Civil engineering works - higher costs

Good day dear community,

currently we have the following problem:

we are currently building in BaWü and are already in the shell construction phase - however, the invoice for the civil engineering work is still outstanding.

An acquaintance from my hometown (you could almost call him a buddy) did all the civil engineering work for my house with a basement (he is the junior manager of a large civil engineering company that usually only does major construction sites). At the beginning, we also got a great price here (friendship price), which made us about 3-4k cheaper than other civil engineering companies for the same service.

At the beginning, he sent us all the necessary information and offers and was really committed. Afterwards, he practically handed over the construction site to his site manager, whom I also knew from my hobby "football" (he actually played in the same team for 1 year). That was okay for us and he really did a great job - you could say: we were really satisfied.

Everything went great! The problems that arose a few weeks ago (landslide) were also excellently handled and professionally refilled and the slope was properly secured.

After about 2 weeks everything was done and the work areas were to be refilled:

On a Friday evening, the site manager's representative (the site manager was unfortunately on vacation) was supposed to come by for a meeting with the general contractor on site. During the appointment he called and said he couldn't come... So we discussed everything further over the phone together with the general contractor and the shell builder. It was said all the time: "For him everything is clear what should happen."

So far so good...

Then on Tuesday (after no one had simply come on Monday even though it was agreed... but well... that's how it is on construction sites - we're used to it xD) we arrived at the construction site:

The driveway + terrace (south-west terrace around the corner) was gravelled (as agreed) and the additional west side (here the slope had slid, creating an extremely wide work area) was ALSO COMPLETELY gravelled. Meaning: significantly more gravel + significantly more excavation material that had to be hauled away + excavation material that still remains on our property and should have been in the hole instead.

To not go too far into detail: additional costs of about €2,000 - €2,500 net + excavation material that still somehow needs to be hauled away (disposal and transport costs of certainly another €1,000 - even if you get it somewhere "cheap").

So if I add everything up, we definitely have additional expenses of around €3,000 WITHOUT having wanted it that way!

The site manager also apologized for this and largely admitted the mistake, but nevertheless tried to find excuses such as: "We couldn’t get to the excavation material (tight construction site) and therefore had to fill with gravel" --> For me that's rubbish... Crane, excavator... all there! These would also have been things that could have been discussed on the said Friday. Unfortunately, no one from the civil engineering company was there and so they just dumped the gravel and finished.

Problem No.2: At the beginning we were told that one combined inspection shaft was included but he would recommend installing 2 shafts (due to various advantages...). We therefore decided on 2 shafts - but specifically asked if that would be cost-neutral. He then clearly said: "No, that doesn’t cost anything extra." So we decided on 2 shafts even though we didn’t want that for aesthetic reasons at first.

Now in the invoice: 2x inspection shafts at €1,500 each --> in the original offer obviously only 1 shaft at €1,500 - so simply charged double... - sure: 2 shafts = double price?? For us it was definitely agreed differently back then!

Effectively, one can say that we have additional costs of about €4,500 that are totally unnecessary and were not agreed upon that way.

The fact is: everything has obviously been installed - the "test invoice" as my buddy calls it is in our possession. Next week we will meet to discuss the invoice, but I fear that he will not simply say: "Our fault, we deduct €5,000 and that’s it."

How would you proceed in this case? What would you agree to, or what compromise should one find here?

According to the offer and the service specifications at the time and also according to the agreements by e-mail etc. back then, nowhere was it even remotely mentioned that almost all areas should be filled with gravel! It was also said that this would be discussed again on site... Like I said, that did not happen --> lack of communication

The same with the shaft... in the offer and in the service specification it was always one shaft - he installed 2 but of course charged double.

How would you proceed in this case? What would you agree to, or what compromise should be found here?

First, take a deep breath, look at the offer, and let your emotions cool down. The whole thing actually reads quite OK. In almost all civil engineering offers, there are volume-dependent items, because in civil engineering you never know exactly what to expect. So there is always a certain site risk for the client, or they received a somewhat more expensive lump-sum offer with exceptions from the outset. A slope has slipped and was re-stabilized? Of course you pay for that—who else, if there was no obvious fault of the civil engineers. For the shaft, I would check what benefit or necessity it has before I get upset. If it is sensible or necessary, then I would thank them for thinking along, pay for it, and give the note that I would have liked to have been informed beforehand. When the client carries out the construction with own awarding, the client assumes more responsibility—that also includes taking responsibility for not knowing some things themselves and for things going differently than desired or planned.

Is it actually now common to rehearse conversations with friends, neighbors, and business partners beforehand in anonymous internet forums?

I can't find the thread right now, but there was once a longer discussion here from a lady who didn't accept such additional costs and then threatened one or more GCs with a lawsuit, etc. I think the house still isn't built..

The consensus among the forum members was: wrong GC, increased prices later

First take a breath, look at the offer and let the emotions cool down. The whole thing actually reads quite OK. In almost all civil engineering offers there are volume-dependent items, because in civil engineering you never really know what to expect. So there is always a certain terrain risk on the part of the client or they have received a slightly more expensive flat-rate offer with exceptions from the start. A slope slipped and was fixed again? Of course you pay for that - who else, if there was no obvious fault of the civil engineers for it. With the shaft I would check what use or necessity it has before I get upset. If it is sensible or necessary, then I would thank for the consideration and pay it and point out that I would have liked to have been informed beforehand. When building under your own contract, the client simply takes on more responsibility - that also includes accepting that he himself doesn’t know some things and that things go differently than desired or planned.

No, it’s not about the slope for me - we have paid for that. The invoice is really well calculated, with all delivery notes and all details precise to the day. I can really see exactly what we paid for what.

We are purely concerned with the west side with the gravel. Ultimately, we paid for a service that we did not want that way. This went wrong due to lack of communication - however, definitely on the part of the civil engineering company (they also apologized for this in the end). What I want to know is: Who pays the additional costs ultimately caused by the civil engineering company, or what kind of agreement might be sensible here?

Own contract award, responsibility, etc... Ultimately, that doesn’t matter in this question?

I can’t find the thread right now but there once was a longer thread here by a lady who did not accept such additional costs and then threatened one or more general contractors with a lawsuit, etc. I think the house still isn’t finished..

Consensus among the forum members was: wrong general contractor, increased prices later

Fixed prices / general contractor / variable prices.... --> this has nothing to do with this story here? This is really about a mistake by the civil engineering company that caused additional costs. Additional costs that definitely exist, yes, and definitely rightly so, since the material was also filled in!

Only: We just didn’t want it like that :D

Is it actually common now to practice conversations with friends, neighbors and business partners beforehand in anonymous internet forums?

That basically has nothing to do with friend or anything else. It could also be any random civil engineering company. Just wanted to explain our situation and how all this came about.

And no matter what, even if it were like that: Why not in a forum? Where else? xD