Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Concrete pier required ? 3Jul 21, 2013 8:57 am 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: Concrete pier required ? 5Jul 21, 2013 11:59 am 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: Concrete pier required ? 7Jul 21, 2013 12:49 pm 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: Concrete pier required ? 11Jul 22, 2013 9:25 am 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: Concrete pier required ? 13Jul 22, 2013 6:12 pm building-expert Just a dose of reality Your 25 year structural warranty is next to worthless because if something does happen, builder will try to avoid liability by saying it's your fault because of poor property maintenance. (I have seen dozens of cases of slab heave where builders are blaming owners, it's going to VCAT and it costs money) In any case If you don't have hundreds of dollars for expert advice now you most certainly won't have thousands of dollars for legal fees to prosecute your rights in the future. Geting independent inspector for your slab now it too late (unless it is for frame or other stage inspections) because you now have a contractual dispute. All that aside it is more than likely that your home will be OK structurally, it just means you may have been ripped off (charged for piers that you did not get). Hi building expert, Thank you again for your reply. Yes, you are right about the structural warranty issued by the builder. I was given the CSIRO foundation maintenance during the contract signing, and I opted to have the concrete footpath around the house for 900mm (I initiall opted 1000mm but they came back to me saying I built more than 60% of the house). I will also try do ta more proper landscaping after the handover if the budget allows. I did had a building inspector for the frame inspection and going to do two more for pre-plaster and pre-handover. It is a shame that I didn't have the pre-slab inspection. Definitely don't want to be involved in legal issue, never got into one and hopefully won't have to experience one *cross fingered* Agreed, I felt I had been ripped off and I always feels fascinated on how big corporate company works in Australia. Most of them just wants increased profit and reduced cost instead of delivering promises and quality services. Thank you. Re: Concrete pier required ? 14Nov 25, 2023 2:42 pm sonixspeedy maximus H2 means a highly reactive site, which means clay, which generally means more movement. If it's any help, these are the Australian Standard Definitions for different sites: Source: http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/Divisions/Victoria%20Division/Groups/as2870_-_2011_2_part1.pdf There is other good info here: http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/Divisions/Newcastle%20Division/Branches/be_careful_of_as2870_presentation_27th_june_2012.pptx I'm an engineer but not a structural engineer. Logic would say that if you have a H2 site then according to the definitions (very high ground movement and moisture change) you could reasonably expect the weight of a slab and the house on top of it would require some kind of support (i.e. piering or beams sitting on bedrock). The 100mm of uncompacted fill would increase the importance of adequate support for the slab. You said that the two solutions were either piers or deepen-edged beams. I guess the method used depends on the depth down to rock and the size of your slab. Do you know the depth down to rock? How large is your slab? Also, is there much of a fall (slope) on your site? What really matters is what was 'included' in the contract. In the Sydney area at least most project-home builders give you a price based on an M-class slab. They generally also have clauses that allow them to charge more if they get their estimates wrong, even though they say the contract is a 'fixed-price' contract. On the pricing front, did you specifically ask your builder to give you pricing for a H2 site? What was the description of the site cost 'inclusion'? What was the piering and drop-edged beam allowance? If you are concerned that there is an issue with the slab design then you could always get an independent engineer to look at it. My site is a H2 site so I made sure that my builder has included adequate provisions for piers and drop-edged beams in my contract. i.e. piers to a depth of 2m and 5sqm of drop-edge beams. I also carefully checked the depth to bedrock on the borehole report for my subdivision (to determine what piering allowance was needed). I'm still hoping that that's adequate. Hi maximus, Thank you for your comments, The fixed site cost allows for Site fall (up to 1000mm over site) H class slab (or compacted P class lot specific) Rock removal Retaining wall (where indicated) Fall protection Storm and sewer connection land up to 700sqm ag drain (where required) reestablishment survey Unfortunately, they never include the foundation slab plan in the contract of sale. They only include the soil test report from the engineering company "A". And there is no description of the footing support shown anywhere in the contract document. My lot is a compacted lot so it allows up to P class. However, the bored piers was only mentioned on the email conversation between the salesperson when finalising the quote and on the first engineering plan done by Company A which was sent by my very first coordinator (they already changed the coordinator 4 times) Do you know how much roughly it costs to hire an independent engineer ? I am on a tight budget living on a single income. I would like to stop the construction process if possible until my concern is cleared up but the builder say they still have by their 25 year structural warranty even though the design has changed. I will try to meet up with the construction manager to have him explain where the edge beam (additional concrete) or additional steel shown in the drawing. Couldn't see it anywhere on the plan. I will update you guys on what's going on. This has really stressed me out and affecting my personal and work life. No more building a new house in the future. Hopefully this is not just the beginning. But do thank you for the reply and advice Hi if i was you dlnt believe anything the builder tells you 25 years warranties is such over rated crap when its only 10 years by law in Australia. All these volume builders offering such high warranties do you really think tbey will be around that long. There is others offering 30 years structural warranties, and another is offering life time warranties. I questioned them on youtube which i think i embarrassed them in front of so many people on youtube they said every excuse under the sun except if they will be around a life time and the fact they said they use 400mm waffle pod slab, i replied its still a dam waffle slab regardless of warranties. Waffle slabs are prone to water ingress via plumbing trenches and soon as that happens the damage is done there is no fix for slab heave unless they undsrpin all the house, most important is the soil test which is totally different then soil classification test. Fkr pored pier soil test can go as deep as 18 metres deep or unless they hit solid rock for piers to sit on creating a solid footing. Sodont beilive any bull crap builders spin, all tney are intrested in the bottom profit. They don't care a about clients they will spin so much missleading information just to get you to sign, once you signyour locked in no where to go, because the builders answer will be you should have reading your contract. Becarefull, ive been down this road 13 years ago and last 8 years legallly fighting our large volume builder the HIA contract is written up in favor of builders so new home owner has no hope in hell to understand what they are signing. Get a construction lawyer to go through your contract making sure your not been charged for things that you shouldn't be paying for. If you need more information. PM mei have plenty of information and building codes and standards that i have bought on line to educate myself i spend 3 or4 hours every day reading everything about building new home, and the information i have would make your head spin knowing the builder witheld the important information from you. Good luck pm me if you need to chat. Re: Concrete pier required ? 16Nov 26, 2023 2:41 am Just read the fine prints of the warranties I bet you will find some will be transferable and some don't. And to even thinking half of these volume builders will be around 25 to 30 years and one offering life time structural warranties. Got rocks in their heads. I am dealing with one now. So unless you have experienced the structural warranties which in Australia is only 10 years. So why offer 25 to 30 plus years on structural warranties when the law does not. Look I've been doing this legally for 8 years close to 9 years soon I know every trick in the builders book by now. All I will say if you believe in all that warranties good luck with that. When you have a claim against a builder in 12 or 15 Yeats time you will be told you have passed the law in Australia I forget the name. Good luck if you think that. God bless you. 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 10707 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 6170 |