ᐅ New aluminum front door in older building, porcelain stoneware tiles cracked

Created on: 29 Sep 2020 12:21
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thomas02
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thomas02
29 Sep 2020 12:21
Hello everyone,

I’m Tobias, 28 years old, living in NRW.
Last year, we purchased a detached single-family house. We bought a new front door from a shop that specializes only in front doors, including installation.

It’s an aluminum front door with a sidelight; previously, there was an old steel door.

First, the installers only arrived at the site last Saturday at 6 p.m., which was obviously not ideal since this kind of work takes time. But the supervisor said not to worry, they would install it even if they had to work until 11 p.m.

There were tiles around the door on the outside. We were warned that these could be delicate and might get damaged, which was fine as long as the brickwork on the other side remained intact.

As expected, the installer thought the door frame would go behind the tiles and cut into them. When he did that, he just said sorry and that it shouldn’t have been necessary because the frame sits flush. Still, some tiles were broken, which I accepted.

However, when they tried to remove the old door, a 2cm (0.8 inch) thick porcelain stoneware panel on the inside broke. Annoying, but they continued the work. Now, in discussions with the supervisor, I am being told that you have to expect something to break.

Is that really normal? We were warned that the outside tiles were delicate, but not that the inside panels would be damaged. Also, the installer’s assistant incorrectly positioned the angle grinder (with the guard on top) and ended up damaging another natural stone panel while cutting through the old door.

So my question is: do I have to accept this?

I would appreciate some clarification.
Regards,
Tobias
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Tassimat
30 Sep 2020 11:33
Sounds like a very unreliable company if the installers are voluntarily working until 11 p.m. (23:00)...

How much do you estimate the financial loss to be?
I would reduce the invoice amount.
Patricck30 Sep 2020 21:26
So if they only show up at 6 PM? Many people finish work by then, so that’s not very useful, especially since it’s already dark at that time.
Of course, things that can get damaged might, but if you point that out beforehand, people should be careful to avoid it.