ᐅ Frozen Interior Plaster – What to Do?

Dear Forum,

We are building a house under a developer purchase contract.

Before Christmas, the interior plaster was applied. The house, still in the shell stage with windows and a construction door already installed, has not been heated and still isn’t.

Now the still not fully dried interior plaster has frozen. We have sufficiently documented the damp spots with photos. We measured and recorded the wall temperatures over the past few days using an infrared thermometer. They ranged between -4.4°C and -2.4°C (24.1°F and 27.7°F).

The application guidelines for the plaster used state that fresh mortar and applied plaster must be protected from frost until fully dried.

The developer now claims that the plaster has not frozen. They argue that heating the construction site at this stage is not advisable because it could cause condensation on the wooden components.

Insulation including the vapor barrier have not yet been installed.

We are now regularly documenting the wall and air temperatures, which have been consistently below freezing for several days.

How should we proceed? How quickly do plaster defects (cracks, detachment from the wall) usually appear after the plaster thaws?

What is the legal situation in this case? We have not yet made any partial payments for the interior plaster and intend to withhold payment for now.

Thank you very much for any advice and suggestions!

Submit a written notification of defects to the developer and have the plaster inspected by an expert before paying the invoice.

jens.knoedel schrieb:

Submit a written notice of defects to the developer and have the plaster inspected by an expert before paying the invoice.

?? But not when buying a finished house.

Mimi123 schrieb:

Developer purchase contract

You can be glad if the developer even allows you to inspect the house, which is still unfinished.
What is owed is a finished (defect-free) house – and that must be awaited. The developer could basically tear everything down and rebuild it. What counts is the final result.

Mimi123 schrieb:

We have not yet paid a progress payment for the interior plaster.

You make progress payments to a developer? Are you sure this is a developer?
Who owns the land? And who is the client?

Or am I mistaken here?

ypg schrieb:

?? But not when buying a finished house.

Argh!!! Being able to read is an advantage. Sorry.

You’re welcome. Under the real estate agent and developer regulations, there would at least be a possible stage called “interior plaster completion.”

jens.knoedel schrieb:

Argh!!! Being able to read is an advantage. Sorry.

Gladly. According to the Real Estate Agent and Developer Regulation, there would at least be a possible installment called "Completion of Interior Plaster."

However, after the further question about the tiles, I am really wondering what kind of contract this is.

I’m also wondering about this because intervening in the tile order is not in accordance with the builder contract, is it?!