Construction defects - Damage control?

It always is. However, the expert and building supervision should avoid this during construction. We did not pay any installment without an inspection with the expert.

Yes, and? That’s what a court is for. I simply cannot imagine that a company could just file for bankruptcy. Austria is not some third-world country where you can do whatever you want.

Whether cheap or not is completely irrelevant. The fact is that the basement must be sealed given the local conditions. How you manage that would be irrelevant to me as long as an independent expert also approves it.

It should be DIN EN 1996-1-1. As you described it, it apparently is not technically correct, but the hut will definitely not collapse because of it. That would be my least concern.

Yes – the company can go bankrupt at any time. It takes about a week, and one day later they can open a company under another name and continue their ongoing business. And the burden is gone. All our lawyers confirmed this to us. Austria is a banana republic. The WKO can’t do anything. They can continue to botch things and it doesn’t matter. Court duration: a lawyer is still dealing with a case from 2011... and even if there is a final judgment after years, the company can go bankrupt and you get nothing and have to pay court and lawyer fees.

Yes, and? What’s a court for? I simply cannot imagine a company filing for bankruptcy on a whim. Austria is not a third world country where you can do whatever you want.

Germany is not a third world country either, and there it is common practice. Don’t take it personally, but you still sound a bit inexperienced. Courts exist, but no more judgments. Trial durations often almost 10 years or longer. There is no longer a functioning rule of law, especially not in construction matters.

The legal action would be the last resort. Expensive with an uncertain outcome. I just don’t understand why, as a layperson, you don’t get the necessary help from an expert or construction manager/master builder in time, before the start of construction. That would have saved a lot of money and nerves here. @laurastern this is not meant to sound malicious. I think what happened to you is terrible. Please continue to be active and warn other builders who forgo their own construction management and expert. You should have a professional who works for the builder.

why should WE as builders, who contractually agreed on a defect-free building and UNFORTUNATELY HAVE ALREADY PAID, pay AGAIN for a roof and tiles wrongly executed by the construction company???

No, you don't have to, I didn’t say that either.
What I’m concerned about is how much effort it would take to redo the roof, meaning which work needs to be done again, which materials need to be removed first and then reapplied to the roof. From your explanations, it’s not clear to me whether there is really a technical defect (leakage) now, or if it’s just "unsightly," with a little water standing on it but otherwise still watertight.
Without an actual technical defect, in the end proportionality will decide what can still be repaired on the roof.

Of course there is still capital – we only agreed on the shell construction. The rest until moving in, with plaster inside and outside, floor coverings, walls, kitchen, bathrooms, interior stairs, furnishings, roof terrace, garden design, etc., all have to be planned as well...

No, it’s about the money that is still available beyond that. Basically, what you want to use for subsequent changes to the stairs. That could also be spent again on a second or even third opinion on how best to seal the basement. Because the shell builder will only do repairs. That doesn’t necessarily have to be the best solution. The best solution might be something that wasn’t even originally planned but would be better now and cause additional costs. That’s what I meant.

if all that is NOT a total loss, WHAT do YOU understand by one?

For me, a total loss would be if you had to tear down due to the height and the shell builder simultaneously filed for insolvency. Then you could really write off the €250,000. But currently, they are working on a solution. A total loss for your own nerves, but factually the construction can still be saved.

The legal action would be the last resort. Expensive with an uncertain outcome. I just don't understand why, as a layperson, one doesn't get the necessary help from an expert or construction manager/master builder in time, before starting construction. That would have saved a lot of money and nerves here. @laurastern this is not meant to sound sarcastic. I think what happened to you is terrible. Please remain active and warn other builders who forgo their own construction management and expert. One should have a specialist who works for the builder

haydee, you are absolutely right – we should have hired a construction manager or expert. We thought about it for 10 years, talked to companies and planned, and then were somehow paralyzed by our own "courage" to finally start. Everything happened so fast and we could hardly believe we were actually building now.