Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jul 04, 2011 12:41 pm Hi everyone, I have a question which I would like to ask you all for advice. I received a notice from my estate indicating that the solar panels in front of my house do not comply with the design guidelines. They are front facing and should be "unobtrusive and located towards the rear of the house" instead. The builder was supplied a copy of the design guidelines at the time of build, and the house has been complete now for 8 months. My question is, what are my options? Should I speak to the estate, builder, lawyer, or a contractor to move the solar panels? Not quite sure what to do as I feel kind of ripped off, considering I spoke with the builder to move the solar panels, but was advised it was a 'legal requirement' which I knew was complete bullocks (as that mean the rest of the houses in my street were breaking the law). On the contrary one could argue that I should have been aware of the design guideline, etc. Any hows, interested to hear other similar stories and the outcomes of those situations. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. David Re: My builder did not comply with design guidelines. 2Jul 04, 2011 1:55 pm Are the panels in the same position as whats shown on your plans? Success is the result of good judgment, good judgment is the result of experience, and experience is often the result of bad judgment! Re: My builder did not comply with design guidelines. 4Jul 04, 2011 2:34 pm we had to put our plans in for developer/estate approval. If you did that and those those plans had the solar panels on them and they were approved you should be okay to keep them. If this is the case i would send a letter back stating this a containing a copy of your approval letter and the stamped plans. Re: My builder did not comply with design guidelines. 5Jul 04, 2011 4:00 pm kdgirl we had to put our plans in for developer/estate approval. If you did that and those those plans had the solar panels on them and they were approved you should be okay to keep them. If this is the case i would send a letter back stating this a containing a copy of your approval letter and the stamped plans. Thats exactly what I was thinking kdgirl. If it was already approved then they cant ask for it to be changed now. As far as I'm aware solar panels are usually positioned on the side that receives the most sun. Could that be another argument? Success is the result of good judgment, good judgment is the result of experience, and experience is often the result of bad judgment! Re: My builder may not have complied with design guidelines. 6Jul 04, 2011 4:48 pm I know estates are trying to make sure looks are maintained but for things like this they should also consider the usage - solar panels should be north facing to receive maximum benfit. My builder may not have complied with design guidelines. 7Jul 05, 2011 6:07 am kdgirl we had to put our plans in for developer/estate approval. If you did that and those those plans had the solar panels on them and they were approved you should be okay to keep them. If this is the case i would send a letter back stating this a containing a copy of your approval letter and the stamped plans. +1 if they have approved your plans with the solar panels in that location then that's the end of story. Re: My builder did not comply with design guidelines. 8Jul 05, 2011 8:02 am Flatlined kdgirl we had to put our plans in for developer/estate approval. If you did that and those those plans had the solar panels on them and they were approved you should be okay to keep them. If this is the case i would send a letter back stating this a containing a copy of your approval letter and the stamped plans. Thats exactly what I was thinking kdgirl. If it was already approved then they cant ask for it to be changed now. As far as I'm aware solar panels are usually positioned on the side that receives the most sun. Could that be another argument? I agree that if the developer/council approved your plans, showing the panels in the position they're now in, then it's their bad luck. As for solar panels needing to be on the north side, that depends. There are several houses in my estate with panels located elsewhere - they can be angled to catch maximum sunlight and/or extra panels added. Personally, I wouldn't have them on the front of my house - but then, I also wouldn't buy a north-facing block, because I want maximum light in my living rooms and usable outdoor areas. Sometimes you don't have a lot of choice about the aspect of your land, so you need to do what works best and what you're happy with. I engaged my builder in December last year and we’ve been working on preliminary drawings for last couple of months. I got a call from the salesperson this morning… 0 601 My door tends to rub against the frame during winter and I'm looking to fix it so it closes smoothly. Looking online on Youtube I'm seeing methods to fix the alignment and… 0 703 Hi All, I just wanted to close this topic out with an update. So we ended up agreeing to a number with the insurance company, and after an extensive amount of hand… 8 23405 |