Expert discovers defects in the basement. What to do?

If you trust your construction company and it has a long company history, then I would cancel the [Gutachter]. It only causes unrest and costs money.

Hui... this is total crap.

There can only be 3 reasons why you are currently under so much stress: 1. Your construction company made mistakes - it can happen 2. Your inspector is nitpicky 3. Construction company and inspector communicate/understand each other poorly

Our construction manager and inspector have regularly coordinated throughout the entire construction phase. Does your construction manager have the phone number/email of the inspector and vice versa? The inspector can also forward the defect list directly to the construction company and cc you. If necessary, it might make sense for the three of you to meet on site, discuss the problem, and come up with a plan on how to avoid these mistakes in the future.

If the inspector finds defects in the house, of course you should not fire the inspector because of it... he is exactly there to detect and communicate these - and they should obviously then be fixed.

If that doesn’t help you, then find a second inspector who looks at the construction for an hour. If he makes the same statements as your current inspector, you know that your current one is right.

In general, in my opinion it is correct that the expert refers to DIN standards. What else should he refer to? A lawyer also builds his chain of argument on laws, guidelines, judgments, etc.

Could it be that the defects are all just minor issues that the expert records in the protocol for evidence purposes but that have no impact whatsoever? By the way, in our case, site managers and experts also communicated directly. I didn’t have to worry about anything at all. It also doesn’t make any sense to play "Chinese whispers," especially when the layperson is in the middle.

In general, in my opinion, it is correct that the expert refers to DIN standards. What else should he refer to?

Compliance with any DIN standard is not a mandatory requirement, but "only" a guideline; there are plenty of things in house construction where adhering to the DIN is counterproductive. It follows that the DIN must only be complied with if it has also been agreed upon in writing; the sense and purpose can be disputed. It is advisable to agree "according to the currently applicable technical conditions."

However, it is strange that the expert and the general contractor do not cooperate and that the expert confuses his client even more instead of reassuring him. That "sounds" like my favorite club again ....

Rhenish greetings

Unfortunately, the communication is wrong at every turn. The general contractor says that he does not hold experts in high regard and therefore does not want to answer all the expert's questions. A list of questions has already been sent to the general contractor. The general contractor says I should trust him. It is proven that other builders who have had their houses built by him are very satisfied. He also showed me some houses that are currently under construction and was able to talk to the other builders. Overall, I am currently unsure who I can trust at all. On the one hand, I can understand the general contractor, who would rather spend his time on his craft. On the other hand, I can also understand the expert, who wants to do his work properly. At the moment, I am caught between the expert and the general contractor and trying to keep everyone happy. It also makes me suspicious that the general contractor emphasizes that no builder has ever commissioned an expert for his constructions.

: I have now involved a third person who is familiar with basement and sewer construction (not an expert, but a craftsman). He said that it is about minor issues and no defects are recognizable. The exception is the improperly installed drainage, as flushing shafts are missing, which is definitely a defect. For this, the general contractor now wants an additional 2000€.

It also makes me suspicious that the general contractor emphasizes that no builder has ever hired an expert for their constructions.

I have now brought in a third person who is familiar with basement and sewer construction (not an expert, but a craftsman). .... The exception is the improperly installed drainage, as flushing wells are missing, which is definitely a defect. However, the general contractor now wants an additional €2000 for this.

So if you are now at the basement stage and additional costs of €2000 are coming your way, you can already answer your question yourself.... And probably the other homeowners are just satisfied because no one has inspected their building.

If I were you, I would definitely not forego an expert. If you don’t like the current one, find another. But based on the information you have written here, you would have to be very, very reckless to build a house with the general contractor without any expert at all.