Various small construction defects

Good day,

We are building with a general contractor.
Who is actually responsible for defects upon completion of the construction, including minor defects? For example, scratches on window panes, shutters, etc.?

Warranty SIA-118

Visible defects must be reported immediately or as soon as possible during acceptance. If the relationship with the general contractor or craftsmen is no longer that good, which often happens, I would strongly recommend that you report everything to the general contractor in writing!

The general contractor then creates a list describing the defects and who is responsible for fixing them. The defects must then be remedied within a specified period.

Unfortunately, this does not always work out optimally. Sometimes defects are then fixed in a "quick procedure" and therefore only very poorly!

The solution is to be strict and, above all, not to accept anything!

Clear! The general contractor is responsible for fixing the defects that appear during the final inspection. And I am convinced, as the user before me has described, that it is best to take a hard line there!

Isn't it the case that every company/tradesman involved in the construction is liable for their own damages, and if certain damages, and I mean smaller ones as well, cannot be assigned to anyone, then the GU has a construction insurance that must cover that.

I think a hard line is probably okay when it comes to defects. After all, you are paying for the whole thing. But you should still exercise some common sense...

As a small example: the mirror in the bathroom, which I use daily, had a scratch about 4-5 cm long. That of course bothered me, so we complained and had it replaced. However, there were also 2-3 scratches on the window frame, about 2 cm long. Those were probably caused by the plasterer or someone when he wanted to remove plaster. We then did not have these window frames replaced because they did not seriously bother us. I just saw it because I did the final cleaning myself.

Basically, the general contractor is responsible as the contracting party for defect remediation. I always think it is better to first interact amicably and only if that does not work, one can take the "hard" line. Going into confrontation immediately not only costs nerves but often also money.