We are not building a house yet but are talking to as many homeowners as possible and reading extensively in this forum to prepare ourselves and at least avoid the biggest mistakes.
Yesterday, we had an interesting discussion with friends who have since abandoned their house construction because they became frustrated. I would like your opinion on one point from the discussion:
The architect prepared a tender for the brick facade. He calculated a certain area x and included this in the tender documents. The homeowners awarded the contract to a company. Only afterward did it become clear that the facade area was much smaller than stated in the tender. The facade company now wants to be paid for the difference. Who is liable here? The homeowners awarded the contract and initially face the problem. However, they relied on the architect’s professional expertise. Can they hold the architect liable?
How can such a misunderstanding be avoided? As homeowners, you can’t verify everything, can you?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
Yesterday, we had an interesting discussion with friends who have since abandoned their house construction because they became frustrated. I would like your opinion on one point from the discussion:
The architect prepared a tender for the brick facade. He calculated a certain area x and included this in the tender documents. The homeowners awarded the contract to a company. Only afterward did it become clear that the facade area was much smaller than stated in the tender. The facade company now wants to be paid for the difference. Who is liable here? The homeowners awarded the contract and initially face the problem. However, they relied on the architect’s professional expertise. Can they hold the architect liable?
How can such a misunderstanding be avoided? As homeowners, you can’t verify everything, can you?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
Schlenk-Bär schrieb:
Yesterday we had an interesting discussion with friends who have now stopped building their house because they became frustrated. [...] As a homeowner, you can’t possibly verify everything, right? The traffic regulations expect a stopping distance of 0 cm (0 inches).
As the owner-builder, they will have to advance funds and later hold the architect or their professional liability insurance accountable. However, the bricklayer incurred losses due to excess material ordered and the probably lower profit margin per cubic meter calculated for a larger contract volume – on the other hand, they did not have to perform the work for the difference.
What makes me suspicious is your introduction: do your friends now not want to complete the brickwork and make the house move-in ready afterwards???
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
S
Schlenk-Bär12 May 2019 16:27The house was not completed and was sold at a significant loss. There were many examples similar to the one mentioned. They completely lost track and only had problems. In particular, in my assessment, they did not work well together as a team. They are now looking for an existing property. Their marriage almost broke down because of the house construction. They are undergoing couples therapy, and he is receiving psychotherapy.
We just visited our newly purchased plot of land and were simply happy that it finally worked out (after so many disappointments). We really hope that our house build will not be as difficult as that of our friends.
We just visited our newly purchased plot of land and were simply happy that it finally worked out (after so many disappointments). We really hope that our house build will not be as difficult as that of our friends.
First, the contractor is obligated to check the quantities. Then he should have realized that the amount was too high. After that, he can charge a higher price for the lower quantity.
Simply ordering what is listed in the bill of quantities and then demanding full payment is not acceptable.
In this case, he would have been out of luck. Of course, he can take the matter to court and then sue the architect... but that’s always an option.
Simply ordering what is listed in the bill of quantities and then demanding full payment is not acceptable.
In this case, he would have been out of luck. Of course, he can take the matter to court and then sue the architect... but that’s always an option.
S
Schlenk-Bär12 May 2019 17:54Lumpi_LE schrieb:
First of all, the contractor is obliged to check the quantities. Then he should have realized that it is too much. By AN you probably mean the bidder? I wouldn't have expected that he has to check... But thanks for the tip.
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