Fairhaven Homes

Awesome, thanks.

Week 5 update

Electrical wiring has been done and looks like insulation is also well underway. We now also have our first internal door - from garage to the house 😂
As expected brick work has not started yet. Hopefully they start nice and early tomorrow as weather should be dry until Thursday.
Also plaster boards have been delivered. Have booked a walkthrough for 10th Sep with our new SS.

Things seem to be coming along quickly Bronte19!

We have frames and some windows. This weekend has been my first visit. I'm so excited now. Definitely seems more real.

That's awesome! Now you will be excited to visit every week You will catch up with us in no time!

Frame has been completed and 19 defects this time around. Two of which were from previous inspections. I'm a little sick of this.

Good thing about working for a government department means that I work in the same building as Consumer Affairs!

19 Defects! 😖😖 did Darbecca picked these up? What kind of defects are these?

Its not uncommon for them to find defects. if they didn't find anything would you keep hiring them to check??

On a positive note though, we had heaps of defects found at each inspection but our house on had over only had a few cosmetic issues that Fairhaven are fixing or have already fixed. We had window and door issues where they were damaged during construction or didn't close properly. After handover the window company can and "serviced" the windows and doors and they are perfect now. Same with the roof, we are currently waiting for the new roof sheets and gutters to be delivered to be replaced from where the render damaged them walking over the garage roof when rendering.

Often the feedback from the site supervisor might be that they get fixed later on in the building process and they are right.
Like the window were only tacked in with the wrong nails (not coated or something like that) for ages but when the bricking was almost complete the windows where fixed in properly (including leveled and squared) and the wrong nails removed but it was a defect on the inspection report because it wasn't up to standard until it was done properly.

That's good to know. We did not hire independent inspector so we are solely relying on Fairhaven.

We also had Darbecca pick up quite a few defects. I’ve asked for my SS to provide me an up to date report that they have been rectified and I received a copy of their independent surveyor saying that everything so far was to code/standard. It’s been over a week and I haven’t received the report yet, even after emailing everyday and being told I’d have it by the end of the day. What’s the point of us hiring Darbecca and paying good money, if we aren’t going to follow up to ensure that the things they pick up aren’t rectified? I’ve received the frame stage invoice but are reluctant to pay until I see the report

Hello,
Was just wondering what stages of the home should get inspected by Darbecca? Also, when should I tell the ss I am planning on using Darbecca as well?

New to this whole thing!

Thanks!

Darbecca picked them up. There is an issue with the way my slab was poured. A number of installation directions were not followed, particularly with my windows. The workmanship to me looks quite sloppy and lazy, this is what others have also said to me.

At this stage, the frame does not pass.

I have requested written and photographic evidence of resolve problems in the past which has not happened. I don't want to have to get Darbecca out twice for every single stage because of others laziness.

I kind of see it like insurance. If they don't find defects I would still continue with the proceeding stages, like I do with car insurance.

If they are minor defects that can be rectified at another stage I'm fine with that. The frame does not pass. There are issues with how my slab was poured and drainage on my site which was highlighted in previous inspections which has not be rectified. Aspects of the base have not been constructed according to the engineering report and no information has been provided as to explain why (this was highlighted in the first inspection).

It could be me, I am a perfectionist and take pride in doing the best I can at my job. I have the bad expectation that others should as well.

I have had similar issues. The Construction Consultant I am working with is nice, though I'm not getting any information back regarding the rectifications.

I'm unwell and over stressed at the moment so I have asked a family member to step in for me.

New to all this myself. I contacted Darbecca once I got my building permit. They sent out a list of stages and quote according to my house size.I let my Construction Consultant know I was going to be using Darbecca pretty much straight away.

I decided on the following stages:
- pre pour
- frame (with slab)
- pre plaster
- pre paint/ fixings (combined w. waterproofing)
- final inspection

You should be glad that you hired Darbecca. Hopefully they fix all the errors for you. Its must be very annoying to keep following up on these issues

Hi Zanzibar_45,

We are using Darbecca for every stage of our build, but it is expensive. We feel it’s value for money, being that we are spending so much on this house. If you go on their website, they do advise on there which are the most important stages.
What design are you building?

CalicoCat,
How frustrating! Darbecca also picked up issues with how our windows were installed too and not to manufacturers specifications.
My SS only just got back to me with photo evidence of what’s been rectified but now I have the job of going through the report and matching it to the photos. I doesn’t help that I’m none the wiser about these things.
I don’t think it has anything to do with you being a perfectionist. You are paying good money and it’s not much to expect that your house is built to code/aus standards. You shouldn’t have to put up with bad workmanship

CalicoCat - That's concerning that the defects aren't going to be rectified. Do Darbecca mention on the report how significant each defect is?

Poniri- did you have any major defects found?

Now I'm getting worried that anything our inspector finds will be disregarded.

Oh and still no frame, 9 weeks and counting😡

Thanks for letting us know. We are building the Zanzibar 45 with Metricon!

How frustrating for you! What exactly is the hold up with yours? Do they have an expected starting time?
Darbecca found 20+ defects but it’s all jargon to me so I can’t tell you how major they are.