ᐅ Prefabricated House – Removing Plumbing Services from the Contract?
Created on: 31 Jan 2023 16:17
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Fertighaus123
Hello everyone,
We have our final selection appointment with our house provider tomorrow, so I would really appreciate hearing your opinions today.
Our project manager pointed out to us that, to save costs, we could exclude the plumbing work from the contract. This way, we could buy the fixtures and related items cheaper online and save a lot of money—provided we find a willing plumber. When we asked if they would still handle the connections and piping (timber frame construction), the answer was yes: everything would be ready for connection, so only the fixtures would need to be installed. One additional note was that the shower drain needs to be installed in time before the tiler comes.
This sounds almost too simple to us, which makes us suspicious again. We estimate we could save several thousand euros, but is it really that easy? What do you think? And how would you assess the warranty situation if water leakage occurs somewhere?
We do have a plumber in our circle of friends, but of course, we would have to talk to them, which unfortunately isn’t possible before tomorrow.
I would be very, very grateful for any replies...
Best regards
We have our final selection appointment with our house provider tomorrow, so I would really appreciate hearing your opinions today.
Our project manager pointed out to us that, to save costs, we could exclude the plumbing work from the contract. This way, we could buy the fixtures and related items cheaper online and save a lot of money—provided we find a willing plumber. When we asked if they would still handle the connections and piping (timber frame construction), the answer was yes: everything would be ready for connection, so only the fixtures would need to be installed. One additional note was that the shower drain needs to be installed in time before the tiler comes.
This sounds almost too simple to us, which makes us suspicious again. We estimate we could save several thousand euros, but is it really that easy? What do you think? And how would you assess the warranty situation if water leakage occurs somewhere?
We do have a plumber in our circle of friends, but of course, we would have to talk to them, which unfortunately isn’t possible before tomorrow.
I would be very, very grateful for any replies...
Best regards
mayglow schrieb:
So, the plumbing work was not included in the original contractor’s offer, and it was clear from the start that it would incur extra costs? I believe what he means is that the plumbing work in the general contractor’s offer is conditional on purchasing the plumbing fixtures from that same contractor. Many people argue about warranty claims in this context. The contractor’s plumber will likely charge three times as much for the parts compared to online specialist retailers.
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Fertighaus1238 Feb 2023 18:42Absolutely right, kati1337! That’s exactly how it is!
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xMisterDx8 Feb 2023 18:55Fertighaus123 schrieb:
(...)
Sounds good and fair at first, but let’s wait and see if it really turns out to be that simple in the end...You won’t save the huge amount you’re currently calculating 😉
A 60cm (24 inches) Vigour washbasin might cost the plumber around 200 EUR, plus installation plus profit for both the plumber and the general contractor. At best, you’ll be reimbursed only for the 200 EUR material cost.
And of course, warranty issues are a no-go, even if your installer friend does the work... and in case of damage, there will definitely be disagreements about whether the fault lies with the house installation or the connected fixtures... I’m sure you’re aware of that.
Topic “non-professional installing fixtures”:
Friends of ours did this and ended up with severe water damage because they installed the escutcheons incorrectly. They weren’t sealed properly, so shower water leaked freely into the wall for months...
In the end, they didn’t save anything at all but actually ended up paying more. And before anyone mentions it, the guy is a professional tradesman by profession.
Just as an example in our case:
These are the items where it’s worth saving for us or where it simply annoys me that such prices are charged, and I’m not willing to hand over these margins to the plumber (or the bathroom studio, which didn’t have half of the items in stock and only showed us catalogs).
- ClicClac valve as an additional service: €150 + installation (self-supply maybe €30-40)
- Bathroom cabinet under the sink €1200 + installation (self-supply: €500-600)
- Soft-closing toilet seat €120 (self: individually expensive too, combined with the toilet as the plumber buys it, €30 more)
- With all the accessories anyway.
These are the items where it’s worth saving for us or where it simply annoys me that such prices are charged, and I’m not willing to hand over these margins to the plumber (or the bathroom studio, which didn’t have half of the items in stock and only showed us catalogs).
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