ᐅ Having a Construction Contract Reviewed / By Whom? Is It Necessary?

Tolentino schrieb:

Yes, of course, because some don’t know what went wrong for them, others do and now want to do something about it.

That wouldn’t speak in favor of the general contractor (GC). As I said, the GC also benefits when an expert supervises the subcontractors closely. The GC has their own site manager, but four eyes see more, and especially the site manager has to maintain long-term relationships with the subs. If he can say, “Sorry, the client’s expert insists on this,” he can pass the responsibility on easily.

You believe that. You don’t see all the errors or you’re just very lucky.

No, it’s more like you’re unaware of 70% of them. Maybe 50% of those get fixed, and only half of those are done correctly from a technical and professional point of view. The 30% you do notice get corrected with a lot of showmanship so the client sees how thorough the GC is. Of those, maybe 80% are corrected properly — if you’re lucky.

How can a layperson without expertise judge that?

That’s true, but it doesn’t help prevent issues later on.

Again, and sorry for being so blunt here, but when the total project cost is well over half a million, it’s really foolish to try to save maybe $4,000 on an expert’s fee.
It’s nice that you think you got away with it, but that’s not advice you can seriously give to future home builders.

I tend to see all this as pessimism and excessive caution. Of course, everyone has their own perspective on this.

I don’t think all the houses built in recent years without a construction expert will start showing their “little problems” in the next few years.

I’d also like to hear about the typical issues you’re talking about, which one wouldn’t notice as a layperson or have any idea about.

It’s always easy to say: “I know nothing about construction – you can’t do it without an expert – I don’t understand what’s happening.”

I spent a whole year studying the topic of “building” and was actually on my construction site almost every evening (of course, this depends on how close you live to the site). But honestly, if you deal with it in-depth, you *can* judge what’s going on at the site.

I sometimes find attitudes like this a bit strange — many things don’t seem to add up for me.

People build a kind of “budget house” like xx...... and expect everything to be done properly, technically perfect, and professionally flawless with subcontractors coming from four different countries.

Sure, then you need an expert.

But to me, it doesn’t make sense. If you’re that picky and want to check every single step, why do you build with such “cheap companies” in the first place?
It’s not uncommon, based on how I describe it.

So again, MY advice to the original poster: Just make sure you look for your GC until you find the right one. It took us a long time — but it was worth it.

There’s always an element of luck involved, no question (even with an independent site supervisor), but choosing the right GC minimizes your risk of construction defects.

Prager91 schrieb:

Choose the RIGHT general contractor who makes an effort, has reliable tradespeople, and manages the construction properly.

Tolentino schrieb:

How is a layperson with no expertise supposed to judge that?

There are building consultants for that, I’m not the only one ;-)
Moreover, we have a section here called "Experiences with Construction Companies" (including various reviews, especially of regional general contractors). You can use the forum search with the names of contractors you already know to see if they’re already known (and what feedback they have).

Regarding the “proper management” of construction sites by the general contractor, see (external) "About Site Managers and ... Site Managers".

Prager91 schrieb:

I don’t think all the houses built without an expert in recent years will start showing their “small problems” in the coming years.

To quote the Pink Panther: “recent years are not ‘today’.” Just take a look at how many recent posts deal with softening, retracting, or circumventing price “guarantees,” and how often there is mention of special caution against attempts to cut corners on quality.

Prager91 schrieb:

It’s usually said easily: “I have no idea about construction — it can’t be done without an expert — I don’t understand what is being done.”

This forum is also full of examples of "false alarms," where someone writes in that style: “Help!!! The ceiling is supposed to go in tomorrow and all the walls are off by ten centimeters (4 inches),” but in the end, they simply measured incorrectly themselves. In such cases, hiring an expert is already cheaper than canceling the concrete truck and delaying all further steps.

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Oh, it already starts with the foundations. Can you tell the difference between a slab that is part of the structural frame and one that isn’t? Do you know that whether a dimpled membrane under the slab is acceptable depends on this? Do you know what a structurally stable blinding layer should look like? Masonry, minimum cover thickness, including proof of bending protection, waterproofing in the base area. Perimeter insulation, capillary forces, whether it’s installed continuously or not, crack-bridging, flexible or rigid sealing slurry, application of bituminous thick coating, for example regarding substrate condition, connection to window drip edge waterproofing. Compatibility of the various materials. When is a “botched job” really a defect, and when is it still acceptable? Were the “acceptable” joints really filled completely with lightweight mortar? Generally, window installation according to RAL standards (three levels), which sealing tape to use inside and outside, design of the window sills, standards, and tolerances. And it goes on like this through all trades.

If you can do all that, fine, but you are definitely not the average case. Assuming that every homeowner can manage to work through every topic this deeply, identify every possible error, know how it should be done correctly, or how to properly fix a mistake – well.

I claim that after only a year of self-study, this is impossible to fully grasp. By now, I have two to three years of experience with these topics and I know I still don’t know enough. For my next house construction, I will certainly hire a building expert in addition to the project architect! Then there will be a six-eyes review process! This isn’t being overly cautious; it comes from painful personal experience.

The consequential damages from such defects can be seen on those horror shows on TV: moisture damage, structural cracks, leaks, harmful mold, visual damage from peeling plaster, and so on.

Tolentino schrieb:

The consequential damage from such defects can be seen on those horror renovation shows on TV. Moisture damage, structurally significant cracks, leaks, harmful mold, aesthetic damage from peeling plaster, and so on.

Yes, we actually had someone last week who was convinced that horror construction sites only happen to idiots :-(

WilhelmRo schrieb:

That’s why I can only laugh when I see the typical reports on YouTube or ZDF.

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With our building savings contract, all the trades said, "We know this place is being inspected." In my opinion, they build more thoroughly from the start; no general contractor wants to pay twice for rework caused by poor workmanship. Our building savings contract was very reliable because it also served as a damage assessor for disputes. Nowadays, an insolvency clause in the contract is doubly important as protection for the property owner.

Nida35a schrieb:

In today’s environment, an insolvency clause is twice as important in the contract as protection for the builder

A completion guarantee has never been more important than it is today, indeed.

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