ᐅ Shutter box not flush with the wall – possible design error? Any suggestions?
Created on: 22 Aug 2021 23:33
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pagoni2020
Our windows are now "almost installed," but unfortunately there are several deficiencies, which means replacement windows need to be delivered 😡. Unfortunately, issues like these are now affecting multiple trades, which is very exhausting and sometimes even discouraging. The quality of the general contractor (GC) does not live up to the initial praise.
Problem / Question:
Most of our windows have roller shutters with boxes installed inside the window reveal. The issue is that the shutter boxes are not deep enough and recess about 20cm (8 inches) from the interior wall. The plasterer is now supposed to plaster over this.
The plasterer suggests that this should be built up by 20cm (8 inches) so that the roller shutter box is flush with the interior masonry. Honestly, I have never seen it done differently and either didn’t notice before or was not informed about it.
Now we are faced with the decision of whether to have the lintels in the window reveals built up by 20cm (8 inches) with XPS insulation or similar materials for around €1500, or to simply have the recessed shutter boxes plastered as is, at no additional cost.
I have searched for pictures but found none; I believe this is rather unusual. The construction contract does not specify anything about this in detail. In my opinion, this is not correct or the roller shutter boxes should have been ordered with more depth so they would be flush with the interior wall ready for plastering... or am I wrong?
The GC claims this is often done this way...
Does anyone have ideas for a different (more cost-effective) solution or experience with this? It is hard for me to imagine the finished result having an additional 20cm (8 inches) of plastered surface inside above the window.
Unfortunately, I don’t have another photo right now; this one was taken at an angle from below and shows the lintel from underneath; the white area is the roller shutter box (to be plastered) and the brown parts are the window frames.
I hope I explained everything clearly, otherwise please ask.
Problem / Question:
Most of our windows have roller shutters with boxes installed inside the window reveal. The issue is that the shutter boxes are not deep enough and recess about 20cm (8 inches) from the interior wall. The plasterer is now supposed to plaster over this.
The plasterer suggests that this should be built up by 20cm (8 inches) so that the roller shutter box is flush with the interior masonry. Honestly, I have never seen it done differently and either didn’t notice before or was not informed about it.
Now we are faced with the decision of whether to have the lintels in the window reveals built up by 20cm (8 inches) with XPS insulation or similar materials for around €1500, or to simply have the recessed shutter boxes plastered as is, at no additional cost.
I have searched for pictures but found none; I believe this is rather unusual. The construction contract does not specify anything about this in detail. In my opinion, this is not correct or the roller shutter boxes should have been ordered with more depth so they would be flush with the interior wall ready for plastering... or am I wrong?
The GC claims this is often done this way...
Does anyone have ideas for a different (more cost-effective) solution or experience with this? It is hard for me to imagine the finished result having an additional 20cm (8 inches) of plastered surface inside above the window.
Unfortunately, I don’t have another photo right now; this one was taken at an angle from below and shows the lintel from underneath; the white area is the roller shutter box (to be plastered) and the brown parts are the window frames.
I hope I explained everything clearly, otherwise please ask.
P
pagoni202023 Aug 2021 10:37hampshire schrieb:
It’s really frustrating when such details turn out so differently than expected. In any case, you need a solution that will give you lasting peace with the situation.
Are you planning to have curtains in front of the windows? If the recess is suitable, you could use a curtain to visually create a flush surface. The rod would then run exactly within the recess. A flaw would become a feature. I can’t judge this 100% from the pictures, but maybe it’s something worth considering. Basically, the “bug/feature” approach is also how I think about it, and often it leads to better solutions than originally expected, thanks for the idea.
We had already thought about curtains to some extent and that might actually work well. However, curtains are generally not supposed to go there…
By now it’s the combination of several issues. If it were just one or two, I would have had it done simply rather than getting so frustrated about it.
H
hampshire23 Aug 2021 10:43pagoni2020 schrieb:
By now, it’s actually the combination of several issues; if it had been just one or two things, I would have simply dealt with it instead of getting so frustrated. Yes, the dose makes the poison. I hope you can soon regain the calmness that is also apparent here. These emotional ups and downs during construction are, I believe, quite common—especially when you put as much thought into the project as you do.
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pagoni202023 Aug 2021 11:08hampshire schrieb:
Yes, the dose makes the poison. I hope you can soon return to the calmness that’s also present here. These emotional ups and downs during construction are, I believe, quite common—especially when you put as much thought into the project as you have. Thank you.
Despite the sudden pressure to move, we deliberately took our time with planning, details, and so on. Looking back, I can also see that during exactly this planning phase, the impact of the coronavirus severely limited us; otherwise, we would have examined many things in detail beforehand, or I would have liked to travel around the country to look at specific elements more closely.
Of course, I’m also becoming aware of some of my own mistakes in judgment, which is usually the most frustrating part.
Maybe one just isn’t as stress-resistant anymore… 🤨
Additionally, I find it very difficult that unreliability is sometimes accepted as the norm, or that coronavirus/supply shortages are used as a general excuse. In the crucial areas for us, it definitely was NOT the case—instead, proven personal or professional shortcomings were to blame.
Handling mistakes doesn’t bother me much, as long as there’s a willingness to work together toward a solution afterward; that can even strengthen relationships. However, the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” approach is really hard for me.
Now, only a few services from the main contractor remain, after which we have already found and hired our own subcontractors; so the goal now is largely to get through this phase without damage. After that, things won’t be perfect either, but at least I’ll have the freedom to decide… we’ll see.
H
hampshire23 Aug 2021 12:58The cancellation of site visits would have hit us hard as well. The general explanation of corona/supply shortages is frustrating and, to me, comparable to a yellow sick note used when someone doesn’t feel like working—only in this case, it’s for service providers. As a homeowner, you feel helpless—especially difficult if you are someone who values independence and wants to make your own decisions and designs.
Your house concept is well thought out and based on real-life experience—once you’re living in it, it will work. A few details here and there don’t matter. Then even what seems dull now will shine again.
Your house concept is well thought out and based on real-life experience—once you’re living in it, it will work. A few details here and there don’t matter. Then even what seems dull now will shine again.
pagoni2020 schrieb:
Unfortunately, the quality of the general contractor does not live up to the initial praise.Who gave the initial praise – did you perhaps recommend them yourself here somewhere and now need to reconsider that (and: where exactly are the issues)?https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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pagoni202023 Aug 2021 14:4611ant schrieb:
Who gave you the premature praise – did you yourself give a recommendation here that you now have to reconsider (and: where exactly are the issues)? Well, this was based on what I could learn here as a newcomer in the area. Additionally, very few companies even had time. For that reason, I believed it was the best possible decision.
In the end, I also have advantages compared to many general contractor (GC) problems described here, because he is really very flexible regarding fittings and so on; I don’t want to overlook that. Of course, you always share some responsibility yourself when things turn out a certain way—unfortunately, including me.
Perhaps our preference for nice details is too strong for a GC, or maybe our already advanced age plays a bigger role than expected. It was probably the same with the first build in 1990, but who would you have told back then without the internet, mobile phones, etc.? The walls probably still know...
No, I don’t have to revise any recommendation, I had not given any regarding the GC so far, and I would be cautious about that anyway. I also believe that someone else might handle it completely differently. There is probably no ONE good or ONE bad contractor, and I think that elsewhere, the problems would simply be different.
The delays: In general, they are due to coordination issues between trades, relevant details, craftsmen not being informed about agreements, and then being gone for weeks, causing the next trade to be held up… and so a lot of unnecessary time passes.
The GC does not intend harm; I suspect rather that he has overestimated himself with the current number of houses, and due to Corona, etc., these issues have become more apparent now.