Fireplace - Misplanning by architects / general contractor

And the chimney starts on the ground floor, does that have to be for structural reasons? Can't you start an internal chimney on the upper floor? And what collides there with a piano? The heat?

We were told that it has to start on the ground floor.

Yes exactly, the heat is not acceptable for the piano

We could now spend pages discussing what an architect "must" be able to do (liberal profession, cf. doctor), which law regulates what for the chimney (or not, cf. district chimney sweep master) and what does not fall under their responsibility.

I just did some research on Google. This research brought me to the following knowledge within 5 minutes:

1) The person responsible and accountable is the HVAC planner, not the architect. Sounds odd for a solid fuel stove chimney, but it belongs to the technical system. Alternatively, the stove manufacturer or seller should also provide technical minimum specifications.

2) How the draft should look is clarified by the Bezirksschornsteinfeger. He is responsible for the structural approval.

1) The responsible and accountable person is the MEP planner, not the architect. It sounds a bit odd for a solid fuel stove chimney, but it belongs to the technical system. Alternatively, the stove manufacturer or seller should provide technical minimum requirements. 2) How the exhaust should look is clarified by the district chimney sweep. He is responsible for the structural approval.

It was neither about the technical design and detailed planning nor about the structural approval. Sounds somehow like a planner could design a house for you—without heating (even though the client says "wants heating")—and in the end say: "Well, heating is building services engineering, that's not my responsibility. It's the responsibility of the MEP..." An architect is still a graduate engineer (Dipl.-Ing. or the modern M.Sc.) and this degree alone obliges him to take responsibility for his actions in certain areas. It might be different in business studies... ... what the medical doctor has to do with it, I don't know either. But if you go to him with a fever and a bad cough, he doesn't listen to you, doesn't take your temperature, and just sends you home, and you end up in the hospital with pneumonia the same day, you can be sure he will have problems. No reference to pulmonologists will help then... Sometimes it takes a bit more than just asking Aunt Google for 5 minutes. [emoji6]

Why do I then go to the GU? I am paying extra precisely because I don't want to research everything myself...

If I get a picture of a house where the chimney is "short," then I assume that I will get it that way...

Otherwise, I might as well do individual contracting and research everything myself

Even a general contractor cannot override the laws of physics. Who even knows if that is actually an architect. Depending on the federal state, it is not even necessary. The fact is: it doesn’t work any other way. Not for anyone. What is he supposed to do now and how? And at whose expense ([Sowiesokosten])?

And @ruppsen
I’ll tell you what happens to the doctor... nothing at all. I went to the medical emergency room at night with acute abdominal pain and was sent home with MCP. "Stomach upset." The doctor failed completely. Two days later I was in the hospital with gallstone colic. Despite a complaint to the chamber, nothing happened. No one was even interested.

Why should I then go to the general contractor? I am precisely paying extra because I don’t want to have to read up on everything myself....

Who is the client by operation of law in this case?

If I get a picture of a house where the chimney is "short," then I assume that I will get it that way...

The chimney was probably not on the upper floor. It seems to be a client’s request.