Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Sep 29, 2014 8:18 am Builders advertise quality homes, but they hire crap site supervisors who are willing to compromise on quality to rush to finish the job! My recent building inspection reveal lots of junk mortar in the expansion joints which will result in bricks cracking when the joint closes up. This was pointed to my SS and his response was "it's ok. Mortar will crumble into dust when the joint closes". Needless to say, mortar was not removed and the joints have been sealed off still full of junk. My weep holes are blocked by junk mortar and this was pointed to my SS. His response was "there is not that much rain in Melbourne". My roof truss was highlighted by the inspector as failing. SS response was "there can't be anything wrong as the design of the roof truss was done by computer". It didn't occur to him to even consider if the workmen failed to follow the engineering plans during the build. In the kitchen, there is a huge gap in the ceiling behind the fridge area. Cornice was not installed there as the gap cannot be seen unless you peer behind the fridge. My inspector pointed out that all internal parts must be sealed. SS response to me was "this is how it's normally done. Anyway, your roof insulation will close up the gap later on". It is sad that this is the state of our building industry. Or is it just my builder which is crap? Re: Site supervisors 2Sep 29, 2014 9:53 am ant14 Builders advertise quality homes, but they hire crap site supervisors who are willing to compromise on quality to rush to finish the job! You are right of course. Your site supervisor could be 'supervising' another 20 houses. Tight tradie scheduling to reduce costs, the difficulty of getting top class tradesmen and poor regulatory governance that favours builders can all combine to create less than satisfactory outcomes. Many threads in this forum have examples of site supervisors lacking basic regulatory knowledge. It is impossible for a SS to have regulatory knowledge about several trades yet they supposedly 'supervise' their work. The last thing site supervisors want are disruptions that cause a domino effect to their schedules. Their boss is the builder, not you and it's harder to 'bully' the boss. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Site supervisors 3Sep 29, 2014 11:25 am I'd have to agree with you, ours have been less than ideal, they tell you what you want to hear but don't act on things. I had to take it above him to the construction manager to get some major defects fixed, once the CM was on site he agreed to pretty much everything, prior to that they were insisting we were at handover stage, and we were just holding things up. And honestly, you almost can't blame them for trying it on. I would hazard a guess that by the end of a build most people will forgive almost anything just to get their hands on the keys. If only 1 or 2 our of every 10 challenge them and demand what they've actually paid for then they would still come out well in front. Cynical view perhaps, but better than naive I think. Re: Site supervisors 4Sep 29, 2014 1:40 pm With such a poor response from your SS, any chance you can try to fix these issues yourself? Although its not your job to do be doing this, but you rather have a defect free home then rely onthe SS to maybe fix it if he is going to fix it at all. Re: Site supervisors 6Sep 29, 2014 1:49 pm staceyd And honestly, you almost can't blame them for trying it on. I would hazard a guess that by the end of a build most people will forgive almost anything just to get their hands on the keys. Thats a type of extortion no one should allow themselves to be sucked into. Re: Site supervisors 7Sep 29, 2014 5:14 pm It can be a difficult situation. For example, you are renting and builder gives you handover date and you terminate your rental and organise removalists only to find out your home won't be finished. You can't stay because landlord has someone else. This type of situation is all to common and there is nothing to protect owners. 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 am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13091 We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 37139 |