Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 24, 2010 9:41 pm Hi all, The site works on our new home started a couple of weeks ago and they've now drawn an outline of the house and laid what looks like gravel... waiting on the plumbers this week and then the slab will be laid soon after. We have been to check the measurements of the layout that they've drawn out and the right side boundary seems a little out with the front of the house slightly closer to the boundary by between 5 - 10 cm's... ...is this something to query with the builder now or will they double check these measurements and be more accurate when they actually lay the slab? Thanks, Roz Land settlement = 23/09/09 YAY!! Colours & tiling selections locked in, plus final floor plan back from Draughtsperson = 21/10/09 Contract with builder signed = 30/10/09 Site cut = w/c 11/01/10 Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 3Jan 25, 2010 8:22 am Thanks Cclarity for that. Yes, it's the paint outline... was hoping this was the case, it makes sense. Just thought it's better to check and be safe than sorry later . thanks again Land settlement = 23/09/09 YAY!! Colours & tiling selections locked in, plus final floor plan back from Draughtsperson = 21/10/09 Contract with builder signed = 30/10/09 Site cut = w/c 11/01/10 Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 4Jan 25, 2010 10:15 am cclarity If its a paint line drawn on the ground, its nothing to worry about. its just a rough guide. the measurements will be more accurate when the edge boards go up. The actual setout should be within a mm or 2 Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 5Feb 02, 2010 11:48 am thanks onc_artisan... Our site was double checked and apparently all is good. We were advised to throw our tape measure away & let the builders do what they do! Land settlement = 23/09/09 YAY!! Colours & tiling selections locked in, plus final floor plan back from Draughtsperson = 21/10/09 Contract with builder signed = 30/10/09 Site cut = w/c 11/01/10 Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 6Feb 02, 2010 1:07 pm Quote: We were advised to throw our tape measure away & let the builders do what they do! GEEZ HOW SCARY!!! Imagine if that was the case... There will be crooked, unfinished, poorly built houses everwhere if we left it up to them. Stick to your guns, ask away any questions you may have and dont let these builders dictate your build experience. Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 7Feb 02, 2010 1:17 pm worldofaltos Quote: We were advised to throw our tape measure away & let the builders do what they do! GEEZ HOW SCARY!!! Imagine if that was the case... There will be crooked, unfinished, poorly built houses everwhere if we left it up to them. Stick to your guns, ask away any questions you may have and dont let these builders dictate your build experience. Exactamundo! mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 8Feb 02, 2010 3:41 pm With our first (current) house, it was completed and we weren't able to fit our car down the driveway at the side of the house. (The house was completed in 2002 but the concrete driveway/retaining wall not until 2005-06). The builder had not bothered to get the block surveyed and had actually built the house in the wrong spot. The owner of the subdivision still owned the block next door and offered us the extra land required (kind of an extra long triangle about 20m long and about 60cm wide at its widest point) for free, we just had to pay the conveyancing fees. Extremely generous guy! (friend of my wife's dad. Gotta love Tassie ) Once we had the retaining wall built we were able to shift the driveway a bit closer to the house (as it had the retaining wall for support rather than a pile of clay), so that gave us a bit more breathing room! I don't know if B@rrow Builders are still in business, but I hope not :/ Built 3br house in Glenorchy, Tas in 2001 * * * Built 5br courtyard house in Lenah Valley, Tas in 2011 - Homeone thread / Blog Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 9Feb 02, 2010 3:57 pm We are just starting site scrape ! I took the measure and went in to see if we got the right block size after the land settled Just in case! You just have to have faith in those builders otherwise you do your head in . Is their anything else we got to watch out for prior to the slab being poured Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 10Feb 04, 2010 9:16 pm Oh yeah, piering comes to mind first. If you can, take a day off and be there all the time and make sure a structural engineer comes to inspect. If he hasn't turned up and they want to start pouring, call your site manager straight away and don't let them continue (they know they shouldn't)!! The PCA should also come (if he doesn't, you can report him to the BPB). But, you have to be there all the time. The holes must be nice and clean, no water, no mass, as much in one line as it's possible. How deep - well, that's what the str. eng. is for. Some people have strip footings (as well as piers) - can't help there. Then, the pipeworks in relation to the edges of the formwork. Quite often a pipe of two is slightly off from where it should be. And the edges of the formwork - that's your house external dimensions. Then the whole of the formwork (waffles, reo, plastic - where, how much, spacing, distances etc). You have a chance to get your own inspector to check it up (or get familiar well in advance if you can and do it yourself). Sometimes the builder has to delay the pour because of defective formwork. PCA should also come to inspect. The pour itself is pretty much out of our control. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 11Feb 04, 2010 9:49 pm Most builders (all) have insurance (indemnity), the emerging norm is that an independent builder will check on the day of the pour Plastic, mesh, forms and report their finding to the insurance company and then as you say lex the pour is out of your control. Some premixed concrete companies will test the slump of the delivered concrete, some will collect the samples and assess the mpa strength. But not all. Though you can ask!( it will cost) Though a core sample will give you a more acurate mpa test as this is how it is insitu, including vibration, water, curing and adds. Adds are the things like retardent(summer) or rapid( winter). Hope this helps. Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 12Feb 04, 2010 10:02 pm the emerging norm is then an independent builder will check on the day of the pour Plastic, mesh, forms and report their finding to the insurance company What did you mean by 'independent builder will check'? I thought that's the job and responsibility of the str. eng. (at least by the books and rules)?? And that's a very interesting (and encouraging) detail - to report it to the insurance co (although only to builder's own one - I would make it compulsory to report to the home owner's warranty insurer - or is that the same thing ) My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 13Feb 05, 2010 6:14 am Lex the emerging norm is then an independent builder will check on the day of the pour Plastic, mesh, forms and report their finding to the insurance company What did you mean by 'independent builder will check'? I thought that's the job and responsibility of the str. eng. (at least by the books and rules)?? And that's a very interesting (and encouraging) detail - to report it to the insurance co (although only to builder's own one - I would make it compulsory to report to the home owner's warranty insurer - or is that the same thing ) An independent building inspector is either employed by the builders or a client. He will generally not sign off on anything str. eng. related unless the engineer looks at it and signs off on it first. Ive had them turn up on site on more than one occasion, look at a corner of the build to confirm their fee and then tell the client he wants an engineer to look at it as well. your slugged with double fees. Id never employ one unless it was mandatory at that stage of a build. Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 14Feb 05, 2010 6:49 am cclarity An independent building inspector is either employed by the builders or a client. He will generally not sign off on anything str. eng. related unless the engineer looks at it and signs off on it first. Ive had them turn up on site on more than one occasion, look at a corner of the build to confirm their fee and then tell the client he wants an engineer to look at it as well. your slugged with double fees. Id never employ one unless it was mandatory at that stage of a build. Ah, well, that makes sense. I was confused by the term "'independent builder" (sorry, onc ). Anyway, I wasn't even going into the whole area of owners employing their own independent inspectors (II) since, to me, the original question asked more about the major potential stumbling points. But actually it's good to add this too for the very reason you mention. Yes, totally agree - if you want to get an II for piering or formworks, you'd better get someone who is a qualified structural enigneer (oh, just remembered, I actually wrote this just recently in another thread ). It's because, if there are any disputes, you must have a person with matching qualifications to go into discussions with the structural enigneer who is employed by the builder. This is regardless of the fact that your II might very well be totally right - it's just how it works. So yeah, only get a str. eng. at those stages (to be on the safe (=cheaper) side). My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 15Feb 05, 2010 7:34 am If the builder has an engineer looking at the structural stages of the build, I wouldn't even bother wasting the money on an independent equivalent to check up on it, Its rare to find an engineer who is going to put his name to something that's **, not unheard of, but rare. If you have done your homework on the builder your trusting your build to, you shouldn't need to check anything. Unless you went for lowest possible quote, then id be wary. Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 16Feb 06, 2010 6:02 pm txs guys who is PCA ? we are getting a P class slab we were told due to the amount of fill . Is their anything we have to look out for in a P class slab? or am I getting myself into things I shouldnt be worrying about. I have decided to employ a private building inspector once the frame is up,he said he will look at the slab and the frame as well. Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 17Feb 06, 2010 6:08 pm Roz thanks onc_artisan... Our site was double checked and apparently all is good. We were advised to throw our tape measure away & let the builders do what they do! Yes, throw the tape measure away and let the builders do what they do ... pipes in wrong places, slabs that are wrong size, windows gaps that are wrong, heights that are wrong, etc. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 18Feb 06, 2010 7:29 pm ^ +1 (sorry to dissappoint you guys) ... Andy, if you're not sure what to look out for in the formworks, I'd suggest an ii there too ... Roz, unfortunately, I'd suggest not one, but two tape measures ... The old school rule was "Measure twice, cut once". Another saying is "Out with the old, in with the new!". These can be mixed up at random, from what I can see around here ... (is there a saying for that too !?! ) You never know your luck. The luck of the draw. As luck would have it. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 19Feb 06, 2010 7:50 pm Yes lex, go measure by all means, but you need 2 people to hold a tape, and you need to be able to read a set of plans too Not just the plans but also know where the forms will be (ie inside the line or outside) oh and the form board thickness. Yes measure twice and then again to check for square. Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Accuracy of site mark out? 20Feb 06, 2010 8:33 pm Yes, and also a few more of the very hard ingredients - the two people need to be able to read the map and find the site after, of course, they've checked that their "appropriate qualification" papers and licences are still current My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Always get multiple quotes, no matter how reasonable/cheap you think it is. I remember getting a few quotes for a pool fence, roughly around the same price, thinking the… 5 9686 4 14292 Unless there is something in special conditions the builder does not have to give you timeline. If your demolition contractor has not removed Asbestos and it was found… 12 28800 |