Is the bad weather clause applicable as an excuse for the general contractor?

The following clause appears in the construction contract with our general contractor without any limitation on how much this time can be extended:

Bad weather and related cause of delay: If the weather conditions do not permit the work to be carried out properly to ensure quality or if the processing temperatures specified in the manufacturer’s guidelines for the individual products are not met, it is hereby expressly agreed to suspend the work. This may apply to individual trades (e.g. exterior plaster) or to the entire construction process. My question: Can he not just always use this as an excuse whenever he falls behind schedule and the completion date is at risk?

(If relevant: targeted groundbreaking April 2019)

Every contract clause is "lawyer’s fodder" in case of disagreements and disputes. Therefore, in extreme cases, it is up to the court to assess whether and for how long reasons for delay (of course based on expert reports) actually existed. The contractor overall has an interest in the work progressing as planned. Therefore, the schedule underlying the contract would be more important to me than a more precise listing here.

A clause of this kind is included in every general contractor contract. There are simply trades that require certain external conditions. I wouldn’t give it any further thought.

Not only is this or something similar included in every GU contract, but you will not be able to avoid this clause. Even if a GU is interested in getting their money, your assumption cannot be dismissed. There may be GUs who practice something like this. However, I find that a failure or delay due to illness or work accidents of the respective trade contractors is more likely than a prolonged frost and snowfall in April.

Thanks to you for the answers! And the shell construction should then be completed by autumn and everything should be weather-independent during the winter period?

The delay due to illness of his trades would then be "his problem" (said harshly).

Thank you all for the answers! And the shell construction should then be completed by autumn, and everything should be weather-independent during the winter period. The delay due to illness of his tradesmen would then be "his problem" (said harshly).

It depends on whether your outdoor facilities (garage, carport, landscaping, etc.) are included or not. You probably won’t push the screed into December now.

Craftsmen and site managers are not growing on trees at the moment. With the regional GCs you will have to wait it out until they are healthy again. With the big GCs this will probably also lead to standstill/waiting times until they can free up capacity from other construction sites.

So it is your problem again.