Hello,
I am quite new here and hope this is the right place for my concern.
We are currently having a turnkey house built through a developer, meaning we are purchasing the finished house along with the land. It is a semi-detached house, 130sqm (1400 sq ft), currently at the shell stage, with the roof and windows completed, so the house is basically “closed in.”
We have now discovered serious defects in the construction of the interior walls. Some of the bricks were cut with an axe instead of using the available saw. The walls look accordingly poor and have been covered with large amounts of mortar, so later on when installing furniture, we can never be sure if it will hold properly. In plain terms: it is botched work.
A complaint to the developer about these defects has so far led to nothing; it was ignored. We can never reach the responsible people by phone, and we have not met the site manager even once in person.
We have now hired an independent building expert, who repeatedly pointed out that the following documents are needed for ongoing construction supervision:
Structural engineer’s report
Energy performance report
We asked the developer to provide these documents, but this was refused; we were told we would receive them only once we officially own the property.
What can we do now?
Even if the developer denies us an expert on site and exercises their property rights, we would at least like to have an expert present at the final handover. But the documents will only be provided AFTER this handover....
Is the developer required to provide these documents at least before the final inspection?
Do we at least have a chance to report the defects already identified and demand corrections? Even if it is very inconvenient to reopen finished walls, as mentioned, there has been no dialogue with us so far. So far, we only have photos as “evidence.”
I would really appreciate any advice, as this whole building project is becoming extremely frustrating.
Thank you and best regards
I am quite new here and hope this is the right place for my concern.
We are currently having a turnkey house built through a developer, meaning we are purchasing the finished house along with the land. It is a semi-detached house, 130sqm (1400 sq ft), currently at the shell stage, with the roof and windows completed, so the house is basically “closed in.”
We have now discovered serious defects in the construction of the interior walls. Some of the bricks were cut with an axe instead of using the available saw. The walls look accordingly poor and have been covered with large amounts of mortar, so later on when installing furniture, we can never be sure if it will hold properly. In plain terms: it is botched work.
A complaint to the developer about these defects has so far led to nothing; it was ignored. We can never reach the responsible people by phone, and we have not met the site manager even once in person.
We have now hired an independent building expert, who repeatedly pointed out that the following documents are needed for ongoing construction supervision:
Structural engineer’s report
Energy performance report
We asked the developer to provide these documents, but this was refused; we were told we would receive them only once we officially own the property.
What can we do now?
Even if the developer denies us an expert on site and exercises their property rights, we would at least like to have an expert present at the final handover. But the documents will only be provided AFTER this handover....
Is the developer required to provide these documents at least before the final inspection?
Do we at least have a chance to report the defects already identified and demand corrections? Even if it is very inconvenient to reopen finished walls, as mentioned, there has been no dialogue with us so far. So far, we only have photos as “evidence.”
I would really appreciate any advice, as this whole building project is becoming extremely frustrating.
Thank you and best regards
Well, I consider this below-average for common building practices. If I were the actual builder and not just the buyer, the creators of this workmanship would have to redo at least the incomplete sections. Regarding the integration, I don’t want to say much; if enough masonry ties are installed, a bonding pattern is not necessary. Then it might be acceptable.
As a BT customer, meaning the buyer, only the final result has to meet the standard and the ordered specifications.
As a BT customer, meaning the buyer, only the final result has to meet the standard and the ordered specifications.
As a builder’s turnkey (BT) customer, meaning the buyer, only the final result needs to meet the standard and the agreed specifications.And that’s exactly where our problem lies. During the final inspection, none of that is visible anymore, but we KNOW how terrible the walls underneath look. Yet, we have no recourse? Are only the defects visible at the time of handover really considered?
N
nordanney13 Sep 2019 22:31Fay1983 schrieb:
the walls underneath look terrible.Looking terrible does not mean that you are getting a defective house.Fay1983 schrieb:
We have now identified serious defects in the construction of the interior walls. In some cases, the necessary bricks were "cut" with an axe instead of using the available saw. The walls look accordingly, As seen, somewhat random and, to some eyes, disastrous...
Fay1983 schrieb:
A defect complaint filed with the developer has so far led to nothing; it was ignored. ... but not considered a defect if it is properly plastered. Whether the developer or the general contractor...