Floor plan planning shortly before submitting the building application

So the first option actually looks really good! I would like it very much that way, and if the spots can’t be lowered, you could also leave corresponding outlets in the suspended ceiling.

The second option, on the other hand, I don’t find particularly successful because it looks like something is being hidden again. Option 1, however, doesn’t immediately give the impression that pipes had to be hidden there. Of course, the question is who or at whose expense this will be implemented.

Otherwise, you can really feel sorry for someone with all this sh***, but don’t let it discourage you. Try to finish the house in a way that you like, and then the rest will eventually be forgotten too.

The question, of course, is who or at whose expense this will be implemented.

According to the contract, the general contractor will only carry out a minimally elaborate casing and not one chosen by the customer in terms of design. There are always surcharges for that.

I will post the report later as soon as it is available. This has already been explained here somewhere by the first expert.

Yes, we have a site manager. But as you can read in this thread, not everything runs ideally and the site manager says he is aware that he deviated from the DIN but that it is faster and from his point of view equivalent.

We can only confirm that, it is the same with us...... it has always been done that way, yes of course it says otherwise everywhere, but we always do it like that and never have problems.... as a layperson now the problem is: whom to trust?

Is the expert exaggerating? Isn’t the site manager the practical man who should know better? We find ourselves in this dilemma again and again....

I think our site manager already regrets having taken us on, we question everything.... (-;

We can only confirm that, it’s the same for us......it’s always been done that way, yes of course it’s stated differently everywhere, but we always do it this way and never have problems....as a layman, the problem now is: whom to trust?

In case of doubt, I trust the DIN standards. If these are also agreed upon, then it is up to the general contractor to make a proposal if they want to deviate from them. Then the client decides whether to agree or not. The general contractor also has less effort if they deviate from the DIN. Accordingly, I would want to negotiate the price for that. If I pay for a complex DIN execution, then he should also deliver the corresponding service. If less service is advantageous for him and does not disadvantage me, I would also want a piece of the pie.

Don’t you have a site manager? He usually takes care of the correct execution according to DIN.

"Usually" is unfortunately equivalent to "actually" ...

The site manager says he is aware that he deviated from the DIN but that it was faster and, from his point of view, equivalent.

That’s nonsense. The DIN are recognized rules of technology, for which there usually is no "antipope" like DEKRA instead of TÜV or the like.

By the way, I probably would have beaten him up in the heat of the moment for that statement – because against this background it is an outrage not to comply with your request regarding the mailbox (apart from the fact that I find the solution found to be impeccable in the end).

So the first variant really looks very good! I would like it very much that way and if the spotlights cannot be lowered, one could also leave corresponding outlets in the suspended ceiling.

Yes, that already looks intentional – as if one had deliberately "quoted" the porch brace in the kitchen. Extensions into the sockets should be able to be inserted into the ceiling boxes if necessary.

Is the expert exaggerating? Isn’t the site manager the practical man who should know better?

That is the classic excuse of all slackers and sloppy workers, that they deviated from the standards out of practical experience ("it has always worked well"). There are picky experts, and also outdated building regulations that are still valid (in the Hitler era, coal for heating stoves was still stored on balconies, concrete ceilings under balconies still have to be designed for such loads today; and the name "Reich garage regulations" already tells you how old they are).

Removing one and a half centimeters of wall thickness (in a small area) should not cause the house to collapse – but the brick manufacturer hardly suspects on his own that the general contractor here is asking himself this question. One can get the impression that this is not only Hotzenplotz’s first house but also that of the general contractor (or at least his shell builder).

Just as another idea, in option 1 one could then even install a ceiling fan (executed somewhat "thicker"). But of course, that is then very elaborate and also significantly more expensive as an "emergency plan."