Screed in 4 rooms is 1.5-2 cm too high.

Hello everyone,

I need some advice, we have newly built and on the upper floor all rooms except the bathroom were supposed to have screed 0.5 cm higher than the hallway. Hallway + stairs hardwood, rooms laminate...

Everything was commissioned to the screed company through the architect and also documented by email.

For whatever reason, the screed in the 4 rooms (about 60 sqm total) is 2-2.5 cm higher than the hallway.

The screed company denies any fault and literally wants to "not lift a finger in the house anymore." Possibly deductions by me from the final invoice (4000€) still open he might sue for.

We now have the following options:

-leave everything as it is and live with a 1.5 cm-2 cm threshold.
- leveling compound in the hallway, then the last step of the stairs would be 1.5 cm higher, which is not acceptable. It would have to be distributed exactly by millimeters over all steps. The additional effort + leveling compound would cost me about 500€.
- have all rooms (60 sqm) milled/sanded down by 1.5 cm-2 cm and then leveling compound applied, would that even be accurate? Completely removing the screed probably won’t work because of underfloor heating.

With the last option, of course, ceiling height, parapet height and switch height would be as originally intended.

Would that be proportionate in court if he sues for his money? As info, I took out construction legal protection before the new build...

Ideally, our move-in date should not be pushed far into the future..

What would you do in our place?

Thanks to all...

Thanks to our rule of law, you are now screwed. You have to set many deadlines and get experts, which will delay your construction by months. I would withhold the money, let him threaten all he wants. Take the solution you can live with and that doesn't force your construction to stop. I believe it's [Ausgleichsmasse] and then adjustment of the stairs. 500 euros are nothing in comparison.

So first of all the question is, who detected the deviation and in what way? Because if he were to sue, it should of course be documented accordingly and securely.

Otherwise, one can only agree with Bookstar, choose the option that best enables further construction. And I would also see the adjustment of the corridor height and stairs in this. You can definitely keep the additional costs, but first of all request rectification accordingly before you do anything. If necessary, offer him this solution and see if he can accept it if you then deduct sum x for it.

Grinding/milling will probably not be reasonable, just as ripping out the screed. And then the option to level is certainly better than having to live with the thresholds.

Fortunately, since it is not about huge sums, I would also document the condition, withhold money, and implement the personally preferred solution. You can certainly live with the 2cm in ceiling height, and the only unsightly transition is at the stairs, where the stair builder might be able to work some magic (last step with more thickness or just a trim).

Be careful, the doors may then no longer fit in height.

Fortunately, most doors can be shortened quite easily. The rooms probably won't have glass or fire protection doors made of metal.