Payment plan - Shell construction readiness

Hello everyone,

We have now almost completed the shell construction, except for these few remaining tasks:
1- 1 out of 4 exterior walls in the attic (the triangular wall under the roof truss).
2- Non-load-bearing interior walls.
3- The concrete staircase.
4- Incorrect door position and additional unplanned windows.

The construction company is now demanding payment for the "Richtfertigkeit des Rohbaus."

Is this really the right time to make this payment? The construction company claims that these remaining tasks are not relevant for this milestone, since the roof truss can now be erected (even though it has not yet been erected).

Their plan is to erect the roof truss and then complete the remaining masonry work.

Does anyone know if these are truly not relevant? Can we assume that the shell construction is now really finished?

Thank you very much
Best regards

The house is so justified. The remaining work can also be done after the roof structure is applied. You can agree to withhold an amount because the shell construction is not yet 100% finished.

We have now almost finished the shell, except for these few remaining tasks:
1- 1 of 4 exterior walls in the attic (the triangular wall under the roof truss).
2- Non-load-bearing interior walls.
3- The concrete staircase.
4- Incorrect door position and additional unplanned windows.

What are unplanned windows?
I would not describe the permanent interior staircase as a "remaining task."

The construction company is now demanding payment for the "completion of the shell."
Is this really the right time to make this payment? The construction company claims that these remaining tasks are not relevant for this milestone, since the roof truss can now be erected (even though it has not yet been erected).

... however, even if the topping-out ceremony were already imminent, the master carpenter foreman would still get onto the roof via the construction staircase. So I do consider the shell to be completed. I haven’t even seen the dirty wall under the roof truss yet (your last sign of life before today was in December of last year).

The house is that far advanced.
The remaining work can also be done after the roof structure has been installed.

So the missing exterior wall in the roof is also not needed for the roof structure?

You can agree to withhold an amount because the shell is not 100% finished yet.

Do you have any idea how much I should deduct for that? Should I hire an expert to evaluate it or does it not have to be that precise?
And am I allowed to make any deductions if these missing tasks are not required for this milestone?

What are unplanned windows?

They have created 2 windows that were not planned! They should still cover them.

I would not call the permanent interior stairs "remaining work."

Yes, they are not small jobs, but they are still not part of the static planning.

I have not even seen the dirty wall under the roof structure yet

This is the wall I mean. Since this is a semi-detached house. We should have another wall for the other house, but so far we have only one of the two.

They created 2 windows that were not planned! You should close them anyway.

So, wall openings for which no windows are intended, and they should now be bricked up?

This is the wall I mean. Since this is a duplex. We should have another wall for the other house, but so far we only have one of the two.
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so the missing exterior wall in the roof is not needed for the roof structure either?

I suspect a typo, i.e. the wall is not dirty, but triangular? – yes, there will probably be a complete pair needed for each duplex half to build upon.
Is there any reason to suspect insolvency?

Yes, these are not small jobs, but they are still not part of the static planning.

Not part of the static planning, however I have to revise my statement from earlier.

however, even if the topping-out ceremony were imminent, the master carpenter foreman would still get onto the roof via the construction ladder. So I do see the readiness for the topping-out ceremony as given.

… insofar as to "take back," as there was explicitly talk of a concrete staircase. If that should be a precast part, it would of course have to be embedded before erecting the roof structure.

It dawns on me again: You are the guy with the humorous demolition site manager who lets a buddy put up a duplex partly inside and partly beside a construction pit. We already had the topic of the window prepayment:

If the general contractor has such cash flow problems that he can’t manage a payment for the windows for a single-family house, you probably already have a problem anyway.

I adjusted the font size a few lines above.

I have to smile a bit. Why didn’t you just ask the foreman why he only built the gable halfway up? Then he would have explained to you that the main purlins are located at that height and it is much easier to build around the existing purlins.

Pay the bill, have the roof structure fixed, and you will see that the missing walls will be constructed in 1-2 days.

Otherwise, of course, you could deduct about 50 euros/sqm for walls not built. For a cast-in-place staircase, 2000 euros. But if I were you, I would think twice about whether it’s worth it.