Construction defects - Damage control?

2020-02-12 16:31:47

Oh dear, everything is going wrong

Is the master builder working for the shell contractor or for you?
Has the expert drawn up a list of defects with suggestions for rectification and deadlines? I assume that you also have the right to rectification and the rectification proposals must be proportionate.

The roof can be replaced
The cellar can be waterproofed
The height is unfortunate but not a disaster, if the building authority approves.

Do you have a hillside location or how is the cellar illuminated?

Did you pay before acceptance without security retention? Or don’t you have that?

2020-02-12 16:59:41

The crux, unfortunately, is that you have to sue for warranty... Unfortunately, suing is almost hopeless because the company can file for bankruptcy at any time. That would mean we would also have court and attorney costs

So what? That’s what courts are for. I simply cannot imagine a company just filing for bankruptcy whenever it wants. Austria is not some third-world country where you can do whatever you want.

The problem could be that the company aims for the cheapest renovation, not necessarily the safest one for us.

Whether it’s cheap or not is completely irrelevant. The fact is that the basement must be sealed given the local conditions. How they manage that doesn’t matter to me as long as an independent expert also approves it.

2. Structural engineering – long horizontal cuts (pipes) were also made into a 20 cm Wienerberger Porotherm brick. They should all have been vertical.

It should be DIN EN 1996-1-1. As you describe it, it apparently is not professionally done, but the building will definitely not collapse because of it. That would be my least concern.

2020-02-12 17:04:20

It's no different in Germany, right? You see it all the time on TV and I also know it from my circle of colleagues. The general contractor messes something up and before he gets convicted, he declares bankruptcy. There's another thread about this here.

2020-02-12 17:12:27

Yes, I know the other thread and yes, I also know that it does happen. Unfortunately, still too often. But here it is portrayed as if it's a short trip to the office and then you’re out of the misery and can happily start over. To pull something like that off, you first have to be pretty messed up. Then the company’s circumstances have to fit, and even then you still have access to other assets of the company/the owner or something like that. Also, the entire shell isn’t completely ruined. Provided a surveyor has properly determined that the defects can be fixed by remedial work. That is usually much cheaper than starting from scratch. Then I would be much more afraid that the company would drift into insolvency. The whole thing is actually redundant anyway, because the company wants to rectify the defects itself, but the OP apparently has lost trust. I can definitely understand him there, but it would make sense to accept the remedial work and bring in appropriate specialists to oversee it.

2020-02-13 06:34:15

Oh dear, everything is going wrong

Does the builder work for the shell construction company or for you?
Has the expert drawn up a defect list with proposed remedies and deadlines? I assume that you also have a right to repair and the proposed remedies must be proportionate.

Roof can be replaced
Basement can be waterproofed
The height is unfortunate but not a disaster, if the building authority agrees.

Do you have a slope or how is the basement illuminated?

Did you pay before acceptance without retention of security? Or do you not have that with you

Our expert has created a defect list. Renovation plan only after legal certainty from the authority. The construction company was only commissioned for the shell construction. We do not know retention of security in this form. Only the last installment remains open after knowledge of defects. We paid according to progress.

The basement has a slight slope (only 1.5 m difference in level) and is illuminated through two floor-to-ceiling light wells.

2020-02-13 06:36:43

Yes, I know the other thread and yes, I also know that it does happen. Unfortunately, still too often. But here it is portrayed as if there is a short way to the office and then you are out of the misery and can happily start all over again. To pull something like this off, you first have to be pretty messed up. Then the circumstances in the company have to be right, and even then you still have access to other assets of the company/the owner or something like that. Besides, the entire shell of the building is not ruined. Provided an expert has determined accordingly that the defects can be remedied by reworking. This is generally much cheaper than starting over. Then I would be much more afraid that the company would drift into insolvency. The whole thing is actually unnecessary anyway, because the company itself wants to rework, but the OP apparently has lost confidence. I can certainly understand him there, but it would be sensible to accept the rework and bring in appropriate specialists to supervise it.

That's exactly how we have to do it. We have really lost confidence. But the appropriate specialists, building supervision, experts, etc., are at our expense.

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Construction defects - Damage control?

haydee

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Pinky0301

danixf

Laurasstern

Laurasstern