architect mistake said use our contingency to pay for it

flourpower1

Hi
we are having an extension built and when the footings had been dug the builders realised that a rainwater pipe and drain would have to be moved, they also had to widen the footings to accommodate the move. We had discussed this initially with the architect who said it did not need moving.
The builders said she has not drawn this bit to scale and just slotted the drain in. When we talked to her she said this is what your contingency is for but we thought a contingency was for unforeseen problems and not to pay for her mistake.
Fortunately the builders have said they will just charge for the extra pipe but it could have been worse, so we have not yet paid the architects bill just in case there are more errors.
what do you think? should we pay for the pipe or should it be deducted from the architects cheque.
Thanks

System

get the drawings out and see if they include the classic clause "do not scale from these drawings, use written dimensions only, any discrepancies should be reported to the architect"

flourpower1

thanks for the reply
no it doesnt say anything like that.
the drain is next to the back door and they need to take about 15cm of wall out that is next to the door to enable the wall to continue through the extension without leaving a pillar in the middle of the wall. the plans show this part of the wall as being removed.

CashisKing

Would it have made any difference?
If the plans were to scale would the footings have had to be wider anyway?

flourpower1

the footings at the far end would have continued for a further 15 cm but the footings to the side that come up to the property had to be made wider, so instead of them being 60cm wide and 2.2m long they are just over 80cm wide by 2.2m long. the builders are not charging any extra for the extra work or extra footings.

cannoncon

never trust an architect. use a structual engineer. they know how everything is built.

iamcornholio

If the drain had to be moved, then it makes no difference whether this was on the plan or not - you would still be paying the builder for this element of the work, and the associated foundation alteration

flourpower1

do structural engineers draw plans and deal with the submission for planning applications?

flourpower1

iamcornholio
you are right about the drain but the footings would have been dug in the right place and no extra work or concrete would be needed, we were just lucky that the builders realised the mistake the architect made before the concrete had been laid, if they hadn't it would have been very expensive to put right.

iamcornholio

Yes, but what I am saying is that if the drain work was on the plan, the builder would have priced for it and you get a higher quote.

As it was not on the plan, he never priced it and so the quote was cheaper.

Either way you would have paid for the work, and so you are not at a loss

OK, the designer may have made a boo-boo, but you have not lost out because of it

flourpower1

we had decided to pay the extra for the pipe because yes we agree its not worth the stress its just that she did not see how serious it could have been, was flippant and just shrugged it off.

So we have not yet paid her just in case the builders who are the best find anything more serious, the job will be finished in 2-3 weeks.