Hello everyone,
Since July, we have had our approved building permit / planning permission, but since then, absolutely nothing has happened on the part of the home builder (prefabricated house). No planning is being done until the selection appointment, and we have now been given an appointment for this in February 2023.
The original timeline was for the basement in December 2022, the house about 4-6 weeks later, and moving in roughly April-May 2023.
Now we are being told that the basement will arrive at the earliest 2-3 months after the selection appointment, the house will be delivered not 4-6 weeks later as originally planned, but in 5-6 months, and the finishing work will take not 3-4 months but rather about 6 months.
Overall, this means that it could be a whole year later before we can move in than originally agreed.
We have a construction contract under the building code. Unfortunately, the contract does not say a word about delivery or move-in dates (I know, we were quite naive and foolish to trust the sales representative so much).
All of this is repeatedly explained by missing materials and supply problems, although we actually believe that the builder overcommitted with orders, took on way too much (before everything completely collapses), and now cannot deliver quickly enough.
(Of course, we are also struggling with costs and cannot and do not want to just stand by. Losing the subsidy hit us pretty hard, then of course the general price increases — from June 2023 we will have to pay the full loan plus our current rent, and from November 2023, also default interest at the bank. The kitchen is scheduled for delivery in May 2023, which will bring price increases and storage costs to us, and as I said, the selection appointment hasn’t even happened yet—we don’t even want to know the prices for floor coverings and such.)
What I really want to know from you is: what is the actual current situation regarding raw materials? I have lost track and hear here and there that things have actually stabilized. Sure, it’s not like before (order today, arrive tomorrow), but if you plan smartly, you can usually get your materials on time. It’s no surprise anymore that if I need insulation for a house in four weeks, it will work out.
What can you tell me about this? Is the delivery situation still as bad out there?
Best regards
Since July, we have had our approved building permit / planning permission, but since then, absolutely nothing has happened on the part of the home builder (prefabricated house). No planning is being done until the selection appointment, and we have now been given an appointment for this in February 2023.
The original timeline was for the basement in December 2022, the house about 4-6 weeks later, and moving in roughly April-May 2023.
Now we are being told that the basement will arrive at the earliest 2-3 months after the selection appointment, the house will be delivered not 4-6 weeks later as originally planned, but in 5-6 months, and the finishing work will take not 3-4 months but rather about 6 months.
Overall, this means that it could be a whole year later before we can move in than originally agreed.
We have a construction contract under the building code. Unfortunately, the contract does not say a word about delivery or move-in dates (I know, we were quite naive and foolish to trust the sales representative so much).
All of this is repeatedly explained by missing materials and supply problems, although we actually believe that the builder overcommitted with orders, took on way too much (before everything completely collapses), and now cannot deliver quickly enough.
(Of course, we are also struggling with costs and cannot and do not want to just stand by. Losing the subsidy hit us pretty hard, then of course the general price increases — from June 2023 we will have to pay the full loan plus our current rent, and from November 2023, also default interest at the bank. The kitchen is scheduled for delivery in May 2023, which will bring price increases and storage costs to us, and as I said, the selection appointment hasn’t even happened yet—we don’t even want to know the prices for floor coverings and such.)
What I really want to know from you is: what is the actual current situation regarding raw materials? I have lost track and hear here and there that things have actually stabilized. Sure, it’s not like before (order today, arrive tomorrow), but if you plan smartly, you can usually get your materials on time. It’s no surprise anymore that if I need insulation for a house in four weeks, it will work out.
What can you tell me about this? Is the delivery situation still as bad out there?
Best regards
M
Myrna_Loy19 Oct 2022 11:41Don’t get me wrong, but some future homeowners should really consider doing a one- or two-week internship in the construction industry before starting their build. Building a house is not like Amazon Prime.
X
xMisterDx19 Oct 2022 11:48It doesn’t have to be the construction industry; you can take any company that buys materials and creates added value by processing those materials and then reselling them as products. Or someone who purchases products and assembles systems from them.
Simply put, the materials are either not available or only at prices that cannot be afforded without incurring losses. If I don’t have the materials, I can’t install them.
In the end, a company or business owner also has obligations toward their employees, who naturally expect to receive their wages. How are those wages supposed to be paid if the business ties up its capital in inventory and keeps prices so low that it operates at or below cost?
Simply put, the materials are either not available or only at prices that cannot be afforded without incurring losses. If I don’t have the materials, I can’t install them.
In the end, a company or business owner also has obligations toward their employees, who naturally expect to receive their wages. How are those wages supposed to be paid if the business ties up its capital in inventory and keeps prices so low that it operates at or below cost?
xMisterDx schrieb:
...Moreover, the manufacturer's warranty starts as soon as the goods arrive, not when they are installed. ...That is not always the case. In our company, the (manufacturer) warranty only begins when we deliver to the end customer. However, this does not apply to the construction industry 😉X
xMisterDx19 Oct 2022 12:27i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
That doesn’t have to be the case in general. For us, the (manufacturer) warranty only starts when we deliver to the end customer. However, not in the construction industry 😉IT, right? 😉
If you buy a computer, let’s say from Dell, and install it at the end customer’s site 2 years later, then your warranty with Dell would only start from that point? That sounds like a dream—how do you get such conditions? 🤨
S
Stefan00119 Oct 2022 12:28So, if each employee catches COVID twice a year and is unavailable for 2 weeks each time, this results in an 8% reduction in workforce capacity over 250 working days per year!
After 2 years of the pandemic, this should no longer cause project timelines to double by 100%.
We are not talking about a local craftsman who promises to complete a task in 4 weeks but then misses 2 weeks due to COVID. This concerns a multi-year overall planning process with many employees! Such effects tend to balance out over time.
As for how material shortages should already affect the scheduling for choosing scarce materials... I don’t see a clear causal relationship there.
After 2 years of the pandemic, this should no longer cause project timelines to double by 100%.
We are not talking about a local craftsman who promises to complete a task in 4 weeks but then misses 2 weeks due to COVID. This concerns a multi-year overall planning process with many employees! Such effects tend to balance out over time.
As for how material shortages should already affect the scheduling for choosing scarce materials... I don’t see a clear causal relationship there.
Nixwill2 schrieb:
I’m not looking for a forecast; I want to hear how things are going for others since we’re not the only ones building a prefab house here...We ordered our prefab house in November 2020, with the (prefabricated) basement added at the end of December 2020. It was clearly communicated from the start that the basement must be completed by April 2023 so that the house can be assembled in May, June, or July. The manufacturer committed to this timeframe. Accordingly, the technical selection of fixtures and fittings is taking place now in November, with the design selections scheduled for early January.
When I asked if, given the current supply situation, it might be possible to move this up, the project manager responded quite calmly. They have everything available and expect to be able to assemble in May already. I assume that items like the heat pump, which have already been finalized, have been or will be ordered in time. At least I hope so—I can’t change anything anyway...
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