ᐅ Cost question: Pumping out groundwater from the basement?
Created on: 21 Sep 2011 10:29
T
TheForeignerT
TheForeigner21 Sep 2011 10:29Hello,
I found this forum through Google.
I am currently building a semi-detached house in Offenbach. When we purchased the house, we were kindly advised to use a waterproof concrete shell (known as a “white tub”) for the basement, but we were not informed about the cost of the pump needed to drain groundwater during the basement construction. This was also not mentioned in the scope of work. Since we bought a turnkey house, who is responsible for covering these costs?
Should the developer/architect (everything from one source) have conducted a soil survey beforehand and informed us? In the new development area, many houses have basements, and the developer tells us that we must bear the additional costs ourselves (for gravel [soil bearing capacity] and pumping groundwater into the public sewage system) because, firstly, they claim they did not know there was a high groundwater level here (even though they sold us the waterproof concrete shell), and secondly, it is not included in the contract.
What can I do about this?
Best regards,
Asad
I found this forum through Google.
I am currently building a semi-detached house in Offenbach. When we purchased the house, we were kindly advised to use a waterproof concrete shell (known as a “white tub”) for the basement, but we were not informed about the cost of the pump needed to drain groundwater during the basement construction. This was also not mentioned in the scope of work. Since we bought a turnkey house, who is responsible for covering these costs?
Should the developer/architect (everything from one source) have conducted a soil survey beforehand and informed us? In the new development area, many houses have basements, and the developer tells us that we must bear the additional costs ourselves (for gravel [soil bearing capacity] and pumping groundwater into the public sewage system) because, firstly, they claim they did not know there was a high groundwater level here (even though they sold us the waterproof concrete shell), and secondly, it is not included in the contract.
What can I do about this?
Best regards,
Asad
6
6Richtige22 Sep 2011 00:24The costs are borne by the builder as the property owner.
T
Taliswald27 Sep 2011 13:20The question is: Who is the client?
Was a plot of land purchased on which a turnkey house is now being constructed by a general contractor (GC) / main contractor (MC), or was a house including the land purchased from a developer?
In the first case, you are the client and therefore bear the risk and costs associated with the building site (unless otherwise specified in the contract). In that case, you should have commissioned a soil report (at least for your own protection).
In the second case, this does not concern you at all, as you are buying a finished house including the land, and the developer acts as the client.
In short: The building site is the client’s risk.
Just have a conversation with your construction partner (MC/GC/developer/architect or whoever). In our experience, a mutual solution (e.g., cost sharing) can often be found, and for a few extra dollars, you really shouldn’t jeopardize your relationship with the partner—you may still need them for much bigger and more important things!
By the way: Our pump for the excavation pit cost us less than 500€ for 6 weeks. We also had a 2-week work stoppage due to bad weather.
Hope this helps a bit!
Was a plot of land purchased on which a turnkey house is now being constructed by a general contractor (GC) / main contractor (MC), or was a house including the land purchased from a developer?
In the first case, you are the client and therefore bear the risk and costs associated with the building site (unless otherwise specified in the contract). In that case, you should have commissioned a soil report (at least for your own protection).
In the second case, this does not concern you at all, as you are buying a finished house including the land, and the developer acts as the client.
In short: The building site is the client’s risk.
Just have a conversation with your construction partner (MC/GC/developer/architect or whoever). In our experience, a mutual solution (e.g., cost sharing) can often be found, and for a few extra dollars, you really shouldn’t jeopardize your relationship with the partner—you may still need them for much bigger and more important things!
By the way: Our pump for the excavation pit cost us less than 500€ for 6 weeks. We also had a 2-week work stoppage due to bad weather.
Hope this helps a bit!
Similar topics