Dear Forum,
We are building a house under a developer purchase contract.
Before Christmas, the interior plaster was applied. The house, still in the shell stage with windows and a construction door already installed, has not been heated and still isn’t.
Now the still not fully dried interior plaster has frozen. We have sufficiently documented the damp spots with photos. We measured and recorded the wall temperatures over the past few days using an infrared thermometer. They ranged between -4.4°C and -2.4°C (24.1°F and 27.7°F).
The application guidelines for the plaster used state that fresh mortar and applied plaster must be protected from frost until fully dried.
The developer now claims that the plaster has not frozen. They argue that heating the construction site at this stage is not advisable because it could cause condensation on the wooden components.
Insulation including the vapor barrier have not yet been installed.
We are now regularly documenting the wall and air temperatures, which have been consistently below freezing for several days.
How should we proceed? How quickly do plaster defects (cracks, detachment from the wall) usually appear after the plaster thaws?
What is the legal situation in this case? We have not yet made any partial payments for the interior plaster and intend to withhold payment for now.
Thank you very much for any advice and suggestions!
We are building a house under a developer purchase contract.
Before Christmas, the interior plaster was applied. The house, still in the shell stage with windows and a construction door already installed, has not been heated and still isn’t.
Now the still not fully dried interior plaster has frozen. We have sufficiently documented the damp spots with photos. We measured and recorded the wall temperatures over the past few days using an infrared thermometer. They ranged between -4.4°C and -2.4°C (24.1°F and 27.7°F).
The application guidelines for the plaster used state that fresh mortar and applied plaster must be protected from frost until fully dried.
The developer now claims that the plaster has not frozen. They argue that heating the construction site at this stage is not advisable because it could cause condensation on the wooden components.
Insulation including the vapor barrier have not yet been installed.
We are now regularly documenting the wall and air temperatures, which have been consistently below freezing for several days.
How should we proceed? How quickly do plaster defects (cracks, detachment from the wall) usually appear after the plaster thaws?
What is the legal situation in this case? We have not yet made any partial payments for the interior plaster and intend to withhold payment for now.
Thank you very much for any advice and suggestions!
J
jens.knoedel15 Jan 2024 22:50ypg schrieb:
However, I am actually wondering, especially regarding the tiles, what kind of contract this is. The usual selection process during the construction phase. Not like the fixed specification process common with turnkey home builders, but a pragmatic approach with customized change management during construction.
That said, I am also curious how the legal evaluation will turn out.
Mimi123 schrieb:
The interior plaster, which had not yet fully dried, has now frozen. We were able to sufficiently document the damp areas with photos. We measured and recorded the wall temperatures over the past few days using an infrared thermometer. These ranged between -4.4 degrees Celsius and -2.4 degrees Celsius (24.1°F and 27.7°F). Get expert or legal advice on whether this factual observation should be included in the final inspection report – otherwise, I share Yvonne’s surprise about why you, as buyers, were unofficially wandering around the construction site at all.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Thanks for the answers!
What do you mean by legal assessment? Could you please explain? Thanks!
jens.knoedel schrieb:
Typical selection during the construction phase. No pre-construction sampling like with system builders, but a pragmatic approach with special request management during the build.
Although I am also wondering how the legal assessment will look
What do you mean by legal assessment? Could you please explain? Thanks!
J
jens.knoedel16 Jan 2024 14:05Mimi123 schrieb:
What do you mean by legal assessment? Could you please explain? Thanks!The tile topic comes from the other thread. My answer refers to that. How should the construction contract be legally viewed regarding change order management or your special requests? For example:- Are there any regulations in the contract about this?
- Are there any regulations in the building code?
- Is there relevant case law?
- When MUST the builder act (is there even a required deadline)?
- Who is responsible for the builder’s costs for transport and storage of materials from the suppliers you have proposed?
and so on.
P.S. People just use informal “you” in internet/forums.
