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).
R
R.Hotzenplotz7 May 2018 10:10Alex85 schrieb:
Basically, the only one left is the stressed client who writes emails on weekends and threatens to stop the concrete pouring I’m not threatening. I just wrote that without approval, the concrete pouring cannot proceed. But that approval has now been given.
Regarding the lack of coordination and delay, they have also apologized. The culprit now is the shell builder, who repeatedly failed to keep promises. The general contractor even called the suppliers to check whether the shell builder had actually ordered the Poroton blocks, and if they would deliver them (liquidity issue). They are expected to arrive today as well. Because without Poroton, it will be difficult to complete the upper floor within five working days, which is supposed to be finished by Saturday.
Overall, it’s an unfortunate situation and certainly a coordination problem as well. But now it’s been resolved.
R
R.Hotzenplotz7 May 2018 10:24I agree. I also have no issue with it. The important thing is to always communicate openly and promptly about everything.
R
R.Hotzenplotz7 May 2018 20:19The neighbor says the concrete mixer was already there on Friday but left without doing anything. The general contractor said the concrete pouring only took place today because the mixer didn’t show up. Funny how things turn out. Sometimes it’s actually helpful to have neighbors who watch the surrounding properties all day. He also told me that they pushed the crane full force into the Poroton wall. He described the spot to me, and you can see some significant damage there. I’ve passed this on and am curious whether the structural carpenter has informed the general contractor. Hopefully, nothing has shifted that can’t be fixed with just a layer of plaster.
R
R.Hotzenplotz19 Aug 2018 13:53In our floor plan thread, I described that we are experiencing significant water ingress problems during the plastering work.
What interests me now, especially regarding the Halox boxes, is what your experiences have been with condensation caused by the plastering. The plasterers told me that larger amounts of water came out of some Halox boxes, particularly in the kitchen. They are now stuffed with plastic sheeting, and yesterday I noticed that there is still actual water collected inside the sheeting—not just moisture. On the other hand, I have no idea how water could enter a factory-installed Halox box in a precast concrete slab by any other means. Does anyone have any ideas?
What interests me now, especially regarding the Halox boxes, is what your experiences have been with condensation caused by the plastering. The plasterers told me that larger amounts of water came out of some Halox boxes, particularly in the kitchen. They are now stuffed with plastic sheeting, and yesterday I noticed that there is still actual water collected inside the sheeting—not just moisture. On the other hand, I have no idea how water could enter a factory-installed Halox box in a precast concrete slab by any other means. Does anyone have any ideas?
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