Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Nov 14, 2020 10:01 am I have an investment property that is 18 months old. This week the tenants noted the the showers and sink were noted draining, toilets were gurgling. An emergency plumber was called and noted concrete and building rubble blocked the pipes. I never did any renovations after handover using concrete. There was no way that I would have thought concrete blocked the pipes. I initially suspected it was toilet paper thus I never thought to contact the builder first. The maintenance liability warranty is only 3 months and structural warranty is 7 years. Should you have called your builder initially without knowing a concrete was the cause ? Is plumbing issue part of structural warranty?it is hard to know at first, if you do not know the cause of blockage without inserting a camera. In this case, can I hold the builder liable to cover my plumber's bill of $600? They argued that they should have been contacted first. Thanks for your thoughts. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 2May 20, 2021 2:49 pm Here is a reference to what a typical warranty covers; https://anewhouse.com.au/2016/10/what-d ... ies-cover/ In your case it sounds more like builders negligance than a failure so I would say they are probably liable. NOT LEGAL ADVICE! The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 3May 20, 2021 2:57 pm im surprised it took 18 months to materialise. As to th ebuilder saying they should have been called first, thats really only relevant when you know the matter is their to deal with. You as a responsible home owner tried to deal with the issue as a routine maintenance issue, only to find builder negligence as teh cause. Id say your builder is liable, but for 600 bucks...good luck. you will waste more time and money trying to get your 600 bucks back. Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 4May 20, 2021 3:35 pm Rubbish tossed down drain pipes by tradies during construction is but one reason why every new house should have a forensic stormwater and drain pipe inspection and compliance check prior to or at PCI. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 5May 20, 2021 3:44 pm SaveH2O Rubbish tossed down drain pipes by tradies during construction is just one reason why every new house should have a forensic stormwater and drain pipe inspection and compliance check prior to PCI. my builder does this as standard and made a point of telling us we'd get the footage on USB. I guess it also indemnifies them against costly plumbing and structural work down the line if they arent at fault while giving them an opportunity to resolve prior to handing over Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 6May 20, 2021 4:29 pm It's business smarts and good to read your post. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 7May 21, 2021 12:02 pm If the plumbing pipes are filled with building debris and you have not contributed to the problem then it is a building defect under builder's warranty. Builder is responsible, warranty for building defects is 10 years in Victoria. It makes no difference you did not call the builder first. Pipes should have been cleared and cleaned before handover. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 9Jun 23, 2022 3:30 pm Yes they should have to pay! The company I was working for had a plumbing devision and they had to sort out an issue at one house where the tilers had shoved adhesive & crap down the wet area pipes blocking it all up. Rivergum had to pay for it as it was their fault. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 10Jun 23, 2022 5:49 pm Our dumbarse tilers did the same thing. Luckily I noticed some rubbish in one of the external stormwide drains. So I cleaned it out myself and checked the other drains, finding more tilers rubbish - bits plastic spacer, trim, dried glue, broken tile etc. Dont know what the hell these guys are thinking. Next build I will do as above and have an independent inspection prior to handover part of the contract. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 11Jun 23, 2022 8:51 pm Sh-aron Hi, Just wondering what happened with your issue as I am currently experiencing the exact same thing. Did they reimburse you? Sorry but I never got reimbursed the plumber's cost. Re: Drains blocked with concrete, should the builder pay my 12Jun 24, 2022 12:44 pm Homeone1234 Sh-aron Hi, Just wondering what happened with your issue as I am currently experiencing the exact same thing. Did they reimburse you? Sorry but I never got reimbursed the plumber's cost. Thank you for your reply. Doesnt look like I will be getting a reimbursement either. My builder said that because it’s been nearly a year that they won’t cover it. It sucks because I live alone and due to work half the time I’m not even home and I am super careful with things like this. Agreed. I just found out today the certifier has not given the final sign off. 2 4059 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20154 i imagine you also have another contract with an architect? and yeah, whatever other's said about special conditions and appendices 16 15822 |