Costs of evidence preservation procedures

Hello, since we are extending an already built semi-detached house, we want / have to carry out a damage documentation procedure to document any existing or occurring damages to the neighboring house.

Has anyone done this, where do you turn to and what does it roughly cost?

Thanks, Hilaria

Hello,

can you specify "Beweissicherungsverfahren"? Is it supposed to be a private expert report documenting defects, or is it about a judicial preservation of evidence procedure?

The one who orders it pays in both cases. A specialist lawyer can best explain how the latter works.

From the described situation, I believe you are aiming for a private expert report. Have the locally responsible Chamber of Industry and Commerce [IHK] name a correspondingly publicly appointed and sworn expert, and get in touch with him. He will inform you about the expected costs for the report.

Best regards

Hello,

Hello, since we are extending an already built semi-detached house, we want / have to carry out a damage documentation procedure in order to document any existing damages or damages occurring to the neighboring house.

Why should you have to do that?

Kind regards

Thank you.

Yes, it should be a private appraisal.

@Bauexperte, I am a bit confused. Both an independent architect and the construction company urgently advised us to have this done. We possibly want to document damages or existing damages so that there is no dispute afterwards.

Don’t you see this as necessary? What happens if damages occur to the neighbor’s house and everyone then claims that these were already present or resulted from our extension.

Thank you Hilaria

Hello,

@Bauexperte, I am a bit confused. Both an independent architect and the construction company urgently advised us to have this done. We possibly want to have damages or existing damages recorded so that there is no dispute afterward.

Don’t you see this as necessary? What happens if damages occur to the neighboring house and everyone then claims that they were already there or were caused by our extension.

Mhm ... so the architect and the BU advised this ... how old is the existing semi-detached house to which you want to extend?

We work in such a way that we obtain the plans of the existing house - the dimensions have to be maintained within certain tolerances - and prepare the plans accordingly. It is also rather rare that a semi-detached house on a slab is attached to a semi-detached house with a basement or vice versa. Even in these cases, the calculations of the structural engineer in conjunction with the soil report are sufficient. The existing building is temporarily supported in the aforementioned case and that’s that; structural engineers and the BU are jointly responsible for this.

If you extend to an existing semi-detached house, you do not extend in the literal sense, but have to, among other things, observe the “air space” between the party walls, so - except for roof adjustment - you have no contact with the existing building.

What is the concern of your architect or BU - which “damages” are feared that a preliminary documentation procedure must be initiated? Or was the existing building constructed by a questionable BU, so that both must fear that the existing building will collapse?

Kind regards

Phew, well, I’m not familiar with the details. We were told the following: Since our house is about 40 cm higher (officially it is a staggered terraced house), the neighboring house does not need to be underpinned. We also have the plans of the neighboring house, or rather the construction supervisor does. The existing semi-detached house is 7 years old, but the owners are not the builders; how good or bad the construction is, I can’t say. Various construction supervisors have given very different opinions about underpinning, some yes, some maybe, others no. In this construction area, many single semi-detached houses were built and later the other half was added. Mostly even without soil investigations and without securing evidence procedures; that was all too risky for us... underpinning was not done by any known builders there either; they also had concerns, but everything went well. But since with us never everything goes well... we actually want to play it safe.