Continuous horizontal crack in the exterior wall.

Hello construction expert,
so with a basement inside the thermal building envelope and a monolithic exterior wall structure, I simply can’t think of any other option than to design the masonry to protrude…
Please enlighten me

Relying on the internet is like betting on the weather forecast

You’re probably right,

definitely do not hire an architect

I don’t understand that part though.

Someone who feels qualified for this… in principle, in this country that can be anyone who is authorized to submit building applications. There are different professional branches depending on the federal state. But the professional branch alone does not determine whether someone is proficient in their job. Maybe someone in your circle of acquaintances knows an independent construction supervisor engineer or something similar.

What will be important is to cross-check this along with the contractually agreed conditions. What if there is no “builder” here, but for example the basement was commissioned by someone entirely different on behalf of the client… and on top of that came a “house.”
Then it looks completely different again. (By the way… judging by the pictures, that’s exactly how it looks)

-Calcium silicate brick

Hello,

Please clarify for me

I have repeatedly read the posts by "Melusine"; I find no reference to a basement. I can now also open the images from the initial post, and the insulation installed there (whatever material was used) looks to me more like the insulation of the BP. Of course, I could be mistaken...

but I don’t understand.

An architect—unless they happen to also offer construction supervision—generally knows about the major blunders during construction; usually, over the years, they have established themselves more as a design author. When it comes to questions about "construction defects," they are—not for me—the first choice for analysis and evaluation anymore.

If you feed Aunt Google with "building expert," you will get many hits, among them the website of the Federal Association of German Building Experts. In its subcategories, you will find a variety of experts who have specialized in specific construction defects over the course of their careers. Since 2010, the DEA has been building a comparable list of experts; consumer advice centers also maintain good contacts with experts—not a few of their employees themselves belong to this profession.

There is a reason why there are experts for all kinds of defects. Since they must constantly continue their education in their respective fields, they are always up to date. Therefore, regarding the thread starter, it is only logical to recommend an expert for masonry.

Kind regards

I can now also open the pictures from the initial post and the insulation installed there (whatever material was used) looks to me more like the insulation of the BP. Of course, I can be mistaken...

In picture 1, this conclusion seems very likely. I agree with you. There is very probably no basement so sloppy as the perimeter insulation installed there, maybe the thread starter can comment on this again.
Then the question of contract design moves more and more into the spotlight.
It may become important who is responsible for this defective sealing and who was responsible for defining the applicable load case or who omitted it because they wanted to save themselves the soil survey.

But without Melusine’s information, this will lead nowhere...

Hello dear ones,

this is a developer who is also simultaneously the architect and a state-certified expert for sound and thermal insulation.

So we bought everything "from a single source," including the land.

The insulation you see there was added afterwards because our semi-detached house partner had criticized the lack of such. However, it was not applied continuously because our garage was already standing at that time.

There is no soil report, at least no current one, because the developer had acquired the land from the housing association and had the multi-family house built on it demolished. The developer does not provide documents regarding the structural analysis, etc., with the reasoning that it would be his intellectual property. The terrain is flat, groundwater level is at 2.5 - 3 meters. The expert said that the floor slab might need to be tested (for its water penetration resistance, or whatever it is called).

We have no basement, which is our luck because the basements in the houses opposite us are flooded. ("I only allow building with a white tank, nothing can happen there" - exact quote from the developer)

They also saved on the compression tapes... when we pointed this out to the developer, he said that this could not possibly be. The next day, the small cracks in the plaster around the window sill profiles, etc., were thickly painted over with white paint.

According to the notary contract, the house should have been completed in January 2012; this is still not the case. After I had complained about some defects, especially regarding the heating and sanitary facilities, the developer stopped all work... we were complaining too much, so now we are supposed to coordinate all appointments and work ourselves. He does not have to pay damages because we are now responsible for further delays.

We are considering withdrawing from the contract, i.e. withdrawal and damages instead of performance. However, the developer rules out withdrawal, saying he has always behaved correctly.

I know that this is not the case... I only mention it to get feedback from you as to whether you would also consider this guy mentally ill, or whether I am the only paranoid mentally ill person.

I checked the current balance sheet; insolvency of the developer is not to be expected for the time being, but there probably will be for my family privately.

We also have a lawyer, but a family friend... as I said, we are broke...

Best regards

Hello Melusine, I can well understand your displeasure. However, you now only have the option to proceed correctly against the specific problems. As already mentioned, someone on site should look at the "Riss" described and determine the cause. Whether it is a crack or penetrating moisture. The remediation will not be easy, especially because of the already built garage. -ks

Hello again and thank you for the quick response.

The expert witness I mentioned in the previous post was "taken over" from the neighbors. They had sent a complaint about defects to the builder based on the report. After that, the drama began. The builder, who had previously been very relaxed and communicative, then became obstructive and even locked our duplex partners out of the house, so they couldn't finish their own work on time and the move-in was delayed. A total of 6 duplex houses were built, and so far none of the completion dates have been met. My family and I are the only ones where the acceptance has not taken place. The builder wanted to pressure us into this and now claims that there was an implied taking of possession, but I was able to refute this in writing.

Our lawyer wanted to initiate evidence preservation proceedings and had contacted the neighbors’ expert witness about this. I myself went to the building authority and obtained those documents that hadn’t suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Unfortunately, the expert witness was on vacation and wanted to get in touch as soon as he returned.

It’s not like we only became active yesterday. I had already sent the first complaint about defects with a deadline extension to the builder in February, the second in May, and now the third deadline was set by the lawyer....also expired without anything happening. He wants to financially bleed us dry, and I would love to beat this guy up when I see him driving by grinning in his new Porsche with a tanning bed tan. We are practically neighbors; he lives diagonally opposite.

I will now approach another expert witness, far outside our city, because no one here works against this builder.

I hope that we will at least get some of the money back, and quickly. Actually, no one wants the house anymore, we no longer enjoy it and will neither have a house built nor buy one anymore. Dreams of small families are destroyed so quickly. This person has made a total of 12 families very sad and considerably poorer.

A private message to Bauexperte will be sent shortly....if you know a reliable expert witness in NRW who also works quickly and is absolutely objective and incorruptible, please let me know.

Thank you very much and best regards

Melusine