ᐅ Incorrect pipes used for the water service connection in the concrete slab
Created on: 22 Jul 2010 15:54
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Nina76Hello everyone,
I really hope you can help me somehow.
Since early March, my husband and I have been building a single-family house using solid construction with a building company from OWL.
So far, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. But last Friday was the absolute low point.
I spoke with our utility provider to apply for the house connections. It turned out that the craftsmen had installed the wrong type of pipe. They used standard KG pipes, but one pipe should have been a pressure-tested pipe. Additionally, the pipes were cut flat at the floor level and are installed too close together.
Without the mentioned pressure-tested pipe, our utility provider refuses to install the connections. Great. From another source, we were now advised to slightly break up the floor around the water pipe, place a small section of the correct pipe over the other pipe, and then seal everything again. That way, it would look perfect later when the utility provider comes to connect.
Okay, if that would work. But my real question is: Is it possible to withhold payment for such poor workmanship? Not to mention that nothing has really gone as originally agreed so far. Here are a few examples:
- The rainwater pipe in the garage slab was completely forgotten.
- A wastewater pipe was mistakenly installed on the ground floor directly under a floor-to-ceiling window. When this was discovered, they broke open the exterior wall and rerouted the pipe there. However, it was not installed below the frost line.
- Floor-to-ceiling windows were installed so "floor to ceiling" that we can now only have a maximum of 10cm (4 inches) of screed on the upper floor because the bottom edge of the windows is 12cm (5 inches) above the raw floor. How are we supposed to install tiles or underfloor heating in that case?
- A front door was simply installed—not chosen by us, although it is the color we had contractually specified.
- Ventilation ducts were completely forgotten, and now they are tearing down the thermal insulation that we installed ourselves and expect us to reinstall it without complaint.
- As of today, it has been exactly 7 weeks since we last saw any construction workers on site, and no one tells us why. We keep getting postponed.
We always pay only after a trade is completed, but these issues came up only later. Our site manager doesn’t see this as a big deal, but we are really at our wit’s end.
It’s no longer enjoyable for us to go to the construction site, either because nothing has happened again due to no workers being there or because yet another problem has come up.
What do you think we should do? We have already threatened with a lawyer, but that didn’t help either.
Many thanks,
Nina
I really hope you can help me somehow.
Since early March, my husband and I have been building a single-family house using solid construction with a building company from OWL.
So far, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. But last Friday was the absolute low point.
I spoke with our utility provider to apply for the house connections. It turned out that the craftsmen had installed the wrong type of pipe. They used standard KG pipes, but one pipe should have been a pressure-tested pipe. Additionally, the pipes were cut flat at the floor level and are installed too close together.
Without the mentioned pressure-tested pipe, our utility provider refuses to install the connections. Great. From another source, we were now advised to slightly break up the floor around the water pipe, place a small section of the correct pipe over the other pipe, and then seal everything again. That way, it would look perfect later when the utility provider comes to connect.
Okay, if that would work. But my real question is: Is it possible to withhold payment for such poor workmanship? Not to mention that nothing has really gone as originally agreed so far. Here are a few examples:
- The rainwater pipe in the garage slab was completely forgotten.
- A wastewater pipe was mistakenly installed on the ground floor directly under a floor-to-ceiling window. When this was discovered, they broke open the exterior wall and rerouted the pipe there. However, it was not installed below the frost line.
- Floor-to-ceiling windows were installed so "floor to ceiling" that we can now only have a maximum of 10cm (4 inches) of screed on the upper floor because the bottom edge of the windows is 12cm (5 inches) above the raw floor. How are we supposed to install tiles or underfloor heating in that case?
- A front door was simply installed—not chosen by us, although it is the color we had contractually specified.
- Ventilation ducts were completely forgotten, and now they are tearing down the thermal insulation that we installed ourselves and expect us to reinstall it without complaint.
- As of today, it has been exactly 7 weeks since we last saw any construction workers on site, and no one tells us why. We keep getting postponed.
We always pay only after a trade is completed, but these issues came up only later. Our site manager doesn’t see this as a big deal, but we are really at our wit’s end.
It’s no longer enjoyable for us to go to the construction site, either because nothing has happened again due to no workers being there or because yet another problem has come up.
What do you think we should do? We have already threatened with a lawyer, but that didn’t help either.
Many thanks,
Nina
Oh dear, that’s quite a lot….. Is the site manager from the house building company? If so, you should contact the Homeowners’ Protection Association and involve a building supervisor or inspector. They can also assist with negotiations with the builder. Did you research the building company beforehand?
I hope no further serious mistakes occur.
Best regards
I hope no further serious mistakes occur.
Best regards
Hello,
I would first recommend hiring an expert to inspect the situation and document everything. Then, the expert needs to assess the issue and hopefully find a way to fix it properly. If that doesn’t help, you are likely facing a long and difficult process.
The builder should have insurance covering such defects. You should verify this. If they don’t, the outlook is grim, and you should consult a lawyer and hope the builder doesn’t go bankrupt (as happened in our case). We wish you all the best of luck.
I would first recommend hiring an expert to inspect the situation and document everything. Then, the expert needs to assess the issue and hopefully find a way to fix it properly. If that doesn’t help, you are likely facing a long and difficult process.
The builder should have insurance covering such defects. You should verify this. If they don’t, the outlook is grim, and you should consult a lawyer and hope the builder doesn’t go bankrupt (as happened in our case). We wish you all the best of luck.
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