TV show about the tricks in construction...

I also find the naïve approach of many builders alarming.

We also had individual trade contracts and I actually read up on the expertise for each trade, had everything explained to me in detail by our civil engineer, and was on the construction site every day talking to the craftsmen. Anything that was unclear to me or if I had doubts, I questioned it.

Things don’t always run smoothly, but if you’re not present and don’t check, you won’t notice and will have trouble afterwards.

Our plasterer insulated one side of the house, started on the second side, then ran out of material.

The reordered insulation was 2cm thinner.

He put Styrodur underneath so that it wouldn’t be noticeable on the wall where the thicker insulation was already applied and nicely plastered over the sides.

In the evening, we looked at the new insulation and noticed something was wrong.

Then we went up on the scaffolding and discovered the Styrodur. Actually, everything looked great.

There was an immediate stop to work.

In the end, the plasterer had to tear everything down and redo it.

Of course, he didn’t want to screw us over, insulation is insulation after all. And his workers were furious. But I didn’t care.

I simply believe that if you’re putting that much money into it, you have to pitch in yourself.

And if you’re not an expert, you have to get an independent companion.

You can doubt everything. But you can't live like that. If the workshop bill says oil change 10W40, I believe that. If the screed layer tells me fiber-reinforced screed was used according to the [Bauleistungsbeschreibung], I believe that too. The problem. It starts much earlier. With the selection of the BU. The basic feeling has to be right. Not just the base price. K.

You really got a nice craftsman there, 99% would have said no, I’m not tearing that down and would have sued you. Lucky you!

Inspection is better than trust, but unfortunately not the solution. Luck and misfortune still play a part in house construction, but the risk can at least be reduced by taking initiative.

That’s why I explicitly recommend not hiring a site manager, because that creates a big gap in responsibility. Either you take care of everything yourself or you live with the mistakes...

Well, if you trust blindly on the construction site, it goes wrong.

There are important things that can only be corrected afterwards with a lot of effort and money.

It's definitely worth taking a close look.

No, he could not refuse, because there are processing instructions from the manufacturers and a craftsman must also comply with them. In other cases, craftsmen often have the right on their side when you look at which tolerances have to be accepted.

Small, flexible general contractor with a good reputation + expert + daily presence and taking care