Hello everyone, I hope this is the right place for my question:
We have an uneven screed. It rises by 35cm (14 inches) over a distance, dropping more than 10mm (0.4 inches) towards the wall. Assuming this defect is undisputed. The floor covering was installed on the uneven surface. Although the uneven floor was noticed, it was not recognized as a construction defect (lack of knowledge about the situation).
After realizing the issue, the defect was reported to the construction company (by email). However, the company refused to fix the problem, stating that nothing could be done since the floor covering was installed without first checking the floor.
Is this correct? Is the company no longer responsible for repairing this defect? Or is it possible that the company must fix the defect but is not obliged to cover the costs of reinstalling the floor covering?
We have an uneven screed. It rises by 35cm (14 inches) over a distance, dropping more than 10mm (0.4 inches) towards the wall. Assuming this defect is undisputed. The floor covering was installed on the uneven surface. Although the uneven floor was noticed, it was not recognized as a construction defect (lack of knowledge about the situation).
After realizing the issue, the defect was reported to the construction company (by email). However, the company refused to fix the problem, stating that nothing could be done since the floor covering was installed without first checking the floor.
Is this correct? Is the company no longer responsible for repairing this defect? Or is it possible that the company must fix the defect but is not obliged to cover the costs of reinstalling the floor covering?
Bauexperte schrieb:
since the acceptance actually took place through your site manager.Yes, I would see it the same way. The acceptance was implied by the client’s commencement of the installation work. In this case, the contractor could assume that the client accepted the work as compliant with the contract. However, the question remains whether the defect was immediately noticeable. If so, the contractor is still obligated to rectify the defect within the warranty period. Acceptance does not eliminate the warranty for defects. It becomes problematic for the client if they were aware of the defect at the time of acceptance or should have been aware of it. Then the contractor could argue that acceptance occurred with knowledge of the defect, which would exclude their liability for "that" defect later on.
E
EarlyBird25 Apr 2015 20:53Hello Voki1,
thank you for your explanation of the situation. I have a follow-up question regarding the following point:
If I understand your answer correctly, I am the client. We had a handover with the construction company. During this handover, I did not notice the uneven floor; I was not looking for something like that, nor did I have the expertise to recognize it at that time. The handover was about whether everything was built according to the plan. (For example: are the switches and sockets where we had positioned them during the selection process? Do the windows, window sills, and everything else correspond to what was discussed during the selections? Apart from that, we only checked for any minor damage on doors or the staircase.)
I only noticed the uneven floor about 4 weeks after the handover/delivery of the house, when the parquet flooring was being installed. At that time, it did not occur to me that this could be a construction defect (as a layperson). Okay, that was my mistake, but at least I want to learn from it.
Only much later did I realize it might be a defect, when I started dealing intensively with other issues at that spot and the resulting problems (e.g., terrace doors that close poorly, slamming terrace doors, terrace doors that don’t close airtight). I had to recognize that the sloping floor, for example, is the reason a terrace door does not close tightly against the wind. It was rubbing against the floor, so the installers of the construction company raised the door so far that the sealing rubber no longer closes the locking pin opening wind-tight.
I also cannot rule out that the uneven floor was already present at the time of the parquet installation but intensified afterward and therefore might not have been noticeable at the handover. At least, at the time of the handover, the terrace doors closed perfectly. About six months later, the construction company came because the doors could only be moved into the frame with active lifting. Initially, the doors were raised; later—because this helped little—the window sills were removed and the wood beneath the windows was routed out.
By now, I am quite sure that one or more significant errors were made during the installation of this component, which are the root cause of the problems. Unfortunately, the construction company gives me no information about what caused or might have caused the wood under the window sills to be routed out.
We have already made inquiries about an expert assessment, which would cost us 2000 euros and would have to be paid by us.
thank you for your explanation of the situation. I have a follow-up question regarding the following point:
Voki1 schrieb:
It becomes problematic for the client if they knew about the defect during the handover, or should have been able to recognize it.
If I understand your answer correctly, I am the client. We had a handover with the construction company. During this handover, I did not notice the uneven floor; I was not looking for something like that, nor did I have the expertise to recognize it at that time. The handover was about whether everything was built according to the plan. (For example: are the switches and sockets where we had positioned them during the selection process? Do the windows, window sills, and everything else correspond to what was discussed during the selections? Apart from that, we only checked for any minor damage on doors or the staircase.)
I only noticed the uneven floor about 4 weeks after the handover/delivery of the house, when the parquet flooring was being installed. At that time, it did not occur to me that this could be a construction defect (as a layperson). Okay, that was my mistake, but at least I want to learn from it.
Only much later did I realize it might be a defect, when I started dealing intensively with other issues at that spot and the resulting problems (e.g., terrace doors that close poorly, slamming terrace doors, terrace doors that don’t close airtight). I had to recognize that the sloping floor, for example, is the reason a terrace door does not close tightly against the wind. It was rubbing against the floor, so the installers of the construction company raised the door so far that the sealing rubber no longer closes the locking pin opening wind-tight.
I also cannot rule out that the uneven floor was already present at the time of the parquet installation but intensified afterward and therefore might not have been noticeable at the handover. At least, at the time of the handover, the terrace doors closed perfectly. About six months later, the construction company came because the doors could only be moved into the frame with active lifting. Initially, the doors were raised; later—because this helped little—the window sills were removed and the wood beneath the windows was routed out.
By now, I am quite sure that one or more significant errors were made during the installation of this component, which are the root cause of the problems. Unfortunately, the construction company gives me no information about what caused or might have caused the wood under the window sills to be routed out.
We have already made inquiries about an expert assessment, which would cost us 2000 euros and would have to be paid by us.
EveundGerd25 Apr 2015 21:05You will probably need to invest that money.
Did you not have your own expert supervising the construction?
Today we ordered the vinyl flooring for our main room. The supplier gave us a brochure, which he explained beforehand.
Main point: In a new build, the screed must reach a certain drying stage depending on the type of floor covering, meaning a specific residual moisture level. Additionally, the screed curing process must be fully completed.
It is still possible for the flooring to lift due to heat from underfloor heating and residual moisture causing expansion. Therefore, there must absolutely be a gap between the walls and the floor. Also, beyond a certain floor area, an expansion joint must be installed in the flooring.
I assume you have followed the installation instructions relevant for your floor covering, so that lifting, expansion, or warping of the installed flooring can be ruled out, and only the uneven screed can be to blame, right?
Did you not have your own expert supervising the construction?
Today we ordered the vinyl flooring for our main room. The supplier gave us a brochure, which he explained beforehand.
Main point: In a new build, the screed must reach a certain drying stage depending on the type of floor covering, meaning a specific residual moisture level. Additionally, the screed curing process must be fully completed.
It is still possible for the flooring to lift due to heat from underfloor heating and residual moisture causing expansion. Therefore, there must absolutely be a gap between the walls and the floor. Also, beyond a certain floor area, an expansion joint must be installed in the flooring.
I assume you have followed the installation instructions relevant for your floor covering, so that lifting, expansion, or warping of the installed flooring can be ruled out, and only the uneven screed can be to blame, right?
E
EarlyBird25 Apr 2015 21:09As mentioned in #Post8, no traditional screed was installed. The construction company applied so-called soundproofing panels on top of a 7cm (2.8 inches) concrete slab. The parquet flooring was then installed over these panels.
EveundGerd25 Apr 2015 21:37Oops, I must have overlooked that.
Unfortunately, only the building inspector / expert remains.
Unfortunately, only the building inspector / expert remains.
B
Bauexperte26 Apr 2015 00:32EarlyBird schrieb:
If I understand your response correctly, I am the client. We had an inspection with the house building company. During this inspection, I did not notice the uneven floor; I was not looking for something like that, nor did I have the expertise to identify it at that time.This may not help you now, but I want to take the opportunity to warn current and potential homeowners about your mistake!You don’t mention an expert at any point; to me, this means there was none—not even a technical inspection by TÜV® or DEKRA®—and you were naively assuming you could just attend or carry out an inspection yourself.
I hope that users and silent readers here learn from this and handle their own construction projects better!
Regards, Bauexperte
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