ᐅ Dimple membrane waterproofing is missing under the floor slab.
Created on: 5 Jun 2011 17:19
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holweide1
Five years ago, we purchased a terraced house from Interhomes in Cologne. It has now come to light that the company forgot to install the dimpled membrane in the floor, which is causing moisture to enter the base of the walls. All buyers in this row believe this is a defect and should be repaired by the company under the warranty. Interhomes, however, argues that the buyers themselves should have installed this membrane when they extended the terraces. Could someone please offer advice on how to proceed in this situation? How can the absence of this membrane be identified in a completed building? Isn’t a house supposed to be delivered “waterproof”?
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Bauexperte13 Mar 2014 10:43Hello,
although the thread is a bit old, I am replying for users who might be in a similar situation.
What others say should not matter much to the original poster, since having the right on your side and actually winning your case are two different things!
The original poster is responsible for providing proof, as they either moved into the house or accepted it five years ago. This means they need to hire an expert specializing in masonry and waterproofing to inspect the property and wait for the results. Before that, they should review their contract to see what it says about waterproofing.
They should then share the expert report with the builder and demand immediate repair of the defect if the report supports their claim. However, they should expect that the builder will not easily accept this and may hire their own expert. If the builder’s expert comes to a different conclusion—possibly based on the original contract terms—this creates a deadlock. Resolving this will require a lawyer specializing in construction law; if this still does not lead to a solution and the original poster is indeed in the right, the only option left is to go to court. Usually, the court will appoint an independent expert to assess the issue, and based on that expert’s report, the court will deliver a judgment or, quite often, propose a settlement.
A settlement usually means that the original poster bears the cost of their own expert; the court and expert fees are split, and the lawyer’s fees must be paid twice. Either way, the effort must be weighed against the possible outcome, keeping in mind that in court you get a judgment, not guaranteed justice.
Best regards, Bauexperte
although the thread is a bit old, I am replying for users who might be in a similar situation.
holweide1 schrieb:
Five years ago, we bought a townhouse from Interhomes in Cologne. Now it has come to light that the company forgot to install the dimpled membrane in the floor, so moisture is getting into the base of the walls. All the buyers in the row agree that this is a defect and should be fixed by the company under warranty. Interhomes, however, argues that the buyers should have installed this membrane themselves when adding the terraces. Can anyone give us advice on how to proceed? How can you tell if this membrane is missing in an already completed building? Shouldn't a house be handed over "waterproof"?
What others say should not matter much to the original poster, since having the right on your side and actually winning your case are two different things!
The original poster is responsible for providing proof, as they either moved into the house or accepted it five years ago. This means they need to hire an expert specializing in masonry and waterproofing to inspect the property and wait for the results. Before that, they should review their contract to see what it says about waterproofing.
They should then share the expert report with the builder and demand immediate repair of the defect if the report supports their claim. However, they should expect that the builder will not easily accept this and may hire their own expert. If the builder’s expert comes to a different conclusion—possibly based on the original contract terms—this creates a deadlock. Resolving this will require a lawyer specializing in construction law; if this still does not lead to a solution and the original poster is indeed in the right, the only option left is to go to court. Usually, the court will appoint an independent expert to assess the issue, and based on that expert’s report, the court will deliver a judgment or, quite often, propose a settlement.
A settlement usually means that the original poster bears the cost of their own expert; the court and expert fees are split, and the lawyer’s fees must be paid twice. Either way, the effort must be weighed against the possible outcome, keeping in mind that in court you get a judgment, not guaranteed justice.
Best regards, Bauexperte
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