ᐅ Bathroom Renovation: Liability Issues (Not an Older Building!)

We want to renovate our bathroom and have received a quote from the plumber. He states that he does not take responsibility for any damage (cracks) on the opposite wall. Is this correct? He can’t just carelessly damage the house without making sure everything is repaired, can he?

Shouldn’t he be insured for something like this? Or does it work like this: bathroom finished, house damaged?

ollibom schrieb:

We want to renovate our bathroom and have received a quote from the plumber. He states that he does not accept liability for any damage (cracks) on the opposite wall. Is that correct? He can’t just damage the house carelessly without making sure everything is repaired, can he?
Surely he must be insured for something like this? Or is it a case of: bathroom done, house damaged?

The house is not damaged, but apparently your wall construction is such that he fears cracks. It’s understandable that he wants to exclude this risk. Contract freedom still applies. How old is the house?

17 years. Are tradespeople not insured? If additional damages are excluded, why should I hire a certified tradesperson? I could just as well get one from eBay. They are cheaper and also not liable. It can’t be right that I pay 25,000 for the bathroom and then also have to be responsible for any further damages caused by negligence or even accidentally.

Calm down. No one is deliberately planning to damage your house just because they won’t take liability for walls they are not familiar with. Let’s keep it professional. Nothing has happened yet!

ypg schrieb:

Calm down. No one wants to intentionally damage your house just because they don’t take responsibility for walls they are not familiar with. Let’s stay factual. Nothing has happened yet!

I am quite calm. I’m just surprised by that remark. As far as I know, contractors are insured. It just makes me uneasy whether that is actually the case.

Once bitten, twice shy... Maybe the contractor had problems with a previous client before (whether their fault or not) and is now being cautious because of that.

Talk to them about it.

But if the basic trust isn’t there, why don’t you accept another offer?

(There are always residents who report cracks appearing in their houses after roadworks have been carried out. Only through expert assessment can the opposite be proven... The contractor probably doesn’t mean any harm, but also doesn’t want to walk into a trap.)