Crooked walls - discount?

Well, botched construction is hardly avoidable. But what can we do about crooked walls? Price reduction? In short, our shell construction is finished, the roof is covered, the brickwork has been started. Yesterday the stair builder was here and took measurements. Well, there is a 4 cm difference in width in the staircase area... That’s bad and it will also be noticeable visually with a straight steel stringer staircase. It annoys me, but it can’t be changed anymore. Here’s the question: Can we demand a price reduction for this? If yes, what amount is usually typical?

Hi,

4 cm deviation over what length? Which "area of the staircase" do you mean? The ceiling opening? Do you have a picture/drawing of how the steel stringer staircase runs through there? I can't really imagine the visible deviation right now.

Best regards

Michael

Ah, now I have looked up the floor plan from the other thread again. With the landing staircase, 4 cm naturally stand out if the 4 cm are between the two walls. Where is the distance larger? Could this possibly be compensated with a slightly wider first step? Or steps that become slightly narrower/wider? 4 cm over approximately 280 cm length should be able to be compensated with the staircase.

Hello,

Well, poor workmanship in construction is hardly avoidable. But what can we do about crooked walls? Price reduction?

I wouldn't want to label that generally as "poor workmanship in construction." So many people are involved in building a single-family house that it is only obvious that errors slip in. The crucial question is how errors are dealt with. Calling out immediately for a price reduction certainly does not serve good cooperation.

Well, in the area of the stairs, 4 cm difference in width... That's bad and it will also be noticeable visually with a straight steel stringer staircase. It annoys me, but it can't be changed anymore. Here the question is: Can we demand a price reduction for that? If yes, how much is usual in such cases?

The relevant DIN standard almost exclusively specifies tolerances for the safety-relevant key points of a staircase; rise, tread, and running width.

How narrow is the narrowest spot/step? And what solution approaches does the staircase builder suggest?

Best regards from the Rhineland

As with almost everything, there are certain DIN standards for when a wall is really considered "crooked." We also have some "crooked" walls in our new building; this is especially noticeable in some corners now that baseboards have been installed. However, according to the standard, the walls are "not crooked enough" yet to be considered a defect. It always helps to first talk to those responsible; perhaps a solution can still be found so that the whole thing is no longer noticeable.

The question that arises for me is, why did you as builders not inspect the walls during the shell construction yourselves? Then the wall could have been immediately criticized and redone during the shell construction.