Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Oct 06, 2010 11:03 pm Quick question, should a site clean include moving dirt piles to bring soil up to slab level? Our contract says we get bobcat site cleaning up to $500 value. Builder originally said he would be moving the dirt to fill one side of house up to top of slab. 6 weeks after handover, neighbours about to move in and cut off rear access, finally the daft bugger is going to come but now claims it only includes taking away rubbish. Considering I used much of the rubbish as fill already and have piled the rest up in 2 piles to avoid looking at it.... this is about a 20 minute wheelbarrow job! Hardly worth $500. Meanwhile we've been staring at a massive mountain of dirt and capeweed out our windows for 6 weeks only to find the ******* so-and-so isn't going to move it after all! Not happy! So what I would like to know is whether the contract provision for "site cleaning" could reasonably be argued to include shifting dirt. What is the usual meaning of the term "site cleaning"? Edit to add, how revealing to see that D O D G Y is apparently used so often on this forum as to warrant auto-censoring. A sad indictment on the general competence of the building industry in Australia. "Now, supposing a house to have a southern aspect, sunshine during winter will steal in under the verandah, but in summer, when the sun traverses a path right over our heads, the roof will afford an agreeable shade, will it not?" -- Socrates, ca. 400 BC Re: site clean = ? 2Oct 07, 2010 9:57 am Hi Russell, Sorry to say - Site clean generally is only the removal of any final builders rubbish and does not include moving soil around unless you have 'landscaping' included by your builder. Cheers Never argue with an idiot they drag you down to their level & then beat you with experience - Dilbert View Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=19733 Contract signed 14Sept Slab 30Sept Bricks laid 1Dec Lock up 26Feb Keys 10Jun Re: site clean = ? 3Oct 07, 2010 12:29 pm My understanding is actual rubbish removed not soil. But if they have allowed $500 in your contract then it should be used, if not, you get a refund. Also I was told today by our SS that the soil will be pushed up the the rebate on the slab, down the track. Site Start: 10th September, 2010 PCI : Friday 27th January, 2011. Handover: 3rd February, 2011 Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37677 Re: site clean = ? 4Oct 07, 2010 12:45 pm My builders pushed the soil from the site scrape back up to slab level as part of their "site clean". They certainly didn't do the most thorough job but they did move soil. I didn't pay for any landscaping. As to what the technical definition of a "site clean" is I'm afraid I don't know. Hope that helps. Re: site clean = ? 5Oct 09, 2010 2:24 pm Thanks for the replies. The bloke came the other day, took away 2 tiny piles of rubbish and moved a cubic metre of soil. Gee, that was worth $500 . Now I'm gonna get some muscles shoveling the remaining 5-10 m3... "Now, supposing a house to have a southern aspect, sunshine during winter will steal in under the verandah, but in summer, when the sun traverses a path right over our heads, the roof will afford an agreeable shade, will it not?" -- Socrates, ca. 400 BC Re: site clean = ? 7Oct 09, 2010 3:11 pm TheOK russell Considering I used much of the rubbish as fill. Yikes... what kind of rubbish and what did you fill? Only broken bricks and lumps of mortar and concrete, used to backfill behind a retaining wall. 200 mm + of topsoil on top of it and only grass on top so should be OK. "Now, supposing a house to have a southern aspect, sunshine during winter will steal in under the verandah, but in summer, when the sun traverses a path right over our heads, the roof will afford an agreeable shade, will it not?" -- Socrates, ca. 400 BC Re: site clean = ? 8Oct 09, 2010 4:44 pm It probably wont matter then, but i do recall reading an article about rocks pushing their way up to the surface in a vegetable patch, whether or not that'll happen in your case I don't know, I think it had something to do with soil sifting. Maybe 'Fu Manchu' H1's resident guru rocket scientist landscape gardener can shed some light. Before I read that article I was convinced my neighbours where throwing rocks at me. . . I still haven't figured out how the rocks got on the roof ...maybe up the downpipes? Re: site clean = ? 9Oct 09, 2010 5:44 pm TheOK It probably wont matter then, but i do recall reading an article I still haven't figured out how the rocks got on the roof ...maybe up the downpipes? Capillary action, perhaps? "Now, supposing a house to have a southern aspect, sunshine during winter will steal in under the verandah, but in summer, when the sun traverses a path right over our heads, the roof will afford an agreeable shade, will it not?" -- Socrates, ca. 400 BC Re: site clean = ? 10Oct 09, 2010 6:03 pm russell TheOK It probably wont matter then, but i do recall reading an article I still haven't figured out how the rocks got on the roof ...maybe up the downpipes? Capillary action, perhaps? (in my best (weak) toffy accent) Excellent work Sherlock ...Elementary because its not being managed properly. Also "properly" is too broad and too subjective a term to be able to pinpoint a single event as not being managed properly.… 1 2729 I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 8262 |