Builder additional costs for wallpaper and parquet...

Good morning,

thank you for your effort. But I have already written several times that these works are included in the fixed price. The question is only whether these special requests (deviations from the standard) justify such a surcharge...

In order to answer you, I need to know the structure of the contract for work; that's why I am asking so much.

Your answer is still not really satisfactory; but probably it cannot be better. So I assume that you want to upgrade the living area as well as the bedrooms with "better" parquet. If a part of these costs is already covered in the sales price, the price seems justified to me. For us, that would require about EUR 12,000 for the whole house (150 sqm) – with the choice of tiles up to and including 30 x 60 cm or ship decking; however, we do not offer floor coverings as standard via the BB either.

What I cannot understand, on the other hand, is the surcharge for the woodchip wallpaper; the difference in cost is not that immense and the work remains the same. Here I would probably also intervene and keep the standard. I do not find coarse woodchip wallpaper bad either; it will be painted anyway and with the right paint, nice effects can be created.

Rhenish regards

It is not uncommon for a developer to also include the floor coverings (living and sleeping areas) as well as the wall coverings in the fixed price. I know that a prefabricated house manufacturer also includes these trades in the fixed price, because walls covered with wallpaper can conceal spots, for example, settlement cracks, before the buyers complain about them. At least that’s how it was explained to me, and I can understand it after I once saw screed in a shell construction with countless cracks.

Now to your question: of course 5000 each sounds excessive. Perhaps with the parquet (what kind of parquet is only 3 mm thick?), where the thickness varies, the screed also needs to be adjusted? No idea. But that would explain the high additional cost. I also don’t understand it with the textured wallpaper, even if the developer or his subcontractor has 1000 rolls of coarse textured wallpaper in stock and would have to get the other one, the price is not justified, since the workmanship remains the same.

Nevertheless... But.... If the developer wants these sums, only a negotiation conversation can help you achieve a better price overview. However, you are at a disadvantage: you apparently signed the contract with all services, and the developer now charges well for every change – whether the prices are excessively high or unjustified. You bought exactly the part of the house as stated in the contract – negotiations about one trade or another should have been settled before signing to have a good bargaining position. Everything else must be accepted – willingly or unwillingly.