ᐅ When is it considered a construction defect? A wall misplaced by 10 cm

FloOlden schrieb:

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My idea was also to install a smaller door. Instead of an 89 cm (35 inch) door, just put in a 78 cm (31 inch) one.

This might cause the problem that the bathtub no longer fits through the narrower door and around the corners.

In my experience, an error of 10 cm (4 inches) is already significant enough to affect building permit / planning permission.

FloOlden schrieb:

What can I do and what rights do I have?

First of all, you should fulfill your responsibility as the person asking the question by providing plans to illustrate your question!

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my thoughts on this:

Wood has both advantages and disadvantages.
One advantage is that you can work with a chainsaw and reshape it (unlike with stone or concrete).
I would consider whether it’s possible to let the bathtub disappear 10cm (5 inches) “into the wall.”
Either the remaining wall would then be very thin, or a recess would form in the adjacent room (which might be useful for something).
(a drawing is actually very helpful for these kinds of considerations 🙂)
my experience:
It often happens that correcting a mistake results in a better outcome than if the mistake had not occurred.

FloOlden schrieb:

Since it is a timber frame house

And precisely for these types of buildings, the positions are specified down to the millimeter.
Therefore, I really don’t understand the incorrect placements.
Who messed this up?

FloOlden schrieb:

Question I keep asking myself: can I claim any compensation because of the 10 cm (4 inches)?

It remains unclear what your priority is. Do you prefer to receive money or a bathtub that you can actually fit into? Your approach depends on that. Let’s set aside the problems and your frustration for now, as they only get in the way of defining your goal. Your building partner, who has acknowledged the mistake, can only work with you to find a suitable solution if your objective is clear. All the questions about how this happened are not helpful at all. The only relevant question is how you want it to turn out, and that is what you need to specify. And just to clarify once again: not how something should be done now, but what final result you expect.

FloOlden schrieb:

The room has become 10cm (4 inches) smaller because of this, resulting in a larger hallway.

Please share the floor plan of the upper floor, showing the bathroom and hallway. Maybe that will inspire some additional ideas related to the ones you mentioned.

FloOlden schrieb:

My idea was also to install a smaller door. Instead of an 89cm (35 inches) door, use a 78cm (31 inches) door.

You could also have the door open outwards. I don’t understand why nothing can be changed with a timber frame construction. Or is it a solid wood house?

FloOlden schrieb:

The original plan was to install a 1.70-meter (5 ft 7 in) bathtub, but now it won’t fit because the door would open against the tub. I’m just wondering how to proceed from here. A 1.60-meter (5 ft 3 in) bathtub is not an option for me because I won’t fit in it.

Since I am 165cm (5 ft 5 in) tall, I would never choose a narrow 170cm (5 ft 7 in) bathtub (typical in apartments) for a single-family home. When we renovated our townhouse bathroom, I looked into bathtubs carefully. We ordered an (inner) oval-shaped tub with an approximate width of 90 x 160cm (35 x 63 inches). It was about 5cm (2 inches) higher, which is quite noticeable. Some models save space on the outside but offer more room where needed inside (more arm space, less foot space). These tubs are more expensive, and the builder was supposed to cover the additional cost.
And if you ever build again, my advice is: a bathtub should have some shelving or platform space on the left, right, and/or behind it. Planning for a length of 180cm (6 ft) and a bathroom depth of around 2.40m (8 ft) works well. This reduces the need for constant adjustments and adds comfort.