PR's Finished Build - A belated update and a wedding Pg. 69

That's really bad PR. It's really frustrating. Some tradies take pride in their work and take care. Unfortunately for "us" (the customers) there are ones that don't. I'd go one step further than LeanneR and say "they don't care they are working on someone's home". Unfortunately there seems to be a tacit acceptance of this type of "tradesman" (said in the very loosest sense of the word), by builders, because there's a shortage of decent tradies WA.

Hopefully,Redink will sort everything out to your satisfaction.

My instinct is to stand your ground. It may hold things up, but you have paid (extra!) for a product to be provided to a certain standard, and RI should be held accountable and take responsibility for all of their subcontractors. Good luck and sorry about the dramas.

mm I hope so ardie. One could argue that the build has barely started. Too much hassle for too little progress!

This was the first tradesman my new site supervisor was responsible for. Doesn't bode well for the rest of my build. Even so, I'm not going to judge a guys capabilities from the first thing that goes wrong.

Perhaps the earthworks guy was having a bad day, maybe his dog just died. You just don't know.

It's all about the Redink response now, I'll judge them on how they handle it.

Redink were always great at sorting out our problems - sure they'll do the same for you!
Congrats on slab!

I'm guessing the only copper we could of had would of been in the kitchen pipes which were untouched

I was amazed by how little care the majority of tradies took on our build. Sadly, my only advice is get used to it. It's probably harder for you because you know what is going on with each and every step. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. The least stressed I ever felt was when I didn't visit our site for four weeks!

Good luck getting your pipe issues sorted. Hopefully your builder will have any problems resolved ASAP.

So true fancy pants. My partner used to go everyday to our house come home show me photos I would then pick up stuff and then we would get in a disagreement . And sometimes you try to ignor something that is wrong , because you just can't be bothered anymore . These couple of days he hasn't gone and you know what it just feels so different . I too think tradies don't give a Fxxk and let the builder down . But again it's how the builder fixes it. But I'm starting to relize that even builders don't care.would they except some of the finishes in their home . Tha funny thing is they would stomp their feet like we do . just keep on top of everything and don't wait to the end to say something . Don't worry if you sound like a nag coz at the end of the day it's your house that you work for . If you don't get the right answer from your ss go to someone higher .

So sorry to hear this Pan! I can only imagine how frustrated you must be! The amount of money you are spending you dont need to see poor workmanship like that! But like you say you need to judge by the way it is resolved and Im sure it will be! Building is a stressful journey but it will all be worth it in the end!

I hope so. My SS had a meeting on site with the manager of the earthworks company on Friday. I hope to learn the outcome of this meeting in the coming days. Not sure why the contractor had to be out there, perhaps they are liable for the damage?



Yeah unfortunately the kitchen pipes copped it. A few caps on other pipes cracked as well resulting in a whole lot of sand falling in. Might improvise some kind of leaf blower/high pressure hose/vacuum device to clear the drains.



I hear you! Not a chance of that happening though since I live next door. Sad face.



Well I don't want it to come to that, but I suppose I will be the nag if I have to. I hate doing it though. Some people relish the thought of telling someone off. But I'm not like that. I can't even go back to the drive through and complain if my burger is wrong... I feel awkward and would much rather let it go. But a $5 burger hardly compares to a $xxx,xxx house. Time to stop being such a woos!



Sure is. I've found the journey fine so far, fun even. I hope this was an exception to the rule and the rest of the build goes swimmingly.

So it's brick city on the slabs at the moment and it looks like it'll stay that way for a while. After being given an initial estimate of 2-3 weeks for a bricklayer, I mentioned that this would align with many public holidays. After some discussion with the SS, bricks after Easter are a lot more likely. In the meantime, hopefully the damage from the site clean can be repaired.

In other news, I think someone may have stolen a meter box from our supply shed
The two houses share a temporary shed and portaloo etc. The shed is 'locked' with some twisted wire... My parents heard something around 3am last night and when I checked the shed this morning, there was only one meter. Admittedly, I didn't check what was in there earlier, so perhaps nothing was taken. 2 houses 1 meter doesn't make much sense though.

We've had so many materials delivered - bricks, windows, door frames, cement etc - I'm really hoping that it's not going to be the case of watching all the supplies be plundered.

Too bad you have to wait a couple wweks for bricks to start, but sounds like everyone is waiting on brickies now. Any news about the water meter? What did you end up deciding on for all the kitchen appliances? Went back through your thread but wasn't sure which induction top, stove and range you decided on, thanks.

Yeah its a shame that this is the reality of the construction industry. It's disappointing too that the same issues that were identified years ago are still prevalent. There's seems to be a lack of support for apprenticeships and primary industry training. But I don't really want to get into a political discussion on this forum!

Well it was actually a meter box that may have been taken. After emailing the site supervisor, I'm still not sure if there were one or two meter boxes to begin with. Either way, he said he would stick a bike lock on the shed which is arguably what should have occurred in the first place.

As for my appliances, I chose the standard Westinghouse 900mm oven, a Bosch Induction cooktop (PIL875N14E) and a Omega Rangehood (ORW9XA).

I also said I would stick some photos on here about the copper pipe damage.

Front Slab:


Rear Slab:



The front slab piping appears to be sawed, probably when the PVC pipe was cut to slab level. I have been informed the copper sleeve will be replaced in its entirety.

The rear slab pipping was the one hit by the earthworks guy during the site clean. The site supervisor said he found no structural damage to the pipes, but I find that hard to believe. The matter will looked into further when the PVC pipe is removed at the plumbing stage.

What frustrates me about this is the same thing that frustrated me most about our build - 99% of the damage is COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE. There is absolutely no need for it. I am utterly convinced that a little bit of due care could save the building industry millions of dollars and their clients a whole lot of unnecessary anxiety!

Hope it gets sorted to your satisfaction, Pan.

I had to laugh when we got our keys and they had gone out that day and laid protective plastic everywhere. When this was obviously not done while they were painting?! All of our tiles, benches, kitchen goods are covered in a fine mist of white paint. Some of which I really can't get off! It's so frustrating!

Funny you say that fancy pants. In the email I received from the supervisor following the incident he claimed hitting the pipes was "completely UN-avoidable"!!!

Go figure hey


Sh*t asj25, hope the paint comes off. If its sealer you'll need to get the turps out. Soapy water wont cut it. Sugar soap may help.

Thanks for that. I saw the list you had put up after your prestart with the appliance upgrade prices, etc. Will RI give us a list of all the possible appliance options and upgrade prices? Or did you have to ask for specific brands/models and then they priced it for you?

Redink will definitely not provide you with a list of all the possible appliance options and upgrade prices. That would be thesis length!

I created a shortlist of about 10 appliances I wanted prices for. They took a few days to come back with the numbers. In some instances it was complicated further by the fact that my selections were not provided by their usual supplier.

It's pretty expensive. RI chuck a nominal finders fee on the RRP - 10%, 20% - I forget. You kind of have to do a cost-benefit analysis and make a judgement call as to what is reasonable to spend for an upgrade.

Small update. Redink have advised that they have secured a bricklaying team to start on the two houses.

They are looking to have them on site mid next week in the break between Easter and Anzac Day weekends to commence on rear lot which is my brother's build.

I would be pleasantly surprised if that happens. Up until now I pretty much assumed we would have no movement on the block until April 28th.

On a side note, do you think it is allowable to ask for an example of their work on another build? I guess photos would have to do since I can't go trespassing on another person's property. I'm doubt this is common practice and I'm sure I'll be flat out refused if I ask.

I just figure that if they are quality tradesmen then Redink would take no issue in showing off their workmanship. Hmm

Potential good news. I hope they show up next week and very curious about their reply to the brick example request.

You could ask but do you really get any say over who they choose to use? I personally think that would be a bit pointless, just view your own house as it's built and raise any issues you have with your SS / CLO and/or get an inspector in.