Incorrect material delivery for in-house work

Hello,

That was certainly a mistake on my part not to check everything before installation.

Yes.

Now I have confronted my site manager about it. The good news is, the KFW70 credit is not at risk, the recalculation of the insulation is still sufficient for all requirements. The bad news is, he wants to charge me as the contractor of the trade the 500 euro additional cost for the recalculation.

Those are the costs for the energy consultant who had to recalculate the evidence.

Is that okay? I am actually not willing to bear these additional costs. Rather on the contrary, I would want to be reimbursed both the reduced material costs and the increased heating costs for the next few years. I consider tearing out the "wrong" insulation inappropriate and uneconomical. However, I also do not see why I should be held liable for my site manager’s mistake just because I did not notice his error.

Am I completely wrong or how do you see it?

Yes; you are wrong.

Look into your contracts. If it is the supplier I think it is, you are the last in line. In this case, I don't even believe there will be any form of "goodwill" whatsoever. But honestly, I wouldn't know why any other supplier should share your additional costs?

You set the ball rolling by failing to check the material against the delivery notes; then you even installed it diligently. The root cause—the wrong delivery—is indeed the supplier's fault, but you effectively neutralized it (transferred it into a new contract) by installing the narrower insulation.

Try to have a conversation with the supplier—not with the site manager—and see what happens. But don’t go into the conversation with too high expectations and above all: don’t waste any thought on engaging a lawyer. Because in my opinion, you will end up bearing those costs as well.

Rhenish regards

Hello Olli,

But I also find the 500 € too high.
Changing a value in the calculation and then printing the whole thing or sending it by email is quite steep.

The provider will see it differently; he also wants to be compensated for his administrative costs.

Rhenish greetings

I did not hire an architect for the construction management for nothing, and part of the concluded contracts is also "material delivery for the drywall trade (own performance) - 20 cm WLG 035, etc.

Just read it now... Is this architect an external – that is, additionally – commissioned expert, and furthermore, what for? Commissioned exclusively to check your own work or also to check the delivered materials? Rhineland regards

Well, but you should have checked the material after delivery and before installation, especially as a private person.

Where does it say that? The check must be reasonably doable even as a normal human being (not a professional). If something is written in cryptic symbols on the last roll, it's not verifiable. If on every insulation roll it says wlg35 18cm, of course you're out of luck. Generally, what applies is always what is stated in the order confirmation.

Legally, one can of course insist on fulfillment of the contract, i.e., delivery of 20cm insulation instead of 18. Costs due to incorrect delivery like a stalled construction site could possibly be claimed (if the 20cm insulation had a new long delivery time, but not here the downtime caused by demolition). Consequential damages/costs like demolition and co are certainly not included if you had the reasonable opportunity to notice the error beforehand.

As already said, the only reasonable solution is the conversation with all parties to find a sensible solution. You can forget the costs of heating more because they would rather give you the correct insulation then. Especially because the company made a mistake, they would probably accommodate you. The 500 euros should actually be a matter of course for the company. The joke is, even if you manage that, in the end you get less than you originally planned for your money.

If your architect was really commissioned for your own work including material inspection (this clause would be hard to find...), you could sue to get your money back in a painfully long process. The architect has insurance for that; for you it would probably be more difficult if it is not treated as "contract law" but as a construction matter...

Where does it say that? That must be reasonably doable even for a normal mortal human (not a professional).

I assume that would have been doable without any problems, or how did he manage it retrospectively now.

By the way, it is stated in the Building Code. Keyword: acceptance of delivery.

Where does it say that? Checking that must be reasonably possible even for an ordinary mortal human (no professional). If something is written in cryptic characters on the last roll, it is not verifiable. If every insulation roll says wlg35 18cm, then you're obviously out of luck. Generally, what is stated in the order confirmation always applies.

The delivery note says 18 cm! A glance at delivery would have been enough to discover the error. But that's just how it is with self-performance; in the end, it doesn't always pay off because you simply have too little knowledge of the subject.