BananaJoe
2021-09-20 14:02:37
- #1
Hello everyone,
we are building our house with a general contractor and have agreed on a fixed price.
In the bathroom, we have a window with a sill height of 1.12m RFB, which is partially above the bathtub or a small shelf (which is between the bathtub and the house wall), on the right in the picture.
It has come to my - or rather our expert’s - attention that according to the building regulations (Hessen), the sills must have a height of at least 80 cm, measured either from the finished floor level (which would be complied with here) or from steps, landings, or similar climbing aids located in front of it (which would not be complied with here due to the bathtub and the shelf). Although we have lockable handles on the upper floor, according to the expert, an additional safety measure must be taken, e.g., the installation of a (glass) railing like on French balconies.
This is also confirmed by the recommendations for action issued by the Hessian Ministry of Economics for the enforcement of the Hessian building code (marginal number 35.3.1):
„The height of the railing is generally to be measured from the top edge of the finished floor to the top edge of the windowsill or another fixed railing-like component without including the window frame. If there are elements in front of the window railing, such as duct shafts or ventilation channels, which are suitable for climbing on, the measurement must be taken from the top edge of these elements.“
Since we have two small children who will eventually bring their little friends home to play, we are very much in favor of doing something to secure this. However, our general contractor sees no need for action because we have a lockable handle on the window. I had already informed the general contractor that we would, if necessary, report this issue to the responsible building supervisory authority so that they can review whether this is correct (we built under an exemption procedure, so no one has yet reviewed the building application in detail). Based on the Ministry’s recommendation, I am quite sure that the authority will agree with our expert’s view.
Now to my question: who pays for the additional measure (assuming the building authority says it cannot remain as it is)?
After a short search, I found fairly decent glass railings (since our bathroom window faces the street, we would like the railing to be as discreet as possible, i.e., no grid or similar) for around 500 euros. Plus installation, I would have assumed that it would not cost more than 1,000 euros.
From my point of view, the matter is clear: I bought a house that complies with legal requirements. If the general contractor’s planning does not meet these requirements and he therefore has to do rework, he must pay for it. The general contractor (or rather our site manager), on the other hand, says that if the building authority says the railing is necessary, then it was forgotten in the planning and therefore not included in the fixed price. If it had been known that the railing was needed, the price would have been correspondingly higher, so we would have borne the costs. Therefore, we would have to bear the costs for the railing.
From my point of view, this is nonsense; otherwise, fixed prices would be pointless. As a layperson, I assume that for the agreed fixed price I get a house that complies with legal requirements. Otherwise, the general contractor could simply plan anything, and if it later turns out, for example, that the planning is not structurally sound, does not comply with the development plan, or was otherwise wrong, he would simply raise the price by whatever is necessary to fix the planning error...
What do you think?
we are building our house with a general contractor and have agreed on a fixed price.
In the bathroom, we have a window with a sill height of 1.12m RFB, which is partially above the bathtub or a small shelf (which is between the bathtub and the house wall), on the right in the picture.
It has come to my - or rather our expert’s - attention that according to the building regulations (Hessen), the sills must have a height of at least 80 cm, measured either from the finished floor level (which would be complied with here) or from steps, landings, or similar climbing aids located in front of it (which would not be complied with here due to the bathtub and the shelf). Although we have lockable handles on the upper floor, according to the expert, an additional safety measure must be taken, e.g., the installation of a (glass) railing like on French balconies.
This is also confirmed by the recommendations for action issued by the Hessian Ministry of Economics for the enforcement of the Hessian building code (marginal number 35.3.1):
„The height of the railing is generally to be measured from the top edge of the finished floor to the top edge of the windowsill or another fixed railing-like component without including the window frame. If there are elements in front of the window railing, such as duct shafts or ventilation channels, which are suitable for climbing on, the measurement must be taken from the top edge of these elements.“
Since we have two small children who will eventually bring their little friends home to play, we are very much in favor of doing something to secure this. However, our general contractor sees no need for action because we have a lockable handle on the window. I had already informed the general contractor that we would, if necessary, report this issue to the responsible building supervisory authority so that they can review whether this is correct (we built under an exemption procedure, so no one has yet reviewed the building application in detail). Based on the Ministry’s recommendation, I am quite sure that the authority will agree with our expert’s view.
Now to my question: who pays for the additional measure (assuming the building authority says it cannot remain as it is)?
After a short search, I found fairly decent glass railings (since our bathroom window faces the street, we would like the railing to be as discreet as possible, i.e., no grid or similar) for around 500 euros. Plus installation, I would have assumed that it would not cost more than 1,000 euros.
From my point of view, the matter is clear: I bought a house that complies with legal requirements. If the general contractor’s planning does not meet these requirements and he therefore has to do rework, he must pay for it. The general contractor (or rather our site manager), on the other hand, says that if the building authority says the railing is necessary, then it was forgotten in the planning and therefore not included in the fixed price. If it had been known that the railing was needed, the price would have been correspondingly higher, so we would have borne the costs. Therefore, we would have to bear the costs for the railing.
From my point of view, this is nonsense; otherwise, fixed prices would be pointless. As a layperson, I assume that for the agreed fixed price I get a house that complies with legal requirements. Otherwise, the general contractor could simply plan anything, and if it later turns out, for example, that the planning is not structurally sound, does not comply with the development plan, or was otherwise wrong, he would simply raise the price by whatever is necessary to fix the planning error...
What do you think?