Hello. In about a month, we will start building a new single-family house. Other houses in the development are being constructed by the same general contractor. We recently visited the site where some of the others have already started building. I was a bit confused when I tried to talk to two construction workers, but they didn’t understand a word. Now I wonder how our site manager (general contractor) plans to communicate with them. What have your experiences been when the craftsmen have no German language skills? If the builder goes bankrupt, I also imagine it would be difficult to hold subcontractors based in Ukraine or elsewhere accountable for defects. Or am I overthinking this?
Pädda schrieb:
I was a bit confused when I tried to talk to two construction workers. They didn’t understand anything at all.Some clients prefer to communicate directly with the site manager of the craftsmen.
Pädda schrieb:
Now I’m wondering how our general contractor’s site manager plans to communicate with them.There are general contractors who speak directly with the German-speaking heads or managing directors of the subcontractor companies.
Pädda schrieb:
If the contractor goes bankrupt, I also imagine it would be difficult to hold subcontractors based in Ukraine or elsewhere accountable for defects.Why would the subcontractor’s headquarters be located abroad?
I believe that if you think about it more carefully, you’ll see that one thing has little to do with the other.
Many installers at Audi or VW speak broken German. That doesn’t stop you from ordering a VW.
Basically, the general contractor’s site manager is your contact person, not the craftsmen. If you think it’s necessary to communicate with the workers themselves at point A or B, you’ll have to try to explain your concerns to the site manager in a clear way.
At Danwood, a Polish company, it’s common for clients to clearly express their ideas and special requests, which are then carried out by the Polish workers. Take a look at Danwood’s construction diaries — they approach it with humor and appreciate that the craftsmen are willing to handle special requests for relatively little extra cost. They are under no obligation to do so.
Regarding German craftsmen: there are also some who raise their hands and refer you to their boss. Sometimes they don’t want to cooperate, even or especially if they understand everything and know their rights.
Zaba12 schrieb:
What can I say, all my tradespeople only speak Franconian. I don’t get any sympathy either Franconian is really tough.
Glones ABC
Go ending
Oafig makes good German difficult
We had carpenters from Poland working for the company for years. They spoke very little German but understood it quite well. The foreman was German. The staircase was installed by Czechs, so I called the manager three streets away.
Otherwise, just use Google Translate, type what you want to say, and hold the phone up to them.
Otherwise, just use Google Translate, type what you want to say, and hold the phone up to them.
H
HilfeHilfe3 Feb 2019 08:07Listen, I wanted to talk to the electrician. He understood me, but I didn’t understand him... I think he was speaking Bavarian... strange guy... I tried English, but it didn’t work... though actually, I didn’t really know what I wanted from him. Just wanted to get to know him.
haydee schrieb:
We had Polish carpenters who have been working for the company for years. They spoke very little German but understood quite well; the foreman was German. The staircase was installed by Czechs, so I called the boss three streets away.
Otherwise, just use Google Translate—type in what you want to say and hold the phone up to them.Is the sentence structure also from Google Translate or what?
Otherwise, building a house in Poland is basically the same as in Germany; for everything else, there are warranties and lawyers.
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