ᐅ Withholding Payments for Defects in the Shell Construction Phase
Created on: 9 Feb 2021 16:57
K
Kishihmen
Hello everyone,
The ceiling above the ground floor has just been concreted on our site. According to the payment schedule, a partial payment of approximately €30,000 is due.
However, our expert has identified several defects. These were formally reported to the general contractor (GC) with deadlines. The first deadline (2 weeks) passed without the defects being resolved; the second deadline is still running until Thursday (also 2 weeks).
So far, we have withheld about €17,000 of the €30,000. Our GC considers this amount far too high and insists on payment.
Since we are currently concerned about the potential insolvency of the GC (the structural builder, brick supplier, steel supplier, and light well supplier have not been paid), we want to keep the deduction as high as possible. However, since we are not construction professionals and want to avoid the risk that withholding too much for defects could backfire, I hope that some experts here can provide us with a rough cost estimate.
P.S. Our lawyer has been contacted, but the appointment is only scheduled for 17.02, and I fear we cannot hold off the GC until then.
Defect 1:
At the transition between the basement and the ground floor, no damp-proof course was installed at the base of the first course of blocks.
The basement is already fully lined with Styrodur insulation, and the excavation pit has been backfilled.
Defect 2:
In some areas of the structural shell, the minimum offset of the bricks was not observed; in places, up to 7 courses of bricks were laid directly on top of each other.
Defect 3:
This is a row house. Mineral wool boards were installed between the buildings for sound insulation. At one externally visible spot, there is a gap of about 80cm (31.5 inches) depth and approximately 20cm (8 inches) height between the boards. After reporting the defect, the structural builder just “stuffed” mineral wool boards into the hole. According to our lawyer, this does not reliably ensure soundproofing.
Defect 4:
The area where the patio doors will later be installed was cast in concrete. Here, the reinforcing steel protrudes from the wall. According to the expert: This means that a proper bond between the reinforcing steel and concrete is not sufficiently ensured. It is assumed that adequate long-term corrosion protection of the reinforcement steel is not established. Furthermore, with insufficient concrete cover over the reinforcing steel, adequate fire protection is not guaranteed.
Defect 5:
In the floor slab area, the mineral wool board was not properly secured. As a result, it is quite wavy. This is particularly problematic in the stairwell area, where in some places only 10cm (4 inches) of concrete remain above the mineral wool board. The partition wall bricks have a thickness of 17.5cm (7 inches), though.
Defect 6:
The mineral wool boards were not installed tightly enough in some areas, allowing concrete to seep between the boards and create a sound bridge.
These are the (known) defects so far. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could roughly estimate the costs associated with these defects.
Thank you very much in advance.
The ceiling above the ground floor has just been concreted on our site. According to the payment schedule, a partial payment of approximately €30,000 is due.
However, our expert has identified several defects. These were formally reported to the general contractor (GC) with deadlines. The first deadline (2 weeks) passed without the defects being resolved; the second deadline is still running until Thursday (also 2 weeks).
So far, we have withheld about €17,000 of the €30,000. Our GC considers this amount far too high and insists on payment.
Since we are currently concerned about the potential insolvency of the GC (the structural builder, brick supplier, steel supplier, and light well supplier have not been paid), we want to keep the deduction as high as possible. However, since we are not construction professionals and want to avoid the risk that withholding too much for defects could backfire, I hope that some experts here can provide us with a rough cost estimate.
P.S. Our lawyer has been contacted, but the appointment is only scheduled for 17.02, and I fear we cannot hold off the GC until then.
Defect 1:
At the transition between the basement and the ground floor, no damp-proof course was installed at the base of the first course of blocks.
The basement is already fully lined with Styrodur insulation, and the excavation pit has been backfilled.
Defect 2:
In some areas of the structural shell, the minimum offset of the bricks was not observed; in places, up to 7 courses of bricks were laid directly on top of each other.
Defect 3:
This is a row house. Mineral wool boards were installed between the buildings for sound insulation. At one externally visible spot, there is a gap of about 80cm (31.5 inches) depth and approximately 20cm (8 inches) height between the boards. After reporting the defect, the structural builder just “stuffed” mineral wool boards into the hole. According to our lawyer, this does not reliably ensure soundproofing.
Defect 4:
The area where the patio doors will later be installed was cast in concrete. Here, the reinforcing steel protrudes from the wall. According to the expert: This means that a proper bond between the reinforcing steel and concrete is not sufficiently ensured. It is assumed that adequate long-term corrosion protection of the reinforcement steel is not established. Furthermore, with insufficient concrete cover over the reinforcing steel, adequate fire protection is not guaranteed.
Defect 5:
In the floor slab area, the mineral wool board was not properly secured. As a result, it is quite wavy. This is particularly problematic in the stairwell area, where in some places only 10cm (4 inches) of concrete remain above the mineral wool board. The partition wall bricks have a thickness of 17.5cm (7 inches), though.
Defect 6:
The mineral wool boards were not installed tightly enough in some areas, allowing concrete to seep between the boards and create a sound bridge.
These are the (known) defects so far. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could roughly estimate the costs associated with these defects.
Thank you very much in advance.
W
WilderSueden9 Mar 2021 18:13There was also the option to file for bankruptcy, right? At least, I have seen that mentioned several times in the forum.
K
Kishihmen9 Mar 2021 19:32Yes, as far as I understand, this is only possible as a creditor, and even then it is very complicated. In addition, the creditor must initially advance the costs of the insolvency proceedings....
Kishihmen schrieb:
Due to the high costs of defect remediation, our general contractor decided to have the structural contractor, who “messed up” the whole thing, handle the correction of defects after all. However, our new site manager refuses to take over site supervision here. I still don’t quite understand who is actually responsible for site management in this situation.
Kishihmen schrieb:
- Regarding the insolvency of the general contractor, action can only be taken once the contractor has officially filed for insolvency. […]
After a phone call with our general contractor, he told us that he would like to pay but currently does not have the money! That completely clears up my doubts that there should at least be an investigation into a possible insolvency.
Kishihmen schrieb:
In addition, we are currently having some problems with the electrician, who has not been paid for his temporary power supply box since November (700€) and is now demanding payment from us (including a threat that he will come by with his attack dogs, and then we’ll see if we pay his invoice). An internship at a small animal vet teaches you: an attack dog beaten up by a cat is not a pretty sight ;-)
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/