Construction quality control in Batumi: supervision, assessment, estimates, handover

Construction quality control in Batumi: who watches the build on your side

Construction quality control in Batumi is needed because the contractor checks their own work, and within a week the concrete, rebar and pipes disappear under finishes. An engineer on the owner's side comes on the days when a mistake can still be seen and fixed: before a pour, before walls are closed up, before the screed. We run this kind of control on our own projects and separately when another crew is building the house and the owner wants an independent view.

What control and assessment cover

Technical supervision is responsible for the quality of the work and compliance with standards; more on the technical supervision page. The architect on site is responsible for the house turning out as drawn; more on the architect's supervision page. A large house needs both; on a small one technical supervision with architect's visits at key details is often enough.

When to call an engineer

• before choosing a contractor, to compare estimates on the same quantities;
• before every concrete pour and before concealed work is closed up;
• when the contractor asks for the next payment;
• when cracks, damp or a dispute about quality appear;
• before buying a house or signing a handover record with a developer.

If a dispute has already started, verbal comments are not enough. You need a written report with photos, measurements and references to standards and the contract, one you can take to the contractor, the developer or a court; more on the independent construction assessment page.

What we check on a house build

For a private house we draw up a visit schedule by stage in advance rather than coming "when called". The minimum set of checkpoints is:

• setting out and the excavation before the blinding concrete;
• foundation rebar, embedded items and starter bars before the pour;
• foundation waterproofing before backfilling;
• rebar in the columns, beams and slabs of every floor;
• masonry, lintels and ring beams;
• the roof before the covering is laid, windows before the reveals;
• pipes and cables before the screed and plaster.

At each checkpoint the engineer signs a record or leaves comments, and the next stage starts only after they are fixed. That way the contractor is paid for accepted work, not for promises.

Existing buildings

Before buying an old house, adding a storey or a major renovation you need to know the condition of the foundation, walls, floors and roof. The engineer opens up details, checks the concrete and rebar, puts tell-tales on cracks and writes what can stay, what needs strengthening and roughly what it costs. Without such a report, adding a storey to an old house in a seismic zone is a risk for everyone who will live in it. How we do this is described on the building inspection page.

Keeping the money under control

The most common disputes on a build are not about concrete but about money: quantities in the estimate do not match the design, work has been paid for but not fully done, prices rise in the middle of a stage. An estimate from the design with a bill of quantities gives a common basis for comparing contractors and for paying for work actually done. How we prepare and check estimates is on the cost estimates page.

New builds and finished houses

Developers in Batumi hand over houses and apartments in black, white or green frame or with finishes, and the handover record is hard to dispute later. Before you sign, an engineer checks the geometry, windows, roof, services and damp, and the defects go into the record with deadlines for fixing them. More on the handover inspection page.

Reports for owners abroad

Many of our clients live in other countries and see the build only in photos. After every visit we send a report: what was checked, what was accepted, what the comments are and the deadline for fixing them. Photos and videos are linked to gridlines and floors, so they can be understood without a trip, and in a dispute they become evidence. If needed, we bring you into a video walk-through straight from the site so you can ask the site manager questions yourself.

How much control and assessment cost

A site visit by a supervising engineer with a photo report costs from 250 ₾, technical supervision of a house build from 1 320 ₾ a month, inspection of concealed works from 300 ₾. Architect's supervision from 1 200 ₾ a month. A defect assessment with a report from 1 980 ₾, an inspection of an existing house from 2 820 ₾. A construction cost estimate for a house from the design from 1 440 ₾. Handover inspection of a house from a developer from 1 260 ₾, of an apartment from 480 ₾. The final cost is set after inspecting the property and an agreed estimate.