ᐅ What responsibilities do an architect and a property owner have?
Created on: 28 Jan 2017 18:25
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Matthias9541
Dear future homeowners,
We plan to build a house measuring 8 m by 15 m (26 ft by 49 ft) on a gently sloping site. From the street view, the garage should be attached to the right side of the house, where the entrance door is also located. There is a 3 m (10 ft) distance between the house and the right property boundary; the garage should be built directly on the property line and adjacent to the house.
The building regulations from the local building authority state that the top edge of the floor slab must not exceed 30 cm (12 inches) above the highest ground level point where the building’s corner cuts into the natural terrain. Accordingly, the floor slab’s top edge could be at a maximum of 200.13 m above sea level, about 18 cm (7 inches) below the lowest point of the street. At this floor height and considering the slope of the building plot, there would be a height difference of approximately 1.30 m (4 ft 3 inches) between the house entrance and the driveway to the garage. As a result, the architect said the stairway to the front door would have extended up to 1.30 m (4 ft 3 inches) into the driveway.
After the architect explained this issue to me, I asked about possible solutions. He offered only one option: lowering the entire house by about 75 cm (2 ft 6 inches) to reduce the height difference between the entrance and the driveway. This would shorten the stairway’s intrusion into the driveway, allowing a car to pass by the stairs to enter the garage. I agreed, since the architect said there was no other alternative. I simply trusted the architect as the expert. After that, I received the building permit / planning permission.
When I was asked to sign the documents for the contractor again after the permit was granted, I took a closer look and realized that there had been another possible solution. If the entire building had been shifted about 1.30 m (4 ft 3 inches) to the left, from the street perspective—there was still space on that side—the house would not have needed to be lowered by 75 cm. This would have created a gap between the garage and the house wall on the right side. Naturally, I prefer the house to be only 18 cm (7 inches) below street level, not 93 cm (37 inches). Since this is what I want, I am now facing additional costs according to the architect: a flat fee of 500 euros for the developer, new site survey, new structural calculations, and a new building permit / planning permission application.
One might argue that I should have examined everything more carefully before obtaining the permit. However, one could also argue that the architect should have presented this second option to me. I am very interested in your opinion on this matter. How should I approach the cost issue with the contractor?
Thank you.
We plan to build a house measuring 8 m by 15 m (26 ft by 49 ft) on a gently sloping site. From the street view, the garage should be attached to the right side of the house, where the entrance door is also located. There is a 3 m (10 ft) distance between the house and the right property boundary; the garage should be built directly on the property line and adjacent to the house.
The building regulations from the local building authority state that the top edge of the floor slab must not exceed 30 cm (12 inches) above the highest ground level point where the building’s corner cuts into the natural terrain. Accordingly, the floor slab’s top edge could be at a maximum of 200.13 m above sea level, about 18 cm (7 inches) below the lowest point of the street. At this floor height and considering the slope of the building plot, there would be a height difference of approximately 1.30 m (4 ft 3 inches) between the house entrance and the driveway to the garage. As a result, the architect said the stairway to the front door would have extended up to 1.30 m (4 ft 3 inches) into the driveway.
After the architect explained this issue to me, I asked about possible solutions. He offered only one option: lowering the entire house by about 75 cm (2 ft 6 inches) to reduce the height difference between the entrance and the driveway. This would shorten the stairway’s intrusion into the driveway, allowing a car to pass by the stairs to enter the garage. I agreed, since the architect said there was no other alternative. I simply trusted the architect as the expert. After that, I received the building permit / planning permission.
When I was asked to sign the documents for the contractor again after the permit was granted, I took a closer look and realized that there had been another possible solution. If the entire building had been shifted about 1.30 m (4 ft 3 inches) to the left, from the street perspective—there was still space on that side—the house would not have needed to be lowered by 75 cm. This would have created a gap between the garage and the house wall on the right side. Naturally, I prefer the house to be only 18 cm (7 inches) below street level, not 93 cm (37 inches). Since this is what I want, I am now facing additional costs according to the architect: a flat fee of 500 euros for the developer, new site survey, new structural calculations, and a new building permit / planning permission application.
One might argue that I should have examined everything more carefully before obtaining the permit. However, one could also argue that the architect should have presented this second option to me. I am very interested in your opinion on this matter. How should I approach the cost issue with the contractor?
Thank you.
The problem is that all the companies are fully booked with work. The general contractor should have clearly warned Mr. So-and-So when submitting the building permit / planning permission application that this cannot be used as access to the garage. But if I put myself in their shoes... well, you finish this project, send it off, next please. Unfortunately, despite everything, you won’t be able to avoid managing your own build. The tradespeople just work carelessly without paying attention, and so on.
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Matthias954129 Jan 2017 15:50Nordlys schrieb:
The problem is that all the companies are fully booked. The general contractor should have clearly warned Mr. So-and-so when submitting the building application that this cannot be used as access to the garage. They are all fully booked at the moment. My general contractor has also advertised several architect positions online. Already at the time of submitting the building application, he did not include a description of the site landscaping, even though this was required by the building regulations of the local building authority. Allegedly, a second architect also reviewed the building application and overlooked this requirement. That is why the application was initially rejected, and a new application had to be submitted, which resulted in higher fees. Before submitting the building application, I was informed that there were issues with the staircase to the main entrance. However, I was definitely not told that, apart from lowering the building structure, there was an alternative solution that did not involve lowering it.
Planting? What does that have to do with the authorities! They are supposed to check whether the distances and number of floors comply, ensure the neighbor is not disturbed, and make sure the construction does not collapse. They are not supposed to manage the garden. Where have we come to! I don’t have to get approval for plants. Whether it’s parsley, potatoes, or a coconut palm, it doesn’t matter to them. Good.
Nordlys schrieb:
Planting? What does that have to do with the authorities! They are supposed to check whether distances, number of stories are correct, that the neighbor is not disturbed, and that the structure doesn’t collapse. They shouldn’t be concerned about the lady’s garden. Where have we ended up! I don’t have to get plants approved. Whether parsley, potatoes, or coconut palm, they don’t care. Good.????
Where have we come to, that the garden belongs to the lady???
Seriously: Planting is worth at least one paragraph in almost every zoning plan 😉
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