Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Nov 14, 2009 8:02 pm When I first signed my contract I was told (and I have it in writing aswell) that I will need to allow for costs at the end of the build for light fittings, letterbox, floor coverings and driveway and that we will need to organise these ourselves. My husbands cousin is a concreter and had offered to do our driveway for very cheap. I have just found out over the weekend that our driveway is being done on Monday morning - by the builder. We didnt ask for this. We are still a little way off finishing so we werent even expecting it - our wet area tiles are still being done and painting hasnt even commenced yet. Should I expect a bill from them for this?? Is this the norm?? I was going to doing something a bit nicer for my driveway rather than just plain light concrete but if their paying for it.... Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 2Nov 14, 2009 8:27 pm Strange that they told you driveway is not included and even more so that the contract doesnt include it and they are doing it anyway at no extra cost?? But they can hardly charge you if you didnt ask for it or sign for it Im not sure what the norm is - we did a house/land package and driveway and perimeter paths were included - our contract clearly states this though. I think you usually do have to do these yourself after handover However we did get a TV antenna that we didnt pay for - it is not mentioned anywhere in our contract and yet the builders installer turned up and installed one we were never charged for this and needless to say we did not complain about it Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 3Nov 14, 2009 9:52 pm How strange EKT!?? Keep us posted as to whether they try and bill you. If they don't, well, it may not be the driveway that you wanted but hey, you've saved a few thousand dollars. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 4Nov 15, 2009 2:35 am I told the builder that i was put up the shed and having a trench dug for power and water to shed.The builders Electricians put in 30 meters of 3 phase power cables to shed and the plumber put water pipes also that wasn`t in the contract,When the site super came around and asked hime whats the go here do I have to pay for this,which i was prepared to pay for it at a discount ,well he just said well christmas present for you,bargain i thought.But i did give him a carton of crownies. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 5Nov 15, 2009 7:41 am I would be really careful with this, I think they are going to bill you. If you've signed the contract agreeing there will be extra costs for driveways etc, it sounds to me like they are just going to go ahead and do it and then turn around and say "you agreed to this, now pay". Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 7Nov 15, 2009 10:29 am I know we all like things for free. But if you know it is not in your contract, and you know they are planning on doing the work, morally you need to pay for it. Otherwise it really is stealing. If you didn't know it was going to happen like the tv antennae or the 30 meter of power it is a little gift. But the fact that you know, and the fact you posted here that you know, as the builder I would be charging you for the cost. How would you like to do work and not get paid for it. I would ring your builder, or your SS today and leave a message saying you heard the concrete driveway was being done, but you didn't approve to pay for this. Luck may be on your side, and they may start without getting this message, and then morally you are in the clear and you might get a little gift. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 8Nov 15, 2009 11:12 am buildingwithhamra I would ring your builder, or your SS today and leave a message saying you heard the concrete driveway was being done, but you didn't approve to pay for this. Luck may be on your side, and they may start without getting this message, and then morally you are in the clear and you might get a little gift. Already done this buildingwithhamra. Ive left a message with both the SS and the office but they are not open over the weekend. Hopefully they get the message because free or not I would rather have the driveway we were going to do. As I said, husband has a concreter cousin and all we were going to pay for is the concrete, a slab of beer and a BBQ after it was done. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 9Nov 15, 2009 12:51 pm Can you leave another message which says that if they proceed with the work on Monday morning, they are going to have to come back and take it out, because the driveway is excluded from the contract and you are doing it yourself and you do not want them to go ahead and do it. Follow this call up with an email so that you have it in writing. Regardless of whether or not they bill you for the work, if you would prefer your own driveway I think that's what you should get. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 10Nov 15, 2009 8:28 pm Quote: Hopefully they get the message because free or not I would rather have the driveway we were going to do. Go stick a note at your new house for the concretor to ring you ASAP before they start, explaining that you do not want this driveway. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 11Nov 15, 2009 9:53 pm hi EKT, I'm afraid I don't agree with others on this matter. IMO, if a builder makes a mistake to your advantage, he can't then go and charge you for it (morals or whatever, they just can't do it). Can you imagine a situation where they install a pool (because you mentioned you would like one) and then sent you a bill for $10K? This is ridiculous. If it were me, and obviously others have their own perspective, I'd let it ride. I guess he may take you to court for payment, but he'd really struggle to convince a judge to award him payment of any significant amount anyway. If it came to that, you could agree on a figure at that time. The builder would be glad to take half price than to take you to court... I guess a concrete driveway is probably worth $3K or so, so it's your call! A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 12Nov 17, 2009 5:36 pm I must have no morals. There are extra's in my fixed price building contract totalling about $3,000 that I never paid for. But then again I figure I have actually paid for them when I consider some of the exhorbitant prices the builder charged me for upgrades. What goes around come around!!. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 13Nov 17, 2009 10:23 pm During the build, I rocked up to the house one day after a week away and found they had installed an extra laundry trough in the garage and run a bead of silicone around the edges of the skirting boards and tiles. Both of these things we wanted but took out of the contract to save a few dollars (over $1200). Like I said, I turned up and they were done. If I'd said something, they could have removed them, but it would ahve meant redoing all the skirting boards and a substantial portion of gyprock in the garage. I figure that makes us even for the things that have been left out and aren't getting fixed. I don't think the builder has even noticed! Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 14Nov 17, 2009 10:38 pm Quote: run a bead of silicone around the edges of the skirting boards and tiles Thats not standard??? Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 17Nov 18, 2009 10:36 am Given that our house has been handed over, and we've had the final settlement, I feel somewhat safe saying this: we got our entire smart wiring (~$5000 worth) free. It was in the original quote, but disappeared from the contract after our electrical plans were added. However, it was still installed in the house. I didn't complain. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 18Nov 18, 2009 12:12 pm I have been around the block a few times and as a result have become just a teeny bit skeptical about certain things!! Sure, there are exceptions to the rule and this may be one, but mostly in building (..and life for that matter) you don't get things for 'free'. Even builders so-called 'special offers' are mostly smoke and mirrors, imho. Say nothing and get the driveway done.. but if it were me, I would always be wondering *when* not if the bill was coming. And when it does, it will be a bitter pill because you will be paying for a driveway that wasn't quite what you wanted in the first place. Pix Built a (highly) modified Allcastle Maxworth 38.7 in Sydney. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 19Nov 18, 2009 12:23 pm So did you get the free driveway?? Building with PD - Regent 23 Cascades on Clyde Estate HomeOne Building Thread - PCI Completed - 28th August. Handover - 11th September. Re: I didnt ask for this but they are doing it... 20Nov 18, 2009 1:02 pm Pixelated I have been around the block a few times and as a result have become just a teeny bit skeptical about certain things!! Sure, there are exceptions to the rule and this may be one, but mostly in building (..and life for that matter) you don't get things for 'free'. Even builders so-called 'special offers' are mostly smoke and mirrors, imho. Say nothing and get the driveway done.. but if it were me, I would always be wondering *when* not if the bill was coming. And when it does, it will be a bitter pill because you will be paying for a driveway that wasn't quite what you wanted in the first place. Pix ... but the contract works both ways. If you do not sign for a variation - the work cannot and should not be carried out. Someone can't turn up and mow your front lawn, then ask you to pay them for it, can they ? In this case, if the builder sends out the invoice - you are within your rights to ask them to remove the concrete as you did not approve it as a variation. Most likely, they will call it even as the cost of removing it would simply not be worth their while. In my opinion - I would speak to the builder, let them know that you did not approve the concrete driveway as a variation - but now see that it has gone in. Ask them what will be done about it. If they don't simply offer it to you as a "sorry, we stuffed up" freebie - perhaps, rather than making them remove the concrete, you could negotiate to pay for 50% of the cost as a gesture of goodwill. I work with owner, he/she is my man on the ground and I instruct them when to visit the site and take photos and I have other tools in the bag. 4 15271 Ardo That is so funny! I wonder how many people know who Larry Haun is these days. I have a couple of young guys we call Mo 1 & Mo 2 who run a crew of 6 boys and… 9 15518 The DIY project can be broken into two major steps. Planning and Design and Construction. Both of these steps are as important as one another to ensure you give… 0 5170 |