Plot on a slope; who bears the anchoring costs?

We have built up about 25 - 28 cm. Better to say, we are now as high as one of our neighbors. With the other neighbor, it was also too uncertain for us. We then had the entire border equipped with L-stones. Now it is nicely framed and not much can happen anymore.

One thing is the technical solution, the other is the legal permissibility. Not everything that works technically is legally permissible, this must definitely be distinguished.

In the development plan, there should be an indication regarding the alteration of the ground surface, usually +/-50cm or +/-1m. Anything that goes beyond this specific requirement and/or is partially limited must be examined in detail and, if necessary, specifically applied for, especially near boundaries.

These are also not trivial matters. Last year we supervised a construction project (a completely normal single-family house) where the original filling was too high and was not shown in this form in the building application. So first a stop-work order, then a new survey was carried out, the filling was partially removed, the location of the house was changed, the building application was amended and resubmitted, surveying services had tripled by then – 8 weeks were lost without being able to proceed with construction. The additional costs would comfortably cover a vacation for 4 people during peak season – most builders do not plan for such costs and at that point they usually have not even started construction, but at most have removed the topsoil.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

@grafe: well, it depends on who messed up this filling and who booked what. a builder who bought the entire shell construction phase including earthworks through a construction company will certainly not pay extra costs for measuring and excavation work. probably the earthworks were done as own work and the builders seriously miscalculated. in your case, probably no practical solution was desired. if the measurement was too high, one could have quickly removed "a few shovels" until the building authority was satisfied. that doesn’t take 8 weeks but half a day. probably some details are missing

We piled up about 25 - 28 cm. We then had the whole border fitted with L-stones.

our garden landscaper said that from about 30 cm height difference you eventually need L-stones. they are significantly more expensive than normal curb stones (usually 50 cm height is the limit) and also more expensive to lay. if the height is going to be evened out in the end, L-stones are too much. setting 30 meters of border with deep curb (100x40x8 I believe from Rinn) cost us. Is Rinn expensive?

labor: €360 + material €230 + VAT = €700 / 30m = €23.5/meter

the L-stones alone already cost more in material. in the end, the other neighbor will fill up anyway and they will probably come to the same height. (everyone here adds about 10–15 cm compared to natural height so that they don’t come lower than the finished street)

It was about fill on a suddenly steeply sloping plot, which was more than 1m above the old ground surface. This is building without a building permit; dismantling is not possible due to a construction stop, because first the original ground surface must be technically/calculatedly reconstructed. You could no longer measure it, but only reconstruct it through other sources and assumptions. Too few heights were specified in the building application and only planned heights at that.

Only then could it be determined how much he had to dismantle again. For that, as mentioned, a complete change of the building application including height and location of the building - how you want to manage that in half an afternoon remains your secret.

This alone triggered additional costs in the four-figure range for us. Dismantling, new building application, additional architectural services are added on top.

this construction stop was only triggered because someone contacted the authorities. if the mistake had been noticed and corrected by removing some material, no one would have cared afterwards. if it can no longer even be measured this way, it's just nitpicking. a suddenly steeply falling terrain was certainly already present before the building application was submitted and should have been taken into account right away. (otherwise there would have had to be a major landslide, but then the house would not be exactly safe either). i of course know that someone with expertise (surveying engineer) pays super close attention to this. after all, that's how he makes his money. and if even more money can be made, of course the issue will be escalated. the whole thing with you escalated because someone really botched it. if earthworks were included with the construction company (and not done as own work), all costs must have been incurred by the construction company.

Our garden landscaper said that from about 30 cm height difference you eventually need L stones. They are significantly more expensive than normal curb stones (usually up to 50 cm height) and also more expensive to install. If the height is going to be evened out at the end anyway, L stones are too much. For us, setting a 30 meter border with Tiefbord (100x40x8 I believe from Rinn) cost

Labor: €360 + Material €230 + VAT = €700 / 30m = €23.5/meter

Correct, we had about 35 meters set. It cost us just under €5,000. First, a trench was dug along the border, then compacted a bit, concrete poured, and the L-stones set. Our garden landscaper said this is the only solution for him that will last for years and he can be sure that nothing will shift. Well, we swallowed the cost, but it really looks clean now. It starts at about 28 cm plus and slowly slopes to practically 0 towards the street without any transition. About 1 cm away from the border so there won’t be any trouble.