as laypeople, especially since we had clearly communicated how we originally intended to use the basement.
If I understand correctly, this cannot be reported as a defect since we signed off on everything.
Now that we are living in the house, it turns out the walls don’t even reach the 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) height. All rooms in the basement measure only 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) or 2.07 m (6 ft 9.5 in) in height. None actually reach 2.09 m.
The difference of 2 or 3 cm (about 1 inch) may seem small, but with such a low ceiling, every centimeter counts.
So my question is: we are living here, and the final inspection (handover) has already taken place.
Is this considered a defect, or is there a tolerance for this? Can it still be claimed as a defect after the fact, and what could I realistically expect to achieve? From a technical standpoint, it seems nothing can be corrected anymore...
We are located in Rhineland-Palatinate, if that is relevant...
Thank you and good luck!
bauenmk20203 Nov 2019 11:43ypg schrieb:
We planned a continuous window strip in the bathroom without paying attention to the height of the window sill. Now we have a 60cm (24 inch) high window with an 85cm (33.5 inch) sill height. By the way, nice bathroom... Your basement must be really cozy Question: Is the 85cm (33.5 inch) sill height measured from the top of the finished floor or from the raw floor?
In our bathroom, the sill height is 69.5cm (27.4 inch) plus 17cm (6.7 inch), totaling 86.5cm (34 inch). The windows are 1.76m (5 ft 9 inch) wide by 0.76m (2 ft 6 inch) high. Does the low height bother you?
bauenmk2020 schrieb:
Question: Is the 85cm (33.5 inches) sill height measured from the finished floor level or the rough floor level?
In our bathroom, the sill height is 69.5cm + 17cm = 86.5cm (34 inches). The windows are 1.76m (5 feet 9 inches) wide by 0.76m (2 feet 6 inches) high. Does the low height bother you? 85cm (33.5 inches) or so is pretty standard, of course measured from the floor. We built in 2013. It’s lower than my eye level at a height of 165cm (5 feet 5 inches). My husband looks over it and just sees the wall above.
Of course, it’s a bit annoying… I always end up looking out onto the street… but should I really stress about it? I quickly got over it. What matters more is that we’re healthy and life is good.
ypg schrieb:
So it is lower than my eye level at a height of 165cm (65 inches). My husband is looking at the wall above it.That was almost missed in the plans after the general contractor changed the roof pitch and consequently the window heights without informing us. We managed to pull the emergency brake just 2 days before the signing appointment.Fuchur schrieb:
That almost slipped past us in the plans after the general contractor changed the roof pitch and consequently the window heights on their own, without informing us. We just managed to hit the emergency brake 2 days before the signing appointment.Yes, the roof pitch is relevant to us as well. We really didn’t pay attention. But it doesn’t matter now: the window has blinds and it’s closed on the street side when we’re there.
ypg schrieb:
Yes, the roof pitch is above that as well.
We really didn’t pay attention to it. Doesn’t matter now: the window has blinds and they are closed on the street side when we are there. The alternative would have been no window at all in this spot? Then this compromise is better, and maybe even a film as a privacy screen.
Raising the roof height is the alternative. However, the general contractor wants to save costs and continue to keep the planning error from us, so this approach was chosen. When we eventually noticed it, they presented us with an additional cost of €4800 for increasing the height by 20cm (8 inches).
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