Floor plan planning shortly before submitting the building application

There are standards and processing instructions from the manufacturers.
Does he stick to them, yes or no?
If no, he has to make improvements.
Ours gave very clear instructions. No maybe, could have, if, would, I don’t know.

That’s how ours did it too. Surely Traumfaenger can confirm how he works. But if the general contractor (GU) doesn’t go along with it, he just hits a brick wall!

He has to make improvements, yes! And if he doesn’t?

What happens in the event of a construction stop?

It’s quite possible that you keep paying your loan installment and the rent for your apartment for another year. And then there is still the possibility that in the end there is only a settlement and you are left paying the costs.

Who doesn’t receive money but still has to pay wages and suppliers?

There is a payment schedule for that and the general contractor (GU) does not have to make massive advances. It’s not like you bring a GU who builds 30 houses a year into trouble because of that. They have enough construction sites running in parallel and no craftsman is ever bored. The two site managers practically have to “fight” over which craftsmen go where and when first. One site manager has six houses simultaneously.

Your thoughts cannot be applied to our case.

Haydee, you are out of touch with practice. I have to agree with the robber, you have no leverage. The construction stop only really hurts one person and it's definitely not the general contractor.

And the whole lawyer story. Being right and getting justice are two different things. And a lousy settlement after three years doesn't get you anywhere either.

Swallow everything and pay obediently if you call that practical?

There is not only black and white, there is more in between.
The general contractor has no interest in a lawsuit or settlement. It does not put him in an awkward position, but no money hurts at first. A lawsuit also has an uncertain outcome for him and causes costs.

Swallow everything and pay obediently if you call that practical?

Payment is made once the options have been legally discussed. What does that have to do with swallowing? If you stop paying, by the way, construction will also stop, which costs us an extra €1,800 per month in rent. You can figure out where that goes month after month. Not to mention possible claims for damages from the general contractor due to the self-induced delay in case of losing.

It doesn’t put him in trouble, but no money hurts at first.

So you mean, if he maybe has a 10% margin on the matter, that he will then willingly agree to all things he can maneuver out of just so he gets his money faster? That’s naive!

A lawsuit also has an uncertain outcome for him and causes costs

For a lawsuit, you first need a clear basis. And as shown earlier using the example of the vapor barrier, he owes a value of 1.5. You can write here as often as you want that most houses would have 0.6 or whatever. That doesn’t interest a dead horse! What do you want to litigate there? We have no contractually agreed value better than 1.5. That should make the issue clear. Now purely referring to the value and regardless of what will come out of the accusation of improper execution through different adhesive tapes etc.

There is not only black and white, there is more in between.

Especially in construction, I think there really is! Exception – clauses that need interpretation! Otherwise, what is owed is either contractually fixed or fixed in applicable standards. Incidentally, the general contractor also does not owe a dry basement but simply a basement – for those who think the general contractor would have to pay for the drying devices.

Slowly I understand why our expert can assert himself so well without letters and so on and is appreciated by craftsmen and builders. He was so confident in everything and could talk to everyone on equal terms and immediately say what the solutions are.

In my opinion, it is generally helpful if an expert can "demonstrate" everything to the executors where they do not believe how it is done correctly. And once you are on the letter route, it is difficult to get back to the solution level.

Even if it might not help Räuber here:

This construction is a prime example of why building a house with an architect and tendering the individual trades is more flexible and usually more sensible than building with a general contractor (GU).

The GU simply checks off his construction service description / contract one after the other, does not deviate from it by a meter, and charges extra for any deviation.

When awarding contracts to individual trades, you can, for example, get the architect to check / discuss with the contractor in case of poor performance by the craftsmen, or withhold the craftsmen’s money until something has been repaired... etc.

A GU really only makes sense for a standard house without extras, which the GU builds “off the shelf.”
He is experienced in that and is less likely to make mistakes.

But the possibility of “control” through withholding payments is usually missing with the GU.
With trades awarded individually, you can withhold the entire amount if there is “botching.”

I believe that a lot is only uncovered in Räuber’s build because he follows up so intensively, etc.

Otherwise, many defects would probably not be noticed at all, since without constant checks no one would notice or it would even be covered up by the GU.

I’m now also seeing this with some acquaintances who are currently having similar experiences as Räuber here.

It really hurts me to have to read how they treat a home builder here.

I hope for you that it will turn out well in the end.

Although I can only imagine that there will be a small financial compensation in the end, since the defects usually go too far back to be “proportionally” fixed after the house is finished.

It’s kind of like the diesel scandal in the car industry.
There, you only get a small compensation even though it was obvious cheating and you end up bearing the damage yourself afterwards.