ᐅ Recommendations for a construction company or general contractor near Offenburg/Lahr

11ant schrieb:

I just can’t shake the feeling that you might be part of your own problems. Incompetent architects do exist, yes, but beyond a certain level of bad luck, I stop believing in pure coincidence.

Yes, you’re right, of course I/we are responsible and part of our own problems.

I am self-aware enough to recognize that I make mistakes as a client: I let the contractors—in this case, the architect—do their work first, give them initial trust, and assume the architect will act in my best interest... I try to bother the architect as little as possible; if he offers me a next appointment in three weeks, I’m like, “Oh, that’s too bad, no chance for an earlier one?”—and I go along with it. If I realize that the architect hasn’t implemented anything agreed upon during those three weeks, I remain polite...
That’s my mistake, and I’m paying the price now with a planning period that’s far too long...
GD

Gerddieter schrieb:

Yes, you are right, of course I/we are to blame and part of our problems.

I wrote "(with)" – and you haven’t (yet?) convinced me otherwise. However, I thank you for the inspiration for a post on the topic "Setting goals with the architect." Search for "here writes 11ant" in the first week of Advent; I won’t be able to fit it into the editorial schedule before then since it fits thematically only after the series about the architect’s roadmap. But thanks already for the hint – often you can’t see the forest for the trees when it comes to the questions prospective builders ask themselves!

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Sorry for writing so late; due to work commitments, I can’t log in and read more often.
Actually, I think it’s good that I signed the contract only up to design phase 4. If I had signed up to phase 8 with them, I would now have to go along with everything they suggest and wouldn’t have any choice but to wait 5-6 months until they finish phase 5.
In the meantime, I have spoken with another architect who is willing to step in from phase 5 and continue through phase 8, without a general contractor, since they believe it’s best to apply for each trade separately, especially because it’s only a single-family house. I agreed to that as well. I expect a final decision next week.
By the way, they also didn’t understand why the others need 5-6 months for that and said that if they don’t have the time, they shouldn’t have started the project at all.

Nikolan85 schrieb:

I have meanwhile spoken with another architect; they are willing to start from design phase 5 and continue through phase 8 without a general contractor, as they suggested it is best to apply for each trade separately since it is just a single-family house. I agreed with that as well. I expect a final decision next week.
By the way: They also did not understand why others need 5-6 months for this and said if they don’t have time, they shouldn’t start the project at all.

The correct term here is "commission" — you commission the tradespeople; they are not an authority where you have to apply for their involvement. I assume German is not your native language — which makes it all the more important not to manage the quality control of the construction progress entirely on your own. I’m glad that at least for design phases 5 to 8 you will have the same expert supporting you. With a good tender, each trade is a separate contract lot, but bidders are allowed to offer as a general contractor. It is important not to save on your “own” site management even when working with a general contractor.

Nikolan85 schrieb:

Actually, I think it’s good that I have a contract only up to design phase 4. If I had signed with them through phase 8, I would now have to accept everything they propose and would have no choice but to wait 5-6 months until they finish phase 5.

Yes, I already thanked @Gerddieter earlier for the suggestion to address the aspect of agreeing on timeframes with your architect in a later post. This seems to be an increasing problem currently, where some architects treat clients with standard contracts like “public patients,” handling orders at a very slow pace, causing their building projects to stall. Waiting five months just for design phase 5, which essentially evolves from phase 4, is almost like waiting for a specialist appointment with Dr. Godot ;-)
I wish you good luck and remain confident!

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Yes, in my opinion, it works exactly like that: patients with statutory health insurance are expected to wait. I find that very unfortunate. But what can you do? You learn a lot more through bad experiences.
That's right, "commissioning" would be the correct term. German is not my native language.
Thank you very much for your support 🙂

@Nikolan85 please keep us, or at least me, updated on this. I am very interested in the topic as well, since we recently hired an architect and are waiting for the initial designs.