Hello!
Since January, we have been working on renovating a townhouse. In November, before buying, we hired an architect as an assessor. He made a good impression, so in December we asked if he could also manage the renovation including the attic conversion. In early January, he visited the property for an energy consultation, and we signed the contract. To keep the construction process as stress-free as possible, we commissioned him for phases 1 to 8 of the service phases (LPH1-8).
I had already informed him during the assessment and when requesting an offer that our desired move-in date was in August, our budget was €100,000 (approximately $105,000) for the renovation plus €20,000 (approximately $21,000) for construction supervision, and that we wanted to start planning in January and begin initial work (gutting) in February.
He pointed out that the schedule was very tight since contractors were very busy and unexpected issues always arise, so he did not want to commit to a move-in date.
Unfortunately, we were very naive about everything.
Now the first breach of trust: When the energy consultation report was completed in mid-January, we asked for a meeting to start planning. He was only available in mid-February due to two weeks of vacation before that—despite our tight schedule, he did not inform us about his vacation in advance.
The meeting after his vacation went well, and there were some legal issues (homeowners’ association) that needed clarification. During this period, we also decided not to replace the roof covering to save time and costs.
In mid-March, I first mentioned that the planning progress was too slow. The only progress in two months was applying for KfW funding. At the end of March, we finally received the documents for phases 1 and 2—(faulty) as-built floor plans, attic conversion floor plans, and elevations.
He still did not provide us with a timeline.
Then came another major loss of trust. He refused to support collaboration with a planner by sharing his plans. We understood that sharing original source files is acceptable, but the way he declined was quite blunt. I complained during a phone call and also mentioned the lost time and lack of a schedule again. After this, he provided a rough timeline.
This was initially followed, with phase 3 completed a week later and phase 4 a week after that.
During this time, there was another breach of trust. He had always led us to believe that individual contracts could be cancelled flexibly later, for example, if we planned to replace the roof but then did not, the construction supervision fee (phase 8) would be waived. We actually wanted to remove some parts already in phase 3 since we expected not to have the time or budget, but the architect persuaded us to keep them in the plan for now because we could still remove them in phase 7. Only after phase 3 acceptance did he clearly inform us that his fees were fixed from then on, regardless of whether we proceeded with the work or not.
As mentioned, we were naive but did not argue much because we wanted to move forward. At least we now had a timeline aiming to issue contracts by the end of May.
However, phase 5 was again delayed by a week and was rather limited in scope: a stack of drawings—for the attic conversion (stairs, ceiling/floor construction) and some details on window installation and basement ceiling insulation as well as radiator locations. After some corrections, we approved the results with the caveat that any missing details would be provided later.
What was completely missing: structural engineer involvement. The architect took measurements at the end of March but only sent them to the engineer at the end of April. The engineer now requested a preliminary joint meeting, but the architect is only available at the end of May (two weeks after the request)—shouldn’t the structural calculations have been done for phase 5?
For us, this is the last straw. After almost five months of planning for nothing extraordinary, it is still unclear when the first construction work will start! We have now set a timeline that the architect has agreed to follow. We also imposed some strict conditions (that he must not charge for measures we do not want from phase 5 onward and that we will withhold payment for phase 5 until phase 6 is complete).
We have not received a response yet, but we wonder whether these constant delays and his refusal to provide and adhere to a proper schedule are sufficient grounds to terminate the contract for cause. Especially since almost five months have passed without any work starting on the house.
We are emotionally exhausted as every further delay costs us a lot of money, and we keep searching for ways to make some progress. So now we have the stress we wanted to avoid, face major delays, and still have to pay almost €30,000 (approximately $31,500) in fees on a budget of €100,000 (approximately $105,000).
Thank you for reading, and we would greatly appreciate any advice on how to proceed.
Since January, we have been working on renovating a townhouse. In November, before buying, we hired an architect as an assessor. He made a good impression, so in December we asked if he could also manage the renovation including the attic conversion. In early January, he visited the property for an energy consultation, and we signed the contract. To keep the construction process as stress-free as possible, we commissioned him for phases 1 to 8 of the service phases (LPH1-8).
I had already informed him during the assessment and when requesting an offer that our desired move-in date was in August, our budget was €100,000 (approximately $105,000) for the renovation plus €20,000 (approximately $21,000) for construction supervision, and that we wanted to start planning in January and begin initial work (gutting) in February.
He pointed out that the schedule was very tight since contractors were very busy and unexpected issues always arise, so he did not want to commit to a move-in date.
Unfortunately, we were very naive about everything.
Now the first breach of trust: When the energy consultation report was completed in mid-January, we asked for a meeting to start planning. He was only available in mid-February due to two weeks of vacation before that—despite our tight schedule, he did not inform us about his vacation in advance.
The meeting after his vacation went well, and there were some legal issues (homeowners’ association) that needed clarification. During this period, we also decided not to replace the roof covering to save time and costs.
In mid-March, I first mentioned that the planning progress was too slow. The only progress in two months was applying for KfW funding. At the end of March, we finally received the documents for phases 1 and 2—(faulty) as-built floor plans, attic conversion floor plans, and elevations.
He still did not provide us with a timeline.
Then came another major loss of trust. He refused to support collaboration with a planner by sharing his plans. We understood that sharing original source files is acceptable, but the way he declined was quite blunt. I complained during a phone call and also mentioned the lost time and lack of a schedule again. After this, he provided a rough timeline.
This was initially followed, with phase 3 completed a week later and phase 4 a week after that.
During this time, there was another breach of trust. He had always led us to believe that individual contracts could be cancelled flexibly later, for example, if we planned to replace the roof but then did not, the construction supervision fee (phase 8) would be waived. We actually wanted to remove some parts already in phase 3 since we expected not to have the time or budget, but the architect persuaded us to keep them in the plan for now because we could still remove them in phase 7. Only after phase 3 acceptance did he clearly inform us that his fees were fixed from then on, regardless of whether we proceeded with the work or not.
As mentioned, we were naive but did not argue much because we wanted to move forward. At least we now had a timeline aiming to issue contracts by the end of May.
However, phase 5 was again delayed by a week and was rather limited in scope: a stack of drawings—for the attic conversion (stairs, ceiling/floor construction) and some details on window installation and basement ceiling insulation as well as radiator locations. After some corrections, we approved the results with the caveat that any missing details would be provided later.
What was completely missing: structural engineer involvement. The architect took measurements at the end of March but only sent them to the engineer at the end of April. The engineer now requested a preliminary joint meeting, but the architect is only available at the end of May (two weeks after the request)—shouldn’t the structural calculations have been done for phase 5?
For us, this is the last straw. After almost five months of planning for nothing extraordinary, it is still unclear when the first construction work will start! We have now set a timeline that the architect has agreed to follow. We also imposed some strict conditions (that he must not charge for measures we do not want from phase 5 onward and that we will withhold payment for phase 5 until phase 6 is complete).
We have not received a response yet, but we wonder whether these constant delays and his refusal to provide and adhere to a proper schedule are sufficient grounds to terminate the contract for cause. Especially since almost five months have passed without any work starting on the house.
We are emotionally exhausted as every further delay costs us a lot of money, and we keep searching for ways to make some progress. So now we have the stress we wanted to avoid, face major delays, and still have to pay almost €30,000 (approximately $31,500) in fees on a budget of €100,000 (approximately $105,000).
Thank you for reading, and we would greatly appreciate any advice on how to proceed.
H
HilfeHilfe19 May 2020 15:41MaxLumoc schrieb:
We are all the more frustrated that the architect let so much time pass. (And that I didn’t insist on setting a deadline for the services he was supposed to deliver right from the start.)
We will probably offer him a termination agreement that grants him the fees up to design phase 5 (LPH5). And then you expect to be faster? What else is missing?
Basically, nothing is done yet. Gutting and electrical work are in progress (these were excluded from the contract from the start). The window installer will come next week for precise measurements and has promised installation in July. We could have commissioned them as early as March but wanted to wait for the architect; otherwise, the windows would already be installed. We also had a drywall contractor lined up, but they have now taken on a job and are booked until August.