Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 16, 2013 6:12 pm Currently building a new two storey townhouse and as my partner and I are quite excited we pop by often to see the latest work. House is currently at lock up, we popped by on a Saturday and noticed some tradies were doing the cornice etc we asked and they said we could look around. We went upstairs as we had never seen it before and when we looked in the WIR we noticed it didnt look right: nearly 1/3 of the right hand side had been boxed off We emailed the builder shortly after querying this odd wall and were informed it was for the A/C ducting. We knew the 'turn key' package included a ducted a/c system installed in the price but it didnt occur to me (being our first build) that the ducts required such space, i presumed it was all hidden in the walls etc The builder has since confirmed it was there oversight and apologised, we then expressed our disappointment at the lack of notification and loss of such space. We have been informed that it was forgotten on the plans we signed and this was the only place it will fit... had we been consulted about this 'oversight' we would have never put it in our WIR as we needed every inch of space We have also since discovered a boxed off duct area is in the spare b/room too We have asked to meet the builder and site supervisor to discuss options to move it somewhere that we would prefer... we understand that the ducts are required for the A/C in a two storey but do not want it in our WIR The builder has since informed it cant me moved but we can discuss options and they will send us the variations costing main queries are: is it acceptable that this was never addressed on our signed plans & on our signed cabinetry plans (we also paid for the rails x3 .. only got 2 given the boxed off wall) is it okay that we were never informed or asked to discuss a variation? if we didnt pop in that day we may have never found out till the final inspection? Are we entitled to have it moved somewhere we deem more satisfactory/bearable, the current spot greatly impacts our future re-sale ability.. it really looks silly Can the builder make us pay to have it moved when it was never depicted on the plans or mentioned ? what are our rights as a customer? If we had been consulted from the start we would understand mistakes can happen and discussed options for the ducts, thank you in advance for advice and help! Re: builder making changes/variations during build-advice pl 2Jan 16, 2013 6:50 pm There is hardly ever ducting boxes, or plumbing boxes shown on the plans, it is something subcontractor does after the frame goes in, and then they look at the ways of installing their pipes. Trust me it is better in your wardrobe then in the middle of the living room. You have requested the variation, and you will get charged for it, and it will be thousands if the plasterboard is in there already. Its all part of standard practice. Re: builder making changes/variations during build-advice pl 3Jan 16, 2013 6:54 pm So essentially signing floor plans & contracts is useless if builders can just change walls where they please? Its less of a variations request I actually just want my house as per my floor plan... Re: builder making changes/variations during build-advice pl 4Jan 16, 2013 6:58 pm It would rub me to wrong way to know it was an oversight and not being told about it then wanting client to pay for such a variation. So it's a variation when they see fit? We had a few things during the build that had to changer and we signed off on each variation raised by builder themselves. Fair Trading can issue orders to rectify and complete but once the matter goes to NCAT these orders are automatically vacated. You will have to terminate contract and sue… 21 29679 It seems very clear to me that your contract states that a security account does NOT need to be established so the answer to the builder is NO. If in doubt find a contract… 1 8501 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 8702 |