Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Anyone know anything about stormwater drains/easements?? 21Jan 28, 2011 4:41 pm Thanks Annietom.... Yes, resolving the issue is one thing, but I am also keen to determine if the previous owner 'did the right thing' and went through the proper channels with proper approval etc. If not, we will persue (sp) him because we are already jacked off with him over other '*******' things we are finding. So a) we need to rectify the problem, and b) we need to ensure the previous owners got all the proper paperwork and approvals done. We were given a plan when we went to the council that the previous owners submitted, but it seems to be just a 'proposal' - not sure if that means they have to go through with that proposal once approved - or what. Too many questions at the moment. I was going to make some phone calls today but it's too late in the week, feel a bit 'over it' for this week.... will leave it all until Monday (and on the weekend we plan to do a bit of light digging to see where our downpipes go to.... but I certainly don't think they go out to the street). Thanks again..... Re: Anyone know anything about stormwater drains/easements?? 22May 21, 2011 8:18 pm Hi HH, how did you go with this? Did you get anywhere? I think you'll find that councils are too often only interested in the application / approval part of developments/renos, and not interested in checking compliance after the development is finished. Therefore the process is incomplete and flawed IMO. There is usually someone who suffers due to these "incomplete" works and it is sometimes an innocent neighbour or unsuspecting future owner. For example, someone we know recently put in a new covered area which has a gutter and a downpipe. The plans approved by the council say "stormwater to be connected by owner". The owner did not finish off his contractor's work (the contractor was not conntracted to sort out the stormwater, just to erect the structure). The stormwater is not managed, it is channelled towards a neighbour's property - one of the first no-nos according to council! Where is the council's compliance / development monitoring department? That poor neighbour is having a boggy area in the yard and probably hasn't noticed the downpipe issue or doesn't understand that it doesn't (and shouldn't) be that way. Anyway. Rant over. P.S. Would be nice if you would update us on your situation as there are other people in a similar situation and are also not aware of what's going on and what should be done. BTW, do you have to pay for the council's engineers to come over and advise? Thanks My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Anyone know anything about stormwater drains/easements?? 23May 21, 2011 8:32 pm Hi Lex, everyone.... Hmmm.... where to start (my head still spins when I have to recount what's happened with all of this). The short story is that we haven't really gotten any further - nothing has been done/achieved. We have this matter (and some other plumbing issues) currently pending with the plumbing commission. They are going to come and inspect but it takes 6-8wks and we are currently only about 2wks in. We had lodged a complaint months ago, but due to the usual rigmerole (sp) it sat with them for a while. Then they said the original plumber would call us to come and look at our issues - but he never did. So when I called the plumb. comm. back, they immediately escalated it to 'investigations' which means they send their own inspector out - which I'd much rather be the case because then we are getting unbiased advise and not the original plumber telling us that there isn't an issue (iykwim) or not satisfactorily rectifying the situation. As far as the stormwater goes, it looks like they might get away with it because according to the fine print, if an extension is less than... can't remember the size... but ours is less than the requirement, then the plumber can just tap into existing stormwater drains. So essentially, it is not his 'responsibility' to ensure the drainage is adequate to begin with, he can just add to it without any recourse. So we are not liking our chances of getting the plumber to rectify this one. What we are hoping though, is that the 5 or 6 other smaller jobs (one not so small - relating to the gutters overflowing and flooding inside our bedroom window when it rains heavily) gets fixed. AND, that perhaps even though the stormwater drainage might be all 'OK', the fact that the builder then built a deck over it when according to the permits, they should be 'x' amount away from the house and footings (which it would have once been before the extension was done). But this will probably have to be chased up via another means because the plumbing commission only deals with plumbers/plumbing issues - not building issues. We have other separate issues (see my recent bathroom/grouting post) that I need to contact the builder about but we don't know whether to hold off another 4-6wks until we know the outcome of the above - or just hit him one by one as they arise (my gut says to only contact him once with EVERYTHING in one go - but it means waiting and possibly doing more damage). Sorry if that is confusing. Happy to clarify. As I said, short answer is that nothing has yet been done/determined. Will keep you posted though. Any thoughts on the way to approach the builder - contact him about the bathroom and then get back to him about the deck if need be? Or wait and do it all at once?? HHCIB Re: Anyone know anything about stormwater drains/easements?? 24May 21, 2011 9:03 pm Thanks HHCIB and sorry to hear this again. Yes, I read some of your threads and seems like the previous owner did a quick reno job with questionable quality. Unfortunately, I can't help you. I think if you call VCAT or equivalent in your state, they would tell you that you first need to "give the builder the opportunity to make it good" . But since he actually sold you this house, not sure of the procedure. Anyway, best is to contact Fair Trading dept to see what is the correct process. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Anyone know anything about stormwater drains/easements?? 25Jun 07, 2011 8:53 pm Thanks Lex. We had plumbing commission around yesterday. Very long story short - it's our issue to deal with now. We thought as much, but we just wanted somebody to come and check and tell us for sure rather than hearing differing opinions from various sources. Looks like soaker pits are going to be the solution (maybe, not yet fully decided). We did have a win on a few other plumbing issues that will be rectified by the original plumber so we'll take them (the wins) where we can . Still having other non-plumbing issues that we are about to now tackle via building commission or VCAT or whatever the correct process will be. Wish us luck . Thanks everyone for your advice and support. Off to research our actual drainage options now. HHCIB I had an old shower unit that broke on me and when I took it off, there were only 2 water pipes, instead of the normal 2 water pipes and a shower head pipe. S o I… 0 36938 The most definitive answer to your question James is this taken from the James Hardie Axon Cladding Installation Guide - i just happen to have it… 5 3665 Plumbers 'can be' plumbers, made all the worse by self certification which the building surveyor invariably accepts as proof of compliance! The good thing is that you know know. 3 4859 |