ᐅ Subsequent structural engineering changes / additional costs
Created on: 8 Nov 2019 21:02
C
Citrus91
Hello,
we have signed a consumer construction contract with a house building company. The contract includes a clause stating that additional costs may arise due to ordered measures related to the building permit / planning permission or the structural engineering calculations.
We replaced the wooden staircase of the standard house model we selected with a concrete staircase. The seller initially offered this change for an additional price of about 200€ (approximately $220) and it was included in the contract before signing. After the contract was signed, the structural engineer completed the calculations, and the building application and permit were approved, the house builder now wants to charge extra for additional work due to the structural requirements. The ceiling between the ground floor and first floor is supposed to be changed from 18cm (7 inches) to 22cm (9 inches) because of the staircase. This change is quoted to cost around 1000€ (about $1100). That is five times the original 200€. Is something like this legally justified? Where is the limit in such cases?
Thank you for your answers.
we have signed a consumer construction contract with a house building company. The contract includes a clause stating that additional costs may arise due to ordered measures related to the building permit / planning permission or the structural engineering calculations.
We replaced the wooden staircase of the standard house model we selected with a concrete staircase. The seller initially offered this change for an additional price of about 200€ (approximately $220) and it was included in the contract before signing. After the contract was signed, the structural engineer completed the calculations, and the building application and permit were approved, the house builder now wants to charge extra for additional work due to the structural requirements. The ceiling between the ground floor and first floor is supposed to be changed from 18cm (7 inches) to 22cm (9 inches) because of the staircase. This change is quoted to cost around 1000€ (about $1100). That is five times the original 200€. Is something like this legally justified? Where is the limit in such cases?
Thank you for your answers.
guckuck2 schrieb:
The switch from wood to concrete has the "disadvantage" that the concrete staircase will need to be covered. The costs will probably be additional once you start looking into tiles/floor coverings... Just for the redesign of the entrance and exit, the change fee is more symbolic (or as Monaco Franze would have said: "more emotional, you know?") – so overall, this is actually a friendly price. Not to mention that according to the principle "perverse things cost extra," a downgrade to a concrete staircase should actually be much more expensive *LOL*
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
guckuck2 schrieb:
The structural engineering and especially required changes due to client requests cannot be known with certainty at the time of the quote preparation.
Moreover, the mentioned extra charge is really reasonable. I hope the $1000 has not already eaten up your contingency; you will likely need much more than that.
Switching from wood to concrete has the "disadvantage" that the concrete staircase will need to be covered. These costs will probably come on top once you get to the topic of tiles/floor coverings... These client requests were known at the time the offer was made and were partially considered, but only to a limited extent. In my opinion, that is the surprising part. The staircase modification is calculated down to the last cent, but the structural changes necessary as a result (which cost thousands of euros) are ignored or forgotten. This is with a house building company that has designed and built hundreds of homes. Sorry, but at that point, you can no longer believe it’s just a coincidence.
PS: The price for the ceiling widening is certainly justified, and we do not question that.
PS2: We are aware that additional costs will arise for the concrete stair treads and have factored that in. We have no problem paying for requested services. But paying for errors made during the quoting process is something that reduces our willingness.
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HilfeHilfe10 Nov 2019 13:41Citrus91 schrieb:
These homeowner requests were known at the time the quote was prepared and were partially taken into account. In my opinion, that’s the striking point. They calculate the change to the stairs down to the last cent, but the structural changes required as a result (which cost thousands of euros) are omitted or forgotten. This coming from a home construction company that has planned and built hundreds of houses. Sorry, but at this point, it’s hard to believe this is just a coincidence.
PS: The price for widening the ceiling is certainly justified and we do not question it.
PS2: We are aware that additional costs for the concrete stair treads will arise and have factored that in. We have no problem paying for services rendered. But paying for errors made in the quote preparation does diminish our willingness. But you signed a binding contract that covers all structural aspects. You should have negotiated a fixed price for that at the time.
Citrus91 schrieb:
We have no problem paying for services. But paying for mistakes made in the offer preparation, that’s where interest fades. Where exactly did the offer state that the change fee also includes the entire building and engineering complications behind it???
Do you seriously expect that just for two changes, the stair order, the stair construction drawings, and the structural calculations would all have to be modified—and on top of that, you get an extra 1 cubic meter of concrete per 25 sqm (270 sqft) of ceiling (not to mention the changed reinforcement) as a customer service bonus?
What you’re being charged overall is already a bargain price during the precast concrete stair promotion week!
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
Hausbau201910 Nov 2019 18:52We signed a construction contract with a guaranteed fixed lump-sum price. After the ground floor ceiling was in place, the builder stated that, due to structural requirements, solid walls with concrete beams had to be installed in the attic because the roof structure could not rest on the planned drywall partitions. Additional costs were approximately 6,000 € (about $6,500). We said that this could not be our problem since we had agreed on a guaranteed fixed lump-sum price. There were also other disagreements and serious defects, so this additional claim was the last straw. The result was that the builder stopped work and cleared the construction site. We filed a lawsuit, he agreed to a settlement, and has now resumed construction after 10 months. In total, we incurred around 20,000 € (about $21,500) in court and attorney fees, which the builder now has to reimburse us, except for the settlement costs, but the outcome could have been different.