Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Sep 08, 2011 11:53 pm Hi all, I've been looking at various builders over the past few months (planning to build my first home), and one thing that's struck me is how much variation there is in the length of the structural guarantee provided by each builder. Some provide 7 years, others 25 years, and even as long as 50 years. At first glance, a 50-yr guarantee would seem to imply a higher level of build quality - after all, you would reasonably assume that a new TV with a 5-yr guarantee is better-built than another TV with a 1-guarantee wouldn't you? But is this a naive view? Is the duration of the structural guarantee really an indication of how well-built the house will be? I've searched a bit on these forums, but even though there are some posts on what a structural guarantee covers, I haven't seen any discussion on why some builders offer a 7-year period, while others go up to 50 years. Does anyone have any comments/insight into the disparity between different builders' policies, and why some can offer 7 times as long a guarantee period? Re: Structural guarantee - an indicator of build quality? 2Sep 09, 2011 7:13 am Each state has slightly different statutory warranties that range from 6.5 - 7 yrs. These are mandatory and are insurance policies that you must purchase to get a permit and are pretty useless as they run with less than a 1% claims loss ratio. For the long term 25 yr and 50 yr guarantees my only comment is that how does that company know they will still be around to support it? The only way I would start to trust it would be if they gave you a properly underwritten insurance policy that would work even if they had dissappeared. Without that security then the guarantee is probably only a marketing gimmick. Builders are people too.... Re: Structural guarantee - an indicator of build quality? 3Sep 09, 2011 8:08 am +1 to all of the above Re: Structural guarantee - an indicator of build quality? 4Sep 09, 2011 8:08 am Guarantee's are not worth the paper they are written on. As builda said, will they still be around in 25 or 50 years ? A lot of these building companies will not survive, so therefore any guarantee is useless. As well as that how many people stay in their home that long ? Most people on average move every 7 years, the house gets sold and even though the guarantee is for the house and not the owner, the new owners are very unlikely to make any claim. Re: Structural guarantee - an indicator of build quality? 5Sep 10, 2011 12:38 am Thanks for the comments. I'm not so much concerned with what each guarantee covers, or how likely it is to be honoured - what I'm wondering is, is the length of the guarantee somehow an indicator of the level of build quality? But it seems like the general consensus so far is that they're mainly a marketing tactic, and not really a concrete indicator. Re: Structural guarantee - an indicator of build quality? 6Sep 10, 2011 7:17 am If the house meets building regulations it should be able to last structurally for at least 50 years. A lot of quality is more about finishes and fit. There is more information here on comparing building compliance and quality. http://www.anewhouse.com.au/?p=685 The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Structural guarantee - an indicator of build quality? 8Sep 11, 2011 10:22 pm eyspy acl - what I'm wondering is, is the length of the guarantee somehow an indicator of the level of build quality? Simple - NO Couldn't agree more. It is completely a marketing ploy, and as you can see it would work on some people. Besides the above comments that the builder may not be around in 50 years, the extended warranty is also not transferrable to any future owners. So builders all work on the fact that most people will on-sell their home before the 7yr (or 6.5yr depending on where you are) statutory warranty is up, which means they will still have to fulfil the statutory warranty but the extended warranty becomes null and void. Assuming you've modelled the TB8, TB10, TB12, TB2 & J1 joists/LVLs there, it appears as per drawing to me. There maybe should be an additional J1 between TB10 and T12 if… 3 31845 interesting situation what happened after builder issued final invoice? did you list as defect or not does the building surveyor have any responsibility? ie. issuing… 13 46972 |