House splitting in half slowly HELP!!

Hey, Wondering if anyone can give me some suggestions on what I should do. Sorry for the length.

I bought my first house a few years ago in Adelaide that was less than 5 years old when I bought it – it is currently just over 5 years old. Within 2 months of moving in the cornices in the hallway started to crack in the area that has a number of control joints and has since exacerbated to the point that one crack is about 1cm thick, one of the control joints has spread apart about the same amount, and a new crack has appeared parallel to one of the joints. When the cracks were small, family were suggesting it was weather related but I've had a few experts in since then who have been unable to specify the cause of the problem.

Since the internal cracks started getting worse I investigated the house properly along with the aforementioned experts and have found the external expansion joints on either side of the house (near where the internal cracks are) have been filled with silicon. There was a brick loose from the mortar near the roofline on one side and a split beam in the roof. The windows in that area have gaps between the brickwork on both sides of the windows (one edge of the window being covered by a metal bracket pointed out by an engineer). The joints, silicon and brackets were repairs done by the builder which I didn't know about when purchasing the house. The prepurchase inspector did not point out any of these problems in his report and said the house was in good condition so I bought it not knowing any better. After complaining to him he replied the internal control joints were decoration and under AS4349.1 he didn't need to mention them in the report. Legal advice has told me that because the inspector put in his reports that cracking may happen as a generalised statement that he cannot be sued.

The builders sent me an engineers report from a year before I bought it saying that the problem was to do with drainage and the pavers. The previous owners replaced the front pavers and already had the flexible joints in the stormwater that were suggested by their engineer. The previous owners got their own engineer after a bunch of repairs (same spot repaired at least 4 times by the builder) who said that the amount of cracking should abate and that the structure was performing as it should. The external brickwork is cracking in a horizontal/step pattern in the same area and by the front door, the footing has small cracks on the outside, the grout between internal tiles is cracked and coming out, the bedroom door in that spot catches on the floor and cupboard doors don't shut properly. A recent surveyor's report shows my house has lifted close to 100mm in some sections. Because of the old engineers report from the builders they are saying it is not their problem. They have to be wrong about it being a drainage problem as the house next door was built at the same time by the same builder, is the same design, designed by the the same engineer and has the same stormwater, drainage and paver setup but is not cracking at all. The only real difference is that their house is on the cut section of land and mine was half filled with sandy clay according to the borelog. The soil is classed E-D (101.5mm) prior to the fill but wasn't reclassed after the fill. The house is on a raft slab that is supposedly 1200mm deep. The planning documents have 2009 on them but I've since found out that construction wasn't complete until feb 2011.

There is also a tree on council ground at the front which is in the plans as 10-12m high which is approximately 8.1m away from the front of the house. There is a branch that reaches just over the front of the house. The D/H calculation = 0.7 in the plans but I'm not sure what that relates to. There is a palm tree right against the fence at the back of the house and the garage has a wall along the border of the property which is right next to the neighbour's garden (no pavers). The retaining wall in that area is 4 long concrete slepers held in place by what looks like an iron bracket type thing. One section looks as though the cement sleeper is just short of falling out of the bracket.

The engineer I hired could not tell me what the cause was as the plumbers report I gave him said the pipes are ok and he stopped returning my calls. We found that all the relevant documentation wasn't submitted to council during construction (though there is a form saying that council granted permission in 2009) and when the builder was asked to supply the compliance paperwork they filled in a new form with the current date on it. I hired a lawyer who was a family friend that said he'd had some experience in this area but he doesn't seem to know what he's doing and I've already wasted $1000s on him for not having done much useful yet. He's also started a claim in court but it's in danger of being thrown out as my lawyer doesn't seem to be prepared. A newer report from a court appointed expert inspector has suggested poor repairs, insufficient investigation, and uncompacted soil around the outside of the house which he says may be the same under the house but would be mitigated by the footing's extra depth. He also says about needing special linked pavers for the soil type which wasn't stipulated in the house design.

Does anyone know whether I actually have any recourse against the builder or the prepurchase inspector or whether I have to suck it up and make all the massive repairs myself (assuming the house shouldn't be knocked down due to defects). Also, are there any other investigations I should be doing? Is it up to the builders/designers to suggest special paving in the building contract? Can anyone recommend a better lawyer?
Thanks

Sorry can't help personally with the above, it sounds like an awful and complex situation you have found yourself in through no fault of your own.

I would be contacting the law society though and requesting a referral to a construction/civil claims lawyer who can give you a second opinion.

The question is what was built and who was responsible for the engineering?
Was the work Compliant or Non-complaint if the later, was it certified by an engineer as being equivalent or better than what is required (NCC & AS Codes)..there are a lot of question unanswered here



Where are the proofs that the subsequent work carried out meets the deemed to comply requirements as set down in all codes? as engineers we are required to submit calculations,simulations, etc did you get to question the expert inspector and what is his qualifications,justifications,etc,etc?
Sounds like the whole matter was handled poorly all the way through..now the question is "how deep are your pockets" to access data, analysis and simulations that are out there?

The builder has shown us a piece of paper from the engineer that has something like dot points that all say as per AS and a number like they could've printed it without actually going to the site. Since my last post I've got more experts and information. Apparently the engineering plan was 3m short meaning there should've been an extra footing beam but apparently this doesn't mean much. Photos of before the foundation was poured show pipes through the footing beams that aren't covered in any special protection, a 1m x 3m rectangle on the plans ended up being a 1m x 3m hole filled with cement, and part of the dirt was knocked away where the sewer pipe comes out meaning more cement was poured on that corner than needed. The calculations for the footing depth were adequate for the 1996 Australian standards which it came under at the time but under the 2011 standards they are 400mm short.

they've been unable to provide much documentation. What sort of simulation are you talking about? The dimensions have be put into a computer program and comply with the 1996 Australian standards but not 2011 - is this what you're referring to?

My current experts are suggesting a sewer pipe parallel to a category 3 crack in the foundation and through the high point on the surveys which is supposed to be considered a defect. We can't access it with a camera and after 4 static fill tests a leak appears inconclusive (1 test showed small leak but explained as unglued drain covers, 2 tests showed water leaving the system at different levels depending on the drain location, and 1 where they tell me there's no leak but wasn't done the same way as the others). Because static tests can apparently be inaccurate regularly I'm faced with having to cut through the foundation. Is this a good idea?

pretty long.. .. Hope you are done by now.

Any updates on your situation , hopefully some good news.