ᐅ Construction Site Waste – What Is Acceptable?

Created on: 7 Oct 2018 15:46
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R.Hotzenplotz
Hello!

I had the landscaping contractor on site, and he told me to make sure that the general contractor leaves the construction site clean. He even said that if cigarette butts are left on the property afterwards, he would charge for waste disposal by subcontractors. Is that normal?

The general contractor, of course, says that he is not responsible for picking up his workers’ cigarette butts and considers small Poroton crumbs as acceptable residue left on the site. Now I’m not sure where exactly the line is—what does the general contractor have to do and what not? It’s actually quite simple: if I know what he is required to do, I can formally ask him to fully clean the property upon completing his work and report back to me. Then I can photograph any remaining debris, set a deadline for cleanup, and refer to deductions from the final payment if necessary.

Another point of discussion will definitely be all the “small” plaster residues in the bushes, etc.

How was it on your construction sites? The contract says nothing about this... sometimes you read about the interior being handed over “broom clean” — but I cannot find any similar term for final site condition outdoors and don’t know what is generally expected there.
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Zaba12
7 Oct 2018 20:05
R.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
That sounds good. When you have a setup like that, the initial conditions seem really favorable. Unfortunately, we were not so lucky to find a well-coordinated team. We talked to 4-5 architects, all of whom saw significant problems in finding sufficient and qualified tradespeople. What kind of starting point is that?

With the knowledge I have now, I would have spent even more time and effort searching for such a solution.

Unfortunately, that’s the reality today. My architect knows them all from school and said I should consider myself lucky to be able to build with such a setup. I see it with my neighbors—they all work with general contractors who promised them all sorts of things, yet even when it’s urgent, no one answers their calls or they are put off for several days. Really frustrating.
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Nordlys
7 Oct 2018 20:15
Don't generalize. My general contractor was fine, those who have construction supervisors from Rendsburg and Neumünster here are also well taken care of, and the general contractor from Plön directly across is very reliable.
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Zaba12
7 Oct 2018 20:25
Nordlys schrieb:
Don't generalize. My general contractor was fine, those from Rendsburg and Neumünster working here as subcontractors are also well managed, right across from the general contractor from Plön who is very decent.

That may be, but as a layperson, you first have to find them and not be misled by any salespeople. My neighbors next to our rental apartment, just behind the fence, started at the beginning of June. If I had to sum it up, I would say they had 50% downtime, meaning no one was working on the construction site during that time. They also focused on the general contractor. Luckily, we decided otherwise. Yes, I am not a fan of general contractors, that's true. However, this is based on bad experiences others have had during construction as well as our own experiences during the bidding phase.
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haydee
7 Oct 2018 20:44
R.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
So, was you guys also experiencing drafts until the painter came? I can’t imagine that such a “window sealing” is normal.

What do you specifically say about the expert’s statement I quoted? Do you disagree with any part of it?

Actually, the windows should be sealed with sealing tape during installation.
In our case, the painting company handled that (they managed many small, not necessarily typical tasks since they were almost always on site).
The site manager personally taped some areas.

The painter applies acrylic sealant around the window sills when painting the reveal.

The windows were sealed and draft-free after installation and before the window sills were installed.

That was our experience.
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R.Hotzenplotz
7 Oct 2018 20:45
haydee schrieb:
The windows were airtight after installation before the window sills were installed.

Did you also verify this using a blower door test, or is there another method to check this?
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haydee
7 Oct 2018 20:50
We conducted the first blower door test after installing the windows, before the exterior plaster, interior finishing, and screed.

No idea if there is another option.

Siga tape adheres strongly. When pressed on properly without wrinkles, the tape can only be airtight.