Construction defects and at the end of one's Latin (utterly lost)

  • Erstellt am 2010-11-29 20:38:32

Westerwald

2010-11-29 20:38:32
  • #1
Hello,
I am writing here in the hope that someone can give me a tip on how to proceed with the GU, as we are quite at our wit's end.
We are owners of a terraced house (4 houses) with a shed roof. New build and still under warranty. A few winters ago, water stains appeared in corners on the ceiling in our home and the neighbors'. It was reported to the GU as a defect, and it took quite a bit of correspondence until the problem was addressed. It was said to be caused by warm air in the empty conduit shafts, which were then temporarily sealed in the basement (with expanding foam). After that, we had scaffolding in front of the house for 1.5 years, and welding was done on the chimneys on the roof. Nothing helped. You literally had to annoy the GU persistently for anything to happen. An expert was called in (appointed by the GU), the roof was opened, and another sealing of the empty conduit shaft was carried out. Meanwhile, it turned out that the aluminum roof has massive external damages (kinks and holes) due to the inspection opening. We only noticed these damages when one of the neighbors climbed onto the roof and took proof photos. After a final meeting, we were promised a new aluminum roof. It was supposed to be installed in mid-October, but our house was only scaffolded again in mid-November and the new aluminum roof was delivered, which is now lying on the roof, but it cannot be laid because winter has meanwhile set in.
This all reads like a bad movie and has been dragging on for years. Nothing happens, you constantly have to keep pushing, and personally, I have lost hope that it will all turn out well. As a layperson, I believe the entire roof is botched and needs to be newly insulated and covered.
I paid a lot of money for the house and am frustrated that we are being put off like this. Does anyone have an idea of what can be done? Can compensation be claimed for the botched work? Do you have to hire a lawyer and invest a lot of money again to get your rights?
I am very grateful for any tips.
 

Bauexperte

2010-11-30 12:08:42
  • #2
Hello,

First of all: here no one is allowed to give you legal advice; the area of specific legal consultation is assigned in Germany to lawyers as a task.

Your description unfortunately really sounds like a lot of trouble and – what professionally is the worst for me: flat roofs are once again getting a bad reputation because a craftsman, probably the roofer, did not do his job. I had hoped these times were finally behind us :mad:

First of all, you should shortly commission external and independent advice, on the pages of the energy agency you will find addresses and recommendations nationwide – make sure that the "expertise" is verifiable by training/oath. Equip this expert with all correspondence and possibly available protocols and then carry out an inspection of the single-family house. With the presentation of the protocol thus created, consult a lawyer with the specialty construction/building defects of your trust and clarify the further procedure. Sometimes the letterhead of the lawyer is enough to get a "seemingly" abandoned construction site moving, sometimes further measures have to be taken.

Without your own expert/lawyer it probably will not work, in my opinion; on the other hand, this money is well invested, since you will presumably live in your house for a longer time and above all want to live in a "defect-free" house.

Kind regards
 

Similar topics
04.11.2012Expert despite TÜV approval?13
01.10.2013Construction company would rather not have an assessor11
03.07.2014Costs for a house appraisal report due to damages11
14.12.2015Expert discovers defects in the basement. What to do?11
30.06.2016Existing property - appraiser, financing, negotiating...17
01.08.2018Construction company demands extra costs due to cooperation with appraiser21
01.11.2020Rough cost estimate house renovation built in '73 - appraiser17
20.10.2021Renovation of a 1960s house: Questionable expert recommendations?92
17.03.2022DSL Bank takes a long time processing, now also sending surveyors for 200k22
07.05.2023Is it sensible for the expert to inspect the base plate?55
18.09.2024Damage to the marble floor - cause unknown10

Oben