Hello dear community,
Since March, we have been building a Tuscan-style house, and everything has gone absolutely smoothly so far, so we were already prepared for something to go wrong.
Now it finally happened: On Wednesday, the screed (cement screed, floating) was laid all day, and everything was fine. On Thursday, we experienced a severe storm with extreme hail, after which water entered through an open basement window (which had been removed to run the construction power cable into the utility room) and through the still unsealed supply line to the heat pump. Of course, it was dirty clay water. Since I had already suspected something like this might happen, I entered the house despite the no-entry warning to check and address the damage. Using cloths and towels, we wiped up a total of 12 liters (3 gallons) of water from the utility room and the stairwell.
Our construction company plans to set up a dehumidifier at the end of this week, not earlier, as the screed might otherwise be damaged.
Now my question is: What would you do?
Would you insist on replacing the screed? Or on an extended warranty coverage for the screed (we already have a 5-year warranty on the entire house...)? Would you demand a reduction in the contract price?
As a precaution, I have definitely taken plenty of pictures of the damage!
Since March, we have been building a Tuscan-style house, and everything has gone absolutely smoothly so far, so we were already prepared for something to go wrong.
Now it finally happened: On Wednesday, the screed (cement screed, floating) was laid all day, and everything was fine. On Thursday, we experienced a severe storm with extreme hail, after which water entered through an open basement window (which had been removed to run the construction power cable into the utility room) and through the still unsealed supply line to the heat pump. Of course, it was dirty clay water. Since I had already suspected something like this might happen, I entered the house despite the no-entry warning to check and address the damage. Using cloths and towels, we wiped up a total of 12 liters (3 gallons) of water from the utility room and the stairwell.
Our construction company plans to set up a dehumidifier at the end of this week, not earlier, as the screed might otherwise be damaged.
Now my question is: What would you do?
Would you insist on replacing the screed? Or on an extended warranty coverage for the screed (we already have a 5-year warranty on the entire house...)? Would you demand a reduction in the contract price?
As a precaution, I have definitely taken plenty of pictures of the damage!
B
Bauexperte20 Jun 2012 16:22Hello,
The main train station is not a wish fulfillment service after all.
I have been doing that for many years; if it were otherwise, our clients probably wouldn’t trust me.
No, I’ll refrain from commenting on that now.
Something clearly went seriously wrong in one place: built without a soil report, no waterproof concrete shell or incorrect sealing, wrong light wells installed, etc. Perhaps you are also describing open shell construction; there are countless possibilities, and I don’t happen to have a crystal ball at hand right now.
Yes, the question definitely arises; contract comes from “to tolerate”!
And since you “moved carefully on the screed,” you might have realized that rainwater – especially since screed is mainly made of sand, cement, and water – cannot harm your freshly laid screed; your weight, on the other hand, very well can. Regarding bacteria – these tiny single-celled organisms are everywhere; also in large numbers inside your own body. If that weren’t the case, you – and all humanity, before you misunderstand me here – wouldn’t be able to survive at all.
What remains is that you ignored signed parts of the contract instead of waiting for your site manager to be reachable. This is often how the biggest disputes start...
I consider that more of a defensive statement, especially the “construction lawyer.” I have been doing this job long enough to know that no general contractor can be held liable for weather/extreme weather (this is almost certainly stated similarly in your general terms and conditions/contract), and no lawyer would realistically recommend pursuing issues like replacing the screed, extended warranty coverage for the screed, or reducing the contract price – especially not at this stage.
What I would simply advise is this: if a situation arises again that – and I mean this without offense – temporarily overwhelms you, wait until you have reached your site manager. You yourself wrote that you have been fully satisfied with your provider’s services so far; if danger is imminent at any point in the future, your site manager will surely act on his own initiative.
Kind regards
Tifozi schrieb:
Well, that’s a big help now....
The main train station is not a wish fulfillment service after all.
Tifozi schrieb:
you can put yourself in my shoes,
I have been doing that for many years; if it were otherwise, our clients probably wouldn’t trust me.
Tifozi schrieb:
you see liters of rainwater disappearing into the ground (clay soil and surface pine soil)
No, I’ll refrain from commenting on that now.
Tifozi schrieb:
your neighbors already have water in their basements despite the waterproof concrete shell, so it has to be pumped out. I would like to see which client would calmly stand by and say, well, the basement will just fill up!
Something clearly went seriously wrong in one place: built without a soil report, no waterproof concrete shell or incorrect sealing, wrong light wells installed, etc. Perhaps you are also describing open shell construction; there are countless possibilities, and I don’t happen to have a crystal ball at hand right now.
Tifozi schrieb:
The question whether I behaved correctly does not arise. I tried to reach my site manager – no success. I moved carefully on the screed and would have taken responsibility for any possible damage – but nothing happened.
Yes, the question definitely arises; contract comes from “to tolerate”!
And since you “moved carefully on the screed,” you might have realized that rainwater – especially since screed is mainly made of sand, cement, and water – cannot harm your freshly laid screed; your weight, on the other hand, very well can. Regarding bacteria – these tiny single-celled organisms are everywhere; also in large numbers inside your own body. If that weren’t the case, you – and all humanity, before you misunderstand me here – wouldn’t be able to survive at all.
Tifozi schrieb:
The cleaning was agreed with him, as he called back later.
What remains is that you ignored signed parts of the contract instead of waiting for your site manager to be reachable. This is often how the biggest disputes start...
Tifozi schrieb:
means calling out the big guns – these are things recommended to me by acquaintances (bricklayer, architect, construction lawyer).
I consider that more of a defensive statement, especially the “construction lawyer.” I have been doing this job long enough to know that no general contractor can be held liable for weather/extreme weather (this is almost certainly stated similarly in your general terms and conditions/contract), and no lawyer would realistically recommend pursuing issues like replacing the screed, extended warranty coverage for the screed, or reducing the contract price – especially not at this stage.
What I would simply advise is this: if a situation arises again that – and I mean this without offense – temporarily overwhelms you, wait until you have reached your site manager. You yourself wrote that you have been fully satisfied with your provider’s services so far; if danger is imminent at any point in the future, your site manager will surely act on his own initiative.
Kind regards
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