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.
Maria16 schrieb:
I want to clarify: changes that affect third parties or involve dimensions that increase the risk of errors. Especially changes during the shell construction phase (moving walls, altering utility lines, etc.) often lead to follow-up problems.
In my opinion, whether you position the kitchen island 10cm (4 inches) to the left or right is minor, as long as the electrician isn’t involved. We also only decided which bathtubs and sinks, and their sizes, would go into the bathroom after the walls were plastered, and whether the spacing between them was sufficient. But if you want to change the position of the bathtub altogether, it does become error-prone again. However, the general contractor wouldn’t charge extra for that... though for a 1m (3 feet 3 inches) door we wanted, they certainly would...
I didn’t realize I wanted a solid core door... the offer included some standard doors—I don’t want to think about how much extra the general contractor would have charged for that.
But yes, major changes to the shell construction are definitely not advisable...
Whether, for example, the windows are wood-aluminum, that’s something you really need to decide with the general contractor upfront, otherwise they charge you well for any additions... and unfortunately, they don’t honestly tell you how much the extra cost would really be! We experienced this when deciding about controlled mechanical ventilation—yes or no...
We then switched to separate contracts, which gave us flexibility but also the stress I described...
hampshire schrieb:
Make it clear to the other person again and again that you are a layperson This cannot be stressed enough.
The incorrect use of the term "GU" as "developer" often stems from the layperson thinking that saying "contractor" sounds too amateurish, and that the (unfortunately misused) technical term is a more socially acceptable expression.
Common misunderstandings also include "precise" measurements that lack clear reference points: for example, parapet heights given to the nearest half centimeter (approximately 0.2 inch) — but the precision regarding whether these are gross or net dimensions is often overlooked.
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Schlenk-Bär14 May 2019 21:16@hampshire : great post! Thanks! I will definitely keep that point in mind for us. Writing protocols ourselves and having them countersigned.
There are general contractors (GCs) who are transparent.
From the very beginning, we had a detailed, priced estimate. We could always see the cost of the window in plastic, aluminum, or wood.
GCs can sometimes be less flexible because many items have to be ordered well in advance. The tight schedule doesn’t allow the homeowner to change their mind once the house is already built.
Upgrades on site, such as electrical work or stairs, were not charged to us through the GC but billed directly by the craftsmen.
Problems occur everywhere, and there are direct contracts that run smoothly, while some GCs have everything go wrong.
Keeping records is important.
It’s worth asking questions—no question is too silly.
Trust your gut – the expert advised to call as soon as you feel something isn’t right.
Last but not least, stay informed and involved. A recent article in Der Spiegel pointed out that many homeowners pay more attention to the kitchen than to the house itself.
From the very beginning, we had a detailed, priced estimate. We could always see the cost of the window in plastic, aluminum, or wood.
GCs can sometimes be less flexible because many items have to be ordered well in advance. The tight schedule doesn’t allow the homeowner to change their mind once the house is already built.
Upgrades on site, such as electrical work or stairs, were not charged to us through the GC but billed directly by the craftsmen.
Problems occur everywhere, and there are direct contracts that run smoothly, while some GCs have everything go wrong.
Keeping records is important.
It’s worth asking questions—no question is too silly.
Trust your gut – the expert advised to call as soon as you feel something isn’t right.
Last but not least, stay informed and involved. A recent article in Der Spiegel pointed out that many homeowners pay more attention to the kitchen than to the house itself.
Lumpi_LE schrieb:
Actually, this is something you really shouldn’t do. Once construction starts, the planning should be finalized.
Sometimes it works out, but usually it leads to problems you don’t even consider at the time. Who says that? All the tradespeople I work with build like this when they are doing their own work. For example, the window opening is enlarged just before the row of bricks for the parapet is laid. Also, the electrical installation was finalized only one hour before the chases were made in my case. Of course, it helps to plan everything in advance, which is why the on-site meeting only took 30 minutes. But it’s not a strict requirement.
Lumpi_LE schrieb:
You really shouldn’t do something like that. The planning should be finalized before construction starts.
Sometimes it works out, but usually it causes problems you don’t even think about at the time. Well, with a general contractor (GC), you probably can’t build that way, but with separate trade contracts it works without issues.
In our case, all trades easily adapted to changes because I was on site daily and discussed the final planning with each trade on site at or just before their work started.
Of course, this approach isn’t for people who don’t have the time or interest to be involved in the construction process.
That’s how building was done before turnkey construction became common; for the tradespeople I know, it’s perfectly normal.
Often, the tradesperson would suggest different options based on the conditions.
Despite a cold winter, we moved into the finished house 9 months after groundbreaking — 180m² (1,940 sq ft) plus a finished basement. Only the landscaping and exterior plaster were incomplete at that time.
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