Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 22, 2012 9:20 pm You should trust professional structural engineer right? Think twice when he gets lot of work from this top tier builder or you may regret it. My expert Nicholas has come across this interesting situation: http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog/b ... -engineer/ Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Bored pier subsidence, would you trust structural engineer? 2Jun 23, 2012 12:52 am I understand there may be issues with any engineer, volume builder or not but really what can you do about it? End of the day, if it can be proven the engineer had incorrectly or insufficently designed the foundations given the soil report and it led to damage in normal conditions etc, surely you you could sue them or get their professional indemnity insurance to rectify the damage. The engineering designs are in black and white and the evidence of errors etc will be there forever. But to simply say think twice doesn't provide a solution to prospective buyers. What is your solution? Get every buyer to appoint another engineer to go through the designs and and computations before they start building? At what point do homeowners stop to ensure they have a house that is 100% prefect. If every house is guaranteed to be 100% perfect and over engineered/designed, most people would look for a cheaper options. Engineers, like product manufacturer will attempt to design a plan/product that works well 99% of the time in normal circumstances at a cost effective price. Re: Bored pier subsidence, would you trust structural engine 3Jun 23, 2012 7:59 am The point I am getting across is that in a situation where engineer is getting a lot of work from a volume builder he transitions from once only independent appointment to a subcontractor whose opinion may become tainted in favour of that builder in a situation where he is required to investigate a defect. I have seen many engineering reports that are either deliberately inconclusive or avoid pointing the finger at builder' s fault (where it clearly should do so) or make inadequate rectification recommendations. That is not to paint all engineers the same. I have employed many on my development projects and they are fine and competent people. It simply means that if you have a structural problem on your home and builder fronts with his own engineers report, be sceptical and get your own independent report. That is why in my business I cannot build relationships and can have no friends because that is the only way to stay truly independent. I know of inspectors who have special relationships with builders (they do their QA inspections) but won't tell you if you book them for stage inspection on that builder's job. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Bored pier subsidence, would you trust structural engine 5Jun 23, 2012 9:46 am This is very similar to what has happened to me. The Engineering company that the builder has contracted to 'investigate' my house movement happen to be the same company that did my soil report a few years back. No chance they will be pointing the finger at anyone except myself. Quote: It is thought that the pier excavations were not cleaned out adequately This sounds like rubbish to me. You would have to have a lot of excavated material still in the hole for this to happen. More likely the piers were not deep enough in design or never actually drilled to depth. They must have a long list of scenarios that they can pick and chose from to make their reports sound factual. Re: Bored pier subsidence, would you trust structural engine 6Jun 23, 2012 7:32 pm Small amount of loose dirt in bottom of piers is unlikely to have caused the problem because sheer weight of concrete in the pier would have compressed it. There are a number of other possible reasons why piers have subsided, one of them is probable foundation flooding. Recently I have had a bad foundation flooding of a "P"slab with piers: http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog/p ... -just-did/ Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog I should have followed up on this thread. So, the pier foundation wasn't large enough on the side it was leaning towards, and the NBN cable went through the pier, just… 8 12103 Just be careful with building stability during construction, that is when the structure may be weakened, refer to your engineering drawings for stability methodology. 1 7197 |