Hi!
We are building with a general contractor (GC) but separated out the electrical work because the GC’s electrician does not offer KNX systems.
So far, so good.
The GC site manager was unable to schedule a meeting with the electrician before the ceiling slab was poured on the ground floor to install conduits. Then, after a phone discussion between them, it was agreed that the electrician would simply drill through the slab into the Halox boxes. The site manager indicated that this would not be a problem.
However, the site manager has so far failed to provide the written approval requested by the electrician for the drilling process. The ceiling slab is scheduled to be poured tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I only just found out from the electrician that the written approval has not yet been issued. He made it clear that he will not proceed with any drilling without such approval. Under these circumstances, I find it too risky to allow the concrete pouring to proceed tomorrow without written consent. Oral agreements with the electrician and me do not hold up legally.
Now my question:
How should drilling into Halox boxes through a concrete slab be viewed? Is this risky? Is it appropriate for the electrician to require written approval? I believe that is reasonable on his part.
How would you handle this? If they pour the concrete tomorrow and still do not provide approval, I will be the one to suffer later! I just emailed the GC again emphasizing that written approval must be granted before the start of concrete pouring and that otherwise, the pouring cannot proceed. Whether this will have any effect on a Sunday when work is supposed to start at 8 a.m. is another question. On the other hand, the structural contractor responsible for the pouring is not my contract partner, and legally I probably cannot stop him from starting work at 8 a.m. (contract for work and services). At least regarding legal issues such as possible claims for damages related to scheduled personnel, machinery, etc., I am not sure how this would play out.
Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to handle this?
In any case, I will have to get more involved in these processes, follow up much more, and obtain more timely written confirmations. It started out well, but now 2-3 issues have already come up... (among other things, we had a “situation” during the civil engineering works related to coordination and communication).
We are building with a general contractor (GC) but separated out the electrical work because the GC’s electrician does not offer KNX systems.
So far, so good.
The GC site manager was unable to schedule a meeting with the electrician before the ceiling slab was poured on the ground floor to install conduits. Then, after a phone discussion between them, it was agreed that the electrician would simply drill through the slab into the Halox boxes. The site manager indicated that this would not be a problem.
However, the site manager has so far failed to provide the written approval requested by the electrician for the drilling process. The ceiling slab is scheduled to be poured tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I only just found out from the electrician that the written approval has not yet been issued. He made it clear that he will not proceed with any drilling without such approval. Under these circumstances, I find it too risky to allow the concrete pouring to proceed tomorrow without written consent. Oral agreements with the electrician and me do not hold up legally.
Now my question:
How should drilling into Halox boxes through a concrete slab be viewed? Is this risky? Is it appropriate for the electrician to require written approval? I believe that is reasonable on his part.
How would you handle this? If they pour the concrete tomorrow and still do not provide approval, I will be the one to suffer later! I just emailed the GC again emphasizing that written approval must be granted before the start of concrete pouring and that otherwise, the pouring cannot proceed. Whether this will have any effect on a Sunday when work is supposed to start at 8 a.m. is another question. On the other hand, the structural contractor responsible for the pouring is not my contract partner, and legally I probably cannot stop him from starting work at 8 a.m. (contract for work and services). At least regarding legal issues such as possible claims for damages related to scheduled personnel, machinery, etc., I am not sure how this would play out.
Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to handle this?
In any case, I will have to get more involved in these processes, follow up much more, and obtain more timely written confirmations. It started out well, but now 2-3 issues have already come up... (among other things, we had a “situation” during the civil engineering works related to coordination and communication).
H
HilfeHilfe7 May 2018 06:56I don’t understand why you are defending the electrician. The general contractor always allowed some extra time.
It’s typical that when services are removed, situations like this arise.
It’s typical that when services are removed, situations like this arise.
Tom1607 schrieb:
So when I read this, I wonder how flexible your electrician is. After the notification, there was another week of delay. So he didn’t find a single hour during that whole week to run the cables and insists on an approval. Seriously??I completely agree.
You even wrote yourself:
“Otherwise, the general contractor could have at least responded within the last 10 days and informed that such an approval might possibly not be granted. Very frustrating.“
In the last 11 days, the electrician could have at least found half a day to pull the empty conduits.
If that doesn’t work, then probably even more scheduling issues will arise with the electrician.
Why is the electrician being blamed here? Regardless of whether such an approval is necessary or excessive, the general contractor and electrician had discussed everything in due time, and the general contractor did not take a few minutes (not even half a day) to clarify the agreed formalities. I would be annoyed by that as well. If the general contractor has an issue with the approval, they could have raised it 11 days ago, and alternatives would need to be found.
C
cybergnom7 May 2018 07:28truce schrieb:
I totally agree..
You yourself wrote:
“Otherwise, the general contractor could have responded within the last 10 days to indicate that such an approval might not be granted. Very frustrating.”
In the last 11 days, the electrician could have found half a day to pull the empty conduits.
If that doesn’t work, then probably even more scheduling issues with the electrician will come up.It depends on when the precast concrete slab was installed. In our case, the process was: precast slab installed, wiring installed, then concrete poured. And all that in 1.5 days.
I can’t imagine there was a full 11 days available for laying the conduits.
R
R.Hotzenplotz7 May 2018 10:01truce schrieb:
Over the past 11 days, the electrician could have found half a day to install the empty conduits.However, he was not informed that there was a delay in pouring the concrete ceiling. He was only told in the afternoon to do it the following day. He was unable to do so, and then he was told that the holes would just have to be drilled through.
The electrician only found out around mid last week that the concrete ceiling still had not been installed more than a week later. Again, he was told he could briefly come by in the afternoon to do the work, which again was too little notice. The ceiling was expected the next morning. He was also not informed that it then took another four days.
I believe it is the site manager’s responsibility to communicate schedule changes to the trades accordingly. Even with subcontracted trades, coordination can, if necessary, be handled through the client. But if I only realize there are delays when visiting the site myself, then I am powerless.
Ok, overall there was a lack of coordination between the general contractor and the electrician. However, in the end, it’s not a big issue because, of course, the electrician can also drill, and he will still receive his official approval form.
The only remaining problem is the stressed homeowner who sends emails on weekends and threatens to stop the concrete pouring.
The only remaining problem is the stressed homeowner who sends emails on weekends and threatens to stop the concrete pouring.
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