ᐅ Quantities incorrect in the bill of quantities

Hello everyone,

unfortunately, I have to bring up an unpleasant topic today. Luckily, our construction process went very smoothly. However, it is now apparent that the quantities in the bill of quantities provided by our architect were completely incorrect.

The problem is that cost control was never really possible, or rather, we thought we were somewhat on track because the total of the bids seemed roughly accurate. Now that the final invoices are arriving, it turns out that the specifications from our architect were quite poor.

For example, the waterproofing work only listed areas for the roof, but not for the terrace. Or the painter and plasterer work was so inaccurately specified that we are now receiving final invoices exceeding €20,000 (around $22,000) for these services. For instance, full-surface fabric plastering of the exterior facade for €6,000 (around $6,600), which we only found out was done by coincidence.
It’s important to note that we never ordered or approved any of these “additional services” or quantity increases.

What is the legal situation here? And what is the practice in such cases?

In the end, it’s extremely frustrating that we have been misled in terms of costs all along and had no transparency, since we planned based on the bid prices and the final invoices are now naturally much higher due to the incomplete specifications.

Can the architect be held liable for this, or did I just get unlucky?

Best regards,
ivenh0

A deviation of the invoice from the quotation may vary by 10-20% depending on legal interpretation.

ivenh0 schrieb:

It must be said that we did not commission or approve any of these "additional services" or quantity increases.

For example, who commissioned the facade, meaning who signed off? Who communicated with the craftsmen? I don’t believe they would carry out unapproved work silently.

Were there alternative items in the quotation that were not included in the quoted price but without which the order could not have been sensibly completed?
For each trade, one would need to carefully compare the tender, the quotation, and the invoice in detail to find a justification.

Perhaps this could have already been noticed during the comparison of the quotations, but it is easy to say that in hindsight.

ivenh0 schrieb:

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately, I have to raise an unpleasant issue today. Luckily, our construction went very smoothly. However, it is now becoming clear that the quantities in the bill of quantities from our architect were completely wrong.
The problem is: cost control was not possible at any point, or rather, we thought we were more or less on track since the total of the bids seemed more or less accurate. Now that the final invoices are coming in, it turns out that our architect’s specifications were pretty poor.

For example, the areas for waterproofing work were only specified for the roof, but not for the terrace. Or painting and plastering work was incorrectly quoted, so now we are receiving final invoices with reports exceeding €20,000. For example, full-surface fabric filling of the exterior façade for €6,000 (which we only found out about by chance that it was carried out).
I should mention that we did not order or approve any of these “additional services” or extra quantities.

What is the legal situation here? And how is this handled in practice?

In the end, it is extremely frustrating that we were misled cost-wise the entire time and had no transparency because we budgeted based on the bid prices, and now the final invoices are naturally significantly higher due to the incomplete specifications.

Can the architect be held liable for this, or did I just have bad luck?

Best regards,
ivenh0

What does the architect say about this? I mean, just because he forgot to include something (like waterproofing work on the terrace) doesn’t mean it didn’t have to be done, right? Surveying and invoicing essentially boils down to underestimating.

If he had not miscalculated, you would have paid the amount without complaint!

What interests me is, how is it possible that you received work that was not ordered? Did the quotes go directly to the architect, bypassing you? A quote for exterior/interior plastering consists of fewer than 20 items. Something like that would definitely be noticed.

Also, full-surface fabric filling is state-of-the-art! Why didn’t you want to commission that? Everyone wants non-woven wallpaper inside so there are no cracks, yet savings are made on the exterior. Be glad it happened this way.

To answer your question, I read somewhere that there are tolerances of 2.5%-5% after the tender phase, within which the construction costs can deviate from the offered price. Before the tender, 10-20%, and at the first cost estimate 25%.

Zaba12 schrieb:

What does the architect say about it? Just because he forgot to include something (e.g., waterproofing work on the terrace) doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be done, right?
Measuring and calculating is basically just another way of underestimating.

If he hadn’t miscalculated, you would have paid the amount without complaint!

What interests me is how you could receive services that were never commissioned?
Did the offers go directly to the architect, bypassing you? An offer for exterior/interior plaster includes fewer than 20 items. Something like this would definitely be noticeable.

Also, a full-surface fabric plaster is standard practice! Why didn’t you want to commission this? Everyone wants non-woven wallpapers inside to prevent cracks, and outside people try to save money. Be glad it turned out this way.

To answer your question, I read somewhere that even after the offer phase, there are tolerances of 2.5%-5% by which construction costs may deviate from the offer price. 10-20% applies before the offer is made, and 25% is acceptable at the first cost estimate.

It’s less about refusing to accept something and more that these things seem to have simply been commissioned by the architect behind our backs and without our knowledge or approval.

Of course, we would have accepted them too if there had been a price attached—but then we would have known where we stand.

It’s not about something being installed that we don’t want, but rather that the architect always told us we were within the budget, while on the other hand he kept commissioning additional work without our consent and, above all, far beyond the budget limits.

From an execution standpoint, everything is fine—the way it was handled, however, is a disaster.

Okay, understood. From my perspective, it is not acceptable to independently order and pay for additional or overlooked items without approval and prior agreement. Unless he has been given a free pass in the contract or in a verbal agreement.

I have kept control of and have not delegated the payment of invoices.

What does the architect say about this?

Building with an architect as well; we have given him power of attorney to conduct contracts/negotiations on our behalf, but every "final" contract is signed/approved again by us, and every change is discussed (at our request). We are talking about euro values starting from 1,000,000.