Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 01, 2010 7:32 pm Hello guys I was hoping I could get some advice on some mysterious earthworks that took place on my land today. It appears that my builder has excavated about a dozen holes all over my block. They are all about 2 meters deep and about half a meter in diameter. They seem to be located in all the positions where downpipes are to be placed and also in totally random places along the boundary and a few in the middle of the house and driveway. I don’t think they have anything to do with the plumbing because I know the plumbers will be starting the trenches tomorrow. I have been following other builds in the estate and none of them had this sort of stuff done. I certainly didn’t pay anything extra for it and there is no mention in my contract or working drawings of what it could be. I don’t want to ask my SS so as not to appear ignorant! I have worked very hard to give him the (false) impression that I am an expert in housing construction so that he doesn’t think he can get away with cutting corners! Cheers Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 2Jun 01, 2010 7:42 pm I am no expert but most likely it will be what is called piering. They basically drill holes into the soil until they reach solid ground or rock. They then fill those holes with concrete. Your slab will sit on the piers and therefore is unlikely to move or crack if the soil directly beneath the slab moves. ...or your builder could be secretly preparing an alien landing site. Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 3Jun 01, 2010 8:07 pm Hmmm... thanks Gambarol. How very interesting! I hope it is piering because from what I just Googled it is very good in stabilising the slab foundations. Although I’m not too sure because I’m just having the basic M class slab and apparently piering is done on more reactive soil. Also, the same builder is building another house to doors down from me and they didn’t get piering... Plus knowing builders, I don’t think they would give me anything for free! Haha at the extra terrestrial reference! Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 4Jun 01, 2010 8:30 pm Hey, I've just finished building with M - no problems what so ever btw - I'm in Ipswich QLD. It does sound like piering - although I can't explain the ones on the boundary - maybe they have something to do with plumbing. Have a look at your plans - they will have the 'piering' holes shown on the plans. We were on ok soil, M I think our rating was and they gave us numerous of those pier supports under our slab. You're right they won't give you anything for free - so if they're doing it, you've obviously paid for it somewhere Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 5Jun 01, 2010 8:40 pm check your slab drawing, it should show where all the piering would be (engineers slab drawings). I'm sure that's what it would be. Site Start: 10th September, 2010 PCI : Friday 27th January, 2011. Handover: 3rd February, 2011 Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37677 Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 6Jun 01, 2010 8:46 pm Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 7Jun 01, 2010 8:59 pm It's hard to see the holes unless you're n site. They drill and fill on the same day (for safety reasons). Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 8Jun 01, 2010 9:31 pm Hey guys, thanks for the replies... Well I’m stumped! I checked my slab drawings and there are no provisions for piering so I’m pretty sure that can’t be it. From what I researched on the net I think they may be soakwells?? Although that too would be odd because they’re dug where I have downpipes returning to the water tank so there would be no need for the rainwater to collect into the ground. I think I may just have to ask my SS what they are! At least I learnt about piering and soakwells this evening! Cheers Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 9Jun 02, 2010 11:08 am Could very well be for plumbing. and that they will connect these holes up with trenches, might have run out of daylight when working on it. Some people don't have time to do the job right the first time, but seem to have plenty of time to fix their mistakes. Build Thread Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 11Jun 02, 2010 12:58 pm Let us know what you find out!!!!!!! Site Start: 10th September, 2010 PCI : Friday 27th January, 2011. Handover: 3rd February, 2011 Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37677 Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 12Jun 02, 2010 1:46 pm Hey guys... Well my SS confirmed that the holes are piering after all! I couldn’t see them very well last night because it was dark but on closer inspection today the holes in the positions I thought the downpipes were to be located are actually next to them on the edge where the slab is supposed to be poured. There are also about 2 dozen of them. They are getting filled with concrete today. I must say I am very happy to have them put in seeing as they’ll stop my house from shifting and sinking over time. That said, they are definitely not included in my contract or working drawings (not even on the page with the slab plan). Also, I didn’t pay anything extra for them- as part of a promotional package I only paid 2K over the base price of the home to include fixed site costs (and at the contract signing the builder hadn't tested the soil yet so was taking a bit of a risk). So all in all, I am a happy chappy today. It is surprising though seeing as my slab is the standard M class so there was no real need for extra reinforcing... Cheers Re: What are these mysterious holes dug on my land today?? 14Jun 02, 2010 2:20 pm Indeedy... plus a 400mm retaining wall down one side too! I have had issues with the builder to date but lately the cards have been falling my way so I may yet end up happy with the whole process! They have now gone from 2 out of 5 to 3 stars in my books haha... Building Standards; Getting It Right! Hi, sorry if this is the wrong place - I’m new to the property/building journey (trying to buy my first home) so not sure where/who to go with these sorts of… 0 19134 it depends on the natural ground level, if they excavated their boundary wall needed to be built as a retaining wall. If you filled, which sounds like the case then you… 1 7075 I know foam has been around since the 90's and CSR started manufacturing Hebel in 1989, so it's definitely possible 5 5423 |