Forgetting perimeter insulation

I have read all 10 pages. It is really hard to understand who is what and where. You directly throw around clear terms like developer, contractor, and construction company and then reverse their meaning two pages later. That doesn’t work.

That’s probably because I’m not an expert and thought both terms meant the same thing.
Sorry for my stupidity...

We signed the contract with a "general contractor," as much as I could google. He, in turn, hired a subcontractor for the shell construction.

So far, we have paid about €22,000 for administration/architect and the base slab.

The floor slab was apparently commissioned and poured just in time—although it also has defects. (Reinforcement on the upper floor for an extension is partly missing, according to structural engineering) – the invoice for this "milestone" came 4 days before completion with a 3-day payment deadline, after which we pulled the emergency brake and involved a lawyer. He estimated the defects at about €25,000 and demanded a 14-day deadline for rectification, which ends on Monday. Nothing had been done by then.
Since Friday, the company has been listed on the insolvency portal.

The lawyer is already in contact with the insolvency administrator and also assumes that after the second deadline passes, we will be able to get out of the contract. He will commission an expert as soon as the course is set in the "right" direction.

The signal from the general contractor is apparently that they want to finish all started constructions. How that is supposed to work, only he probably knows...

The suspicion that more errors might be found at the construction site is really obvious – therefore:
no negotiation without an expert report...

Just out of curiosity, since the shell construction is currently underway for us as well: can you briefly list the defects that have appeared so far? (By the way, according to the plan, insulation is applied above the floor slab for us)

The following defects are known to us:
- Perimeter insulation under the slab was not installed
- Ground slab is not insulated "laterally" around (insulation is placed on the slab)
- Floor-to-ceiling doors/windows with thermal bridges (concrete, then 2cm air layer (partially completely closed), then the facing brick) uninsulated
- Walls on the ground floor not according to dimensions (partly >25cm off)
- Reinforcement on the upper floor is partially missing (after comparison with the statics)
- Ventilation pipes come out of the concrete at incorrect measurements, so they emerge in the adjoining room
- Lintel in the opening for the front door was cast too low (about 12cm missing)

Possibly only minor defects / complaints on our part
- Facing bricks partly "crooked" (complained about by us only at the house corners)
- Facing bricks not laid in "random bond", although ordered as such (in places 14 stretchers without headers)
- Facing bricks were not covered and thus not protected against rain
- Openings for roller shutter boxes are missing (supposedly can be installed just as well later)
- Facing bricks were not fully mortared (supposedly can be done later)
- Chimney exterior walls are damaged
- No soil survey was conducted (although part of the contract)
- No height point measurement was done (although part of the contract)
- There is neither construction power nor construction water

just one more quick thing for the record: your contractual partner, the general contractor, has filed for insolvency and not the subcontractor who is doing the masonry work. right?

the defect list on your side is sometimes downright shocking. what’s strange at first is why the general contractor goes bankrupt if the subcontractor is doing a lousy job. or maybe the GC had no money for a while and only brought in the very last sharks for the masonry work. a real mason actually knows what he’s doing and can also read a drawing. sure, he can make mistakes sometimes, but the total number of errors sounds more like completely unskilled workers in all areas. no matter which trade, everyone is really messing things up (the ceiling initially has nothing to do with the masons but is ordered and delivered).

how can you build a house without a height measurement point? is the height even correct? otherwise the authorities will end up taking everything back. the soil report is well, so-so. if the soil replacement is okay (how deep was dug out?), it should hold.

how can you do masonry without water/electricity? don’t they need water for their mortar? ^^

normally, construction power/water is provided by the owner. are you sure you didn’t overlook that? but as a defect, it really doesn’t matter given the other issues.

As written above: We withheld the last installment (the 3rd) due to defects.

I hope your lawyer also knows something about insolvency law. Just be prepared that the insolvency administrator will challenge this withholding—often only shortly before the statute of limitations expires, when it really catches you off guard. When they're done with you, you might believe you are the sole owner of the original sin (and to blame for at least everything). This herd does not tend to work creditor-oriented.

Yes, the general contractor is bankrupt. Allegedly, because invoices in the six-figure range were not passed on internally by an employee.

The ground level was then assumed to be 30 cm above the already constructed gullies. (This should also roughly correspond with the plan.

Yes, I am 100% sure, as it is included in the offer and we requested it several times, upon which we were of course put off.

As far as I know, they always had generators with them and water in a barrel.

I spoke with the insolvency administrator himself. He was very friendly and immediately pointed out that it is his job to collect money and that he will resend the last invoice with more insistence as soon as the process starts, and that we should, for safety, find a court-appointed construction assessor who will determine the value. We should then withhold this amount...

I will promptly make an appointment with a lawyer.