Hello,
I am building a single-family house with a general contractor.
After the screed was laid, it was noticed that the staircase is offset by 10cm (4 inches). That means it starts 10cm too early.
According to the plan, there should be 1.05m (41 inches) of space in front of the stairs, but currently, there are only 94cm (37 inches).
As a result, the last step at the top is 10cm (4 inches) lower than planned (according to the plan, the last step was not supposed to be a full step).
The staircase is a straight two-stringer staircase. Since the house has a basement, the staircase cannot simply be shortened because it would otherwise be unsupported.
Are there any options to reduce the stairwell opening? The floor (or basement ceiling) is made of 18cm (7 inches) concrete (prefabricated concrete slab).
Even during planning, the 1.05m (41 inches) space in front of the stairs felt a bit tight; I would be glad to have at least 1 meter (39 inches) here.
Thank you,
morgenstern
I am building a single-family house with a general contractor.
After the screed was laid, it was noticed that the staircase is offset by 10cm (4 inches). That means it starts 10cm too early.
According to the plan, there should be 1.05m (41 inches) of space in front of the stairs, but currently, there are only 94cm (37 inches).
As a result, the last step at the top is 10cm (4 inches) lower than planned (according to the plan, the last step was not supposed to be a full step).
The staircase is a straight two-stringer staircase. Since the house has a basement, the staircase cannot simply be shortened because it would otherwise be unsupported.
Are there any options to reduce the stairwell opening? The floor (or basement ceiling) is made of 18cm (7 inches) concrete (prefabricated concrete slab).
Even during planning, the 1.05m (41 inches) space in front of the stairs felt a bit tight; I would be glad to have at least 1 meter (39 inches) here.
Thank you,
morgenstern
i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
I wouldn’t worry too much about that. In my opinion, it’s not a minor defect and cannot be properly compensated with money. So you should insist on demolition and a complete redo. That’s not enjoyable for anyone involved, but I don’t know of any other satisfactory solution for the homeowner. Why is that? Because the staircase protrudes 10cm (4 inches) further into the hallway? What kind of defect is that supposed to be?
B
Benutzer2004 Jan 2022 23:42i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
I wouldn’t worry too much about that. In my opinion, it’s not a minor defect and cannot be fixed well with money. So, demand a teardown and have it redone. That doesn’t please anyone involved, but I don’t see any other satisfactory solution for the client. I call that nonsense too. The original poster will have to live with it – no one will tear down the staircase as it would be disproportionate. It’s a small amount of money and that’s it. Sorry, I don’t think anything more can be done.
This is definitely not a minor defect. Every day the whole family passes by the staircase, and the missing 10cm (4 inches) will probably be annoying for a long time. I would suggest having a straightforward conversation with the stair builder. If the 10cm (4 inches) were constructed differently than agreed, hopefully they will acknowledge this and/or propose a solution to modify the structure. I see this as a reasonable case for partial dismantling or structural alteration. Ultimately, though, it will be up to the original poster to resolve this with the contractor. For example: Would you accept a door that is 190cm (75 inches) tall instead of the 200cm (79 inches) you ordered?
I can’t clearly determine what exactly happened here – possibly a combination or chain of errors such as incorrect construction (stairwell opening), incorrect measurements, followed by incorrect construction (stairs), or correct construction but incorrect installation (potentially because the plan and actual conditions were not checked beforehand). I can’t tell if the misalignment is linear or completely off.
If an architect was involved, this looks like a case for their professional liability insurance; if the general contractor handled it poorly, the dispute could last longer than the entire construction period so far. Or was this the classic own-goal situation where the architect was only commissioned up to the building permit/planning permission stage, and detailed planning was dismissed as unimportant, leading to things not going entirely smoothly? Personally, I already get warning signs when I see “finish work by owner” in a plan...
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
If an architect was involved, this looks like a case for their professional liability insurance; if the general contractor handled it poorly, the dispute could last longer than the entire construction period so far. Or was this the classic own-goal situation where the architect was only commissioned up to the building permit/planning permission stage, and detailed planning was dismissed as unimportant, leading to things not going entirely smoothly? Personally, I already get warning signs when I see “finish work by owner” in a plan...
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I’m surprised that this issue is only being discussed now (after the screed and plaster). The problem of the oversized stair opening should have been addressed already when measuring the stairs. At the latest, it should have become apparent during the assembly of the stair frame.
Now I would talk to those involved to reach a mutual agreement. See if any changes to the metal structure are still possible (in my opinion, this would be very complex).
If you can manage with the 0.95m (3.1 ft) of space in front of the stair entrance, it might be worth considering moving or resizing the room door, so you don’t have to walk into the stairs every day when leaving the door!
Now I would talk to those involved to reach a mutual agreement. See if any changes to the metal structure are still possible (in my opinion, this would be very complex).
If you can manage with the 0.95m (3.1 ft) of space in front of the stair entrance, it might be worth considering moving or resizing the room door, so you don’t have to walk into the stairs every day when leaving the door!
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