ᐅ The contractually agreed construction manager will not be provided by the building company.
Created on: 25 Jul 2025 20:34
S
silvermaster
Hello everyone,
We found our construction company through recommendations. After comparing several providers, we ultimately decided on this one. An important factor was to have the same site manager as our acquaintances, who highly praised him. We made sure this was contractually agreed upon.
Now we have received the order confirmation from the company, and the next day we were informed that the requested site manager is not available, as he has recently settled in Bavaria and would have to travel 5 hours to reach us. However, there are two alternative site managers in our area.
This is not a minor issue for us and immediately reduces our trust in the project from the start.
Question: As clients, do we have to accept this? Can or should we already demand compensation? If so, how much? Or is there nothing we can do?
Thank you and best regards!
We found our construction company through recommendations. After comparing several providers, we ultimately decided on this one. An important factor was to have the same site manager as our acquaintances, who highly praised him. We made sure this was contractually agreed upon.
Now we have received the order confirmation from the company, and the next day we were informed that the requested site manager is not available, as he has recently settled in Bavaria and would have to travel 5 hours to reach us. However, there are two alternative site managers in our area.
This is not a minor issue for us and immediately reduces our trust in the project from the start.
Question: As clients, do we have to accept this? Can or should we already demand compensation? If so, how much? Or is there nothing we can do?
Thank you and best regards!
I also believe that the construction company should have assessed this risk themselves. It is not impossible to assign this site manager; it is just more complicated and/or expensive, but certainly not impossible for them. However, that cannot be the responsibility of the client.
This is a clear case of "being right vs. getting justice."
Ultimately, you cannot force the site manager to come to the construction site; perhaps they no longer want to do so because of their move. Canceling the entire house building contract is likely not an option, and a "forced" site manager might not enjoy the job either...
Negotiating an amount will probably be difficult. Maybe they will understand you better in direct conversations and instead compensate you elsewhere.
What does the company itself say about this apparently unfulfillable contract clause, or how do they plan to handle this partial non-compliance?
This is a clear case of "being right vs. getting justice."
Ultimately, you cannot force the site manager to come to the construction site; perhaps they no longer want to do so because of their move. Canceling the entire house building contract is likely not an option, and a "forced" site manager might not enjoy the job either...
Negotiating an amount will probably be difficult. Maybe they will understand you better in direct conversations and instead compensate you elsewhere.
What does the company itself say about this apparently unfulfillable contract clause, or how do they plan to handle this partial non-compliance?
silvermaster schrieb:
We have now received the contract confirmation from the construction company, and one day later a call informing us that it is not possible to get the desired site manager because he has since moved his main residence to Bavaria and would have to drive 5 hours to us. However, there are two alternatives available in our area.What are the two alternatives: two qualified construction supervisors or two other general contractors?nordanney schrieb:
The site manager is an employee of the company. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, because he is basically just an assistant.Even the most highly praised contractor “site manager” cannot replace a dedicated site manager without quotation marks. I would always hire my own site manager and pay little attention to the contractor’s “site manager.”https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
M
MachsSelbst26 Jul 2025 14:09Even if you can question the sense and purpose of focusing on this one person, as long as the site manager is employed by the construction company or receives most of their assignments from them, you can, of course, "compel" them.
The employer can issue such an order, and the employee is obliged to comply.
Spending one or two nights a month in a hotel instead of at home is probably reasonable.
As mentioned before, the increased costs for the company do not play a role here.
A completely different matter is the interpersonal level. And on this level, it does not make sense to have an annoyed site manager who, due to the distance, can only visit every few weeks and already starts arguing with the construction company as a nitpicker before the construction begins.
Especially since your acquaintances are probably laypersons without their own independent expert? And even if they do...
Then you do not really know if the site manager is truly competent or if your acquaintances simply got lucky with the craftsmen.
The employer can issue such an order, and the employee is obliged to comply.
Spending one or two nights a month in a hotel instead of at home is probably reasonable.
As mentioned before, the increased costs for the company do not play a role here.
A completely different matter is the interpersonal level. And on this level, it does not make sense to have an annoyed site manager who, due to the distance, can only visit every few weeks and already starts arguing with the construction company as a nitpicker before the construction begins.
Especially since your acquaintances are probably laypersons without their own independent expert? And even if they do...
Then you do not really know if the site manager is truly competent or if your acquaintances simply got lucky with the craftsmen.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Sleeping one or two nights a month in a hotel instead of at home is probably reasonable. Good joke. Moreover, if it’s only for a short visit, even a so-called site manager becomes an even more negligible factor.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Especially since your acquaintances are probably laypeople without their own expert? And even if they had...
Then you don’t actually know whether the site manager is really competent or if your acquaintances just got lucky with the tradespeople. Exactly. To paraphrase Mel Brooks in Spaceballs: “Forget the so-called site manager...!”
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
How to deal with this breach of contract (if it even is one) or what is reasonable for you or the general contractor (GC), I will refrain from commenting on.
Has it been a while since the contract was signed, and has the person in question been reassigned in the meantime?
I do find the priorities rather odd, though.
When evaluating a company, first look at its reliability and performance, then of course build trust based on additional factors. Healthy financials and well-managed construction sites are also important.
Employees, including site managers, are often replaced. Usually, everyone is replaceable. Then there’s also personal chemistry—some people work better with one person, others with someone else.
For me, the site manager was relatively unimportant: logistics were handled by higher management, and the house was built by others—that is, the skilled tradespeople. Let’s just say our site manager was different from us, had no sense of humor and… well, it doesn’t matter: we still built a nice house. Around that time, another company, Heinz von Heiden, had major problems retaining their site managers. This may have been due to their company philosophy. Our neighbors complained that not everything went smoothly. But they are now living in beautiful houses despite multiple site manager changes.
I don’t see a reason to give so much weight to friends’ enthusiasm that it outweighs other reasons for choosing a company. And as @nordanney already said: ultimately, the company pays the site manager’s salary, not you.
I really need to think about what our site manager would have had to do to be praised “in the highest terms” by us!?! For us, it was more the tradespeople who executed creative details and requests that were not originally commissioned.
If I were you, I would reconsider your dissatisfaction and demands to see if they are truly justified.
Has it been a while since the contract was signed, and has the person in question been reassigned in the meantime?
I do find the priorities rather odd, though.
silvermaster schrieb:
An important aspect was to get the same site manager as our acquaintances, who recommended him because he was highly praised.
When evaluating a company, first look at its reliability and performance, then of course build trust based on additional factors. Healthy financials and well-managed construction sites are also important.
Employees, including site managers, are often replaced. Usually, everyone is replaceable. Then there’s also personal chemistry—some people work better with one person, others with someone else.
For me, the site manager was relatively unimportant: logistics were handled by higher management, and the house was built by others—that is, the skilled tradespeople. Let’s just say our site manager was different from us, had no sense of humor and… well, it doesn’t matter: we still built a nice house. Around that time, another company, Heinz von Heiden, had major problems retaining their site managers. This may have been due to their company philosophy. Our neighbors complained that not everything went smoothly. But they are now living in beautiful houses despite multiple site manager changes.
I don’t see a reason to give so much weight to friends’ enthusiasm that it outweighs other reasons for choosing a company. And as @nordanney already said: ultimately, the company pays the site manager’s salary, not you.
I really need to think about what our site manager would have had to do to be praised “in the highest terms” by us!?! For us, it was more the tradespeople who executed creative details and requests that were not originally commissioned.
If I were you, I would reconsider your dissatisfaction and demands to see if they are truly justified.
ypg schrieb:
How to deal with this breach of contract (if it even qualifies as one) or what is reasonable to expect from you or the general contractor (GC), I will not comment on. A lawyer—although I think consulting one here would be pointless—would probably talk about main issues, minor issues, proportionality, and possibly objective impossibility, and point out that the house could already have been occupied for two years before a final ruling on the revocation or special termination right based on this disappointment would be reached in a third instance. I understand this disappointment but also see an emotional reaction that has no place in an investment.
The so-called site manager can neither harm nor help much. The fact that they are "included" in the price does not really matter. Find an independent construction expert to accompany the build, who is always recommended and, if good, will pay off. For the contract-related aspect, the contractor’s site manager is sufficient, and for all other tasks, they are irrelevant if you involve an independent construction expert.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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