Final acceptance - what to consider?

Hello everyone,

we have the handover soon and are considering whether we need to prepare anything or keep something in mind.

So far, we have listed all the cosmetic defects – mostly the tiler made a mess –
Furthermore, we have reported a roller shutter where the slats extend over the edge of the box and therefore make some noise – I fear that the motor might be affected by this.
Additionally, one socket of a double socket doesn’t work and another has a child safety lock that is too secure (you can’t get past it).
Otherwise, there are hairline cracks between drywall and wall (this is probably due to poor construction and doesn’t really stand out).
The floor-folding attic ladder is a bit stiff when closing – but here, the construction manager had more of a discussion with the carpenter. This will probably be noted as well.
A somewhat larger hairline crack is between an interior and an exterior wall; we will address that.
Furthermore, a few things are still missing like the stair railing and the canopy – but this will also be included in the protocol – we already did a preliminary inspection with the construction manager.

The construction manager wanted to convert the attic during the inspection and was excited about how big it is :D

We are wondering now if it still makes sense to hire an expert or if that would be a waste of effort. All components of the construction specification have been fulfilled.
Defects that appear later – at least that’s how I understood it – are covered by the warranty.

Some craftsmen said that after 2 years they check again whether there might be settlement cracks, etc., and that those are then fixed. But in the construction specification it says:

The warranty period for the building is five years.
The contractor points out that according to the applicable
legal provisions he is not liable for building physics
phenomena, whose occurrence cannot be excluded even with a construction execution that complies with all rules of technology in every point.
This particularly concerns the tearing of elastic joints, cracks in solid wood, plaster, and other components.

That means for me, actually, that this is not part of the warranty, or am I wrong? Or rather, I would then have to prove that the settlement crack was caused by a defect and not by the settlement behavior of KS or similar – difficult.

Otherwise, I’m also considering whether to mention the differing screed insulation on the ground floor and upper floor – here we were not consulted and this is a deviation from the construction specification. On the other hand, it doesn’t bother me that much… it would probably only be to be right.

Your opinions, thoughts, suggestions regarding the handover?
How did it go for you? Were you accompanied or were many topics still open?

Best regards.

Settlement cracks or cracks in elastic joints are almost certainly to be expected. Therefore, joint work is often only carried out after a certain period of time. We are currently doing this - almost two years after moving in. Now a few settlement cracks are also being "repaired" since we only have plastered walls.

The silicone joint at the tile baseboards is also initially left out by us - otherwise we have few joints in that sense; just all the connections of the GKs to the masonry. You haven't painted your walls, have you, or what do you mean by "only plastered"?

Your opinions, thoughts

You are too lenient! I do recognize myself to some extent. Too thoughtful ... Put real pressure on those to whom you paid a lot of money for a work. There are no minor defects. A defect is a defect and it must be fixed.

Hello,

If I were you, I would also thoroughly clean all windows and glass doors and check for defects (inclusions) in the glass or damage to the glass (scratches, etc.) and the frames.

For example, with us, a tradesman (who could not be identified) was cutting in the living area and thereby decorated 3 (!!!) panes with unsightly "burn marks" from glowing metal particles.

Regards,

Dirk

Thanks for the tip! I would have forgotten that.