ᐅ Walls of New Single-Family House Ground Floor Are Crooked – Defect Correction and Remediation

Hello dear forum community,

We are approaching completion and readiness for occupancy with our general contractor (GC), who built us a single-family house without a basement. Only the final payment remains after acceptance.

However, we have identified a significant defect in the GC’s workmanship. This defect can no longer be corrected due to the complexity and costs involved.

The walls on the ground floor are crooked, which is clearly visible from the alignment of the tile joints. The grout line of the living room tiles on the west side is not parallel to the wall. The deviation is 3 cm (1.2 inches) over a house width of 7.99 m (26.2 feet). According to DIN 18202, for a wall length of 10 meters, a maximum deviation of 1.6 cm (0.6 inches) is permitted. The tile grout line in the entrance area is also not parallel to the wall, with a deviation of 0.6 cm (0.2 inches) over a length of 1.85 m (6.1 feet).

These errors occurred during the masonry work of the walls in the shell construction phase. The GC’s bricklayer (subcontractor) has admitted the fault and offered us €500 for compensation. The GC is also trying to downplay the defect. They have proposed a price reduction, but we have not yet made a counteroffer. We are considering claiming several thousand euros. (The total construction cost of the house was about €190,000 (excluding the land).)

Now we wonder: How much money can be withheld from the final payment for such a defect? What steps can we take? Should we involve a technical expert from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) or hire a lawyer to determine the price reduction with the GC? We want to be treated fairly, and this defect is also emotionally distressing for us. We welcome your advice. Thank you very much for your help!

Best regards,
Markusch

How much does legal advice or an expert opinion cost you?
What are you expecting? Several thousand euros for slightly uneven walls?
In my understanding of proportionality, 1000€ would be enough to fix the defect. But that’s just my opinion.
In your case, I wouldn’t bring out the heavy artillery; it will probably cost you more than it will ultimately be worth.

Markusch schrieb:
We want to be treated fairly, and the defect is also emotionally serious for us.

Then please remain fair as well... what exactly do you mean by "emotionally serious"? Hopefully, the structural engineering still allows you to sleep calmly?

Hello Markusch,

Markusch schrieb:

The walls on the ground floor are not straight, which is clearly visible from the alignment of the tile joints.
The grout line of the living room tile on the west side does not run parallel to the wall. The deviation is
3 cm (1.2 inches) over a house width of 7.99 m (26.2 feet). According to DIN 18202, for a wall length of 10 meters, only a deviation of 1.6 cm (0.6 inches) is allowed.
The grout line in the entrance area also does not run parallel to the wall. Here the deviation is 0.6 cm (0.24 inches) over a length of 1.85 m (6.1 feet).
So, errors were made by the bricklayer when constructing the walls during the shell phase. The bricklayer employed by the general contractor (subcontractor) has admitted the fault and offered me €500 for it. The general contractor is also trying to downplay the defect and minimize its importance. A proposal for a price reduction has yet to come from them. So far, we have not made a counteroffer. We are considering claiming several thousand euros.

I hope you don’t mean that seriously? On what basis would the “several thousand euros” be justified?

Markusch schrieb:

How can we proceed: involve an expert from the Chamber of Commerce or hire a lawyer to establish the price reduction with the general contractor.

You can do that, but I would bet it will come out almost the same.

Markusch schrieb:

We want to be treated fairly and the defect is also emotionally very significant for us.

Then you should set a good example and act fairly yourself! Why is the defect "emotionally" and "very significant" for you? Many people work on a construction site and mistakes do happen. I wouldn’t call that emotionally distressing; if you are so sensitive, maybe building a house was not the right choice for you.

Certainly, it is annoying, but on the other hand, it is nothing that would seriously affect living in a single-family home; we are talking about around 1.4 cm (0.55 inches) beyond tolerance over a length of nearly 8.00 m (26.2 feet) of the house. You really have to look closely. Are you sure the tiler kept the grout widths consistent?

If compensation amounting to around €800 were to result, I would suggest letting it go. Of course, you can hire a lawyer, but in the end, you might only get about €500. So seeing it that way, you could even accept the bricklayer’s offer...

Best regards, Bauexperte

Hello and thanks for your opinions so far!

By emotionality, I meant that the uneven alignment of the walls has so far been noticed by almost everyone in our circle, even without being pointed out. We are moving into a new build, not a house from 1950. I know the centimeter measurements seem very small, but you can clearly see it, especially in the entrance area/vestibule. It’s hard to imagine, but it’s true. By the way, the tiler followed the grout width exactly.

I would appreciate further opinions.

Regards
Markusch

I would like to see a photo of that sometime...