Separate awarding of windows and shutters - GU resists!

Am I understanding this correctly??

Despite savings of about €3000 and additional added value of the lift-and-slide door of about €2500, 5 additional electric roller shutters and extras like mullion and app control – so overall this makes an effective price difference of about €10,000 or 30% – should we better leave the window and roller shutter trade with the general contractor?

Reason: There will only be problems (agreements, time frames, warranty, etc.)

You would:
- rather talk to the general contractor again and try to renegotiate (free) extras
- send the offer (I had even already done that)
- suggest that the general contractor can work with a "cheaper" profile, e.g. with Gealan, Salamander or Veka
- possibly retrofit the electric control of the roller shutters yourself (but then you would always have the roller shutter strap openly visible, right? If I ordered it directly electrically, only the control elements and not the straps would be visible. Or am I making a huge mistake here?!

We will not set up a complete smart home, so we also don’t have a planner to fall back on.

Thanks for all the many answers.

You summarized that nicely. With the signature on the contract and the apparently non-negotiated scope of work, unfortunately the opportunity for better conditions was gone. Now you unfortunately have to try to get the best out of the situation afterward (I too would be lying awake at night pondering what else I could get out of it!) which is significantly more difficult and expensive than before (but with every subcontractor/general contractor it’s individually different).

Everyone I know who has built recently had NO expert who advised them before signing in this regard. But none of them had major change requests AFTER signing either.

P.S. Maybe the roller shutter strap can be “removed” for little money (are you doing the painting/wallpaper yourselves?)

Despite savings of about €3000 and an additional added value of the lift-and-slide door of about €2500, 5 additional electric roller shutters, and extras such as mullion and app control – so overall this rather results in an effective price difference of about €10,000 or 30% – should we better leave the window and roller shutter trades with the main contractor?

From an actuarial perspective, your risk of contractor mixing likely outweighs the hoped-for "savings" with high probability. A switch to a lift-and-slide door here is not an "added value," but a foolishness due to format and position. You can't avoid the mullion for the second escape routes (which I would recommend for guest / K1 / K2); and if the main contractor wants to offer you elements with posts besides the TV or the kitchen island, I would even "downgrade" them (to tilt/fixed instead of tilt-and-turn/turn – we already discussed this topic with ).

- Suggest that the main contractor can work with a "cheaper" profile, e.g. Gealan, Salamander, or Veka - possibly retrofit the electric control of the roller shutters themselves (but then the roller shutter belt would always be visibly open, right? If I ordered it directly electrically, only the control elements and not the belts would be visible. Or am I making a huge conceptual mistake?! We will not set up a complete smart home, so we also don't have a planner to fall back on.

Veka is the first time I hear from you, you previously spoke of Rehau (which I consider equivalent, however). Gealan is not "cheap," but co-extrusion is simply the more reasonable solution compared to the foil nonsense. I would leave the roller shutter boxes open until the shaft replacement. A PLC is not more expensive, just more professional than a mess with proprietary apps (and a fruit bowl full of remote controls *LOL*). Regarding the number and size of your conceptual errors, I’d rather remain silent unless I haven’t expressed myself clearly enough in this regard yet :)

Without windows, electricians, plumbers, and others refuse to start work. And my neighbor waited almost 6 months for windows...

This delay is entirely your responsibility, and under certain circumstances the fixed price may no longer apply because the general contractor cannot adhere to the construction schedule and has to order materials later at higher prices.

Oh, and if the windows are not airtight, if there are leaks somewhere, if the BlowerDoor test fails, etc., it will always be blamed on your windows and shutters done in-house.

Whoever builds turnkey with a general contractor should also leave all of that to the general contractor. Otherwise, you have to build with an architect and contract individually.

This is the first time I hear about Veka from you, previously you spoke of Rehau (which I consider equivalent, however). Gealan is not "cheap," but coextrusion is simply the more reasonable solution compared to the foiling nonsense.

That you are the chairman of the Gealan Acrylic Fan Club is OK. But I have to disagree with you that acrylic (which is also available again from another manufacturer) is the only thing that brings salvation. For plastic windows with a coextruded acrylic layer, there are just as many/few damages/complaints in relation to the low sales volume as with foiled windows.

It's OK that you are the chairman of the Gealan Acrylic Fan Club.

I am not, my fan club has aluminum under its wing. I also don't particularly like Gealan, but generally prefer coextrusion over foiling. Even better would be colored-through granulate.

But I have to disagree with you that acrylic (which also comes from another manufacturer) is the only thing that saves the day. With plastic windows with coextruded acrylic layer, there are, proportionally to the low sales volume, just as many/few damages/complaints as with foiled windows.

Nothing is complaint-free, but different materials and processes have different suitability and durability expectations. If you can list the manufacturers of coextruded PVC windows, I would be glad.

I would find dyed granulate even better.

Dyed colored (granulate) a beautiful dream that has been dreamed repeatedly since the beginning of the era of plastic windows.