Another defective house story

Nothing will happen until you begin VCAT proceedings but before you do that you have to go through BDRV.
You can begin with your claim if you have expert report and a cost estimate to repair or replace your home. There will be an opportunity of VCAT mediation and sometimes issues are resolved.

In the meantime your downpipes should be connected to drains even if temporary fittings are used

It’s left me broken with no trust in the systems that are meant to be there to support us in these situations.

I have never been able to understand why the construction industry governance has never been an election issue given that it affects so many people.

It's because of strong lobbies from interested "well funded" parties that make political donations against a mass of disorganised homeowners.
It only takes a good donation at the right time and place for politicians to look the other way. When forced to do something the the politicians will come up with a "Clayton's fix" to fool the public.
If you want change, you will need homeowners party to contest marginal seats.

It affects many people for a short time, hence not a big issue.

Numerous people are affected long term by financial losses, marriage break ups, health issues and more.

But by the time it has affected them it is no longer a hot topic, they can't go back in time an fix the original cause.

[quote="ECOECO":iqloc7xt][quote="SaveH2O":iqloc7xt]Numerous people are affected long term by financial losses, marriage break ups, health issues and more.[/quote:iqloc7xt]
But by the time it has affected them it is no longer a hot topic, they can't go back in time an fix the original cause.[/quote:iqloc7xt]

ECOECO - the domestic building industry has and is still a long standing issue and as a homeowner going through the battle against insurance companies who only have one goal and that is to wipe their hands hope you will disappear. This is a huge problem.

It causes huge financial loss. The average home owner has to work their way through advice, websites, insurance, ‘experts’, reports etc and still without an outcome. The stress accumulates and causes health problems, relationship breakdowns etc. All I want is to have a safe home to live in. One without numerous defects and ongoing problems.

One does not have a choice but to go down the legal road when a report comes in from an insurer’s Engineering ‘expert’ that there is a line of trees down the east side of my property causing settlement when in fact, there a no trees there.

Is 9 months after a large tree removed sufficient time for it to be not causing heave in that area of my home? According to the ‘expert’, it is and would not be causing problems. The tree wasn’t mentioned in the Geotechnical report.

Who does one turn to? Where does one put in a compliant to? And if you call the VBA regarding the practice of the builder and plumber, what do they do and does it help my case?

In the meantime, I’ve paid out over $12,000 getting independent reports etc and fixing some issues so I can at least stay living in my home.

Maybe I should take it to the media, local members etc. Will it help? Probably not. But maybe it will raise awareness for other homeowners about to start their journey in purchasing or building a home.

But the topic never goes away because there are so many others who continue to suffer from numerous common issues only made possible by a well recognised disgraced system. When someone gives up because it has become financially unviable to continue or because of health or other problems, numerous others are still battling and newcomers are continually joining the long queue of despair.

The cause is the inadequacy of the system to protect new home buyers rights and the lack of political will to rectify the disgrace that has too long been allowed to continue.

dare i say the white elephant in the room, we hear unfortunatly many horific stories on bad building experiences, we hear little on HOW MUCH HOME WORK DID I DO, i,m often seeing a common aproach before building of very little to no home work done before building,even many that think they have done months and months of homework have generally just gone to numerous display villages ,then picked a home from a display they like, to me thats a 2/10 for homework,relying on a commission based saleperson to inform them of their new home,we often hear ,they were so nice and polite before signing the contract,then the crap started.there is so much information out there for new home builders,speak to tradesmen,current new build owners of chosen builder,if a smalller builder interview him,you can minimize the chances of a new build going bad,its learn or risk sinking.

Standards and building codes are there and should be followed and enforced. Unfortunately short cuts are taken. Why? Time, greed, lack of care. I’m sure if they were building their own house more care would be taken.
No one is enforcing. Maybe there should be larger penalties/fines when caught not following Standards/codes. If this was the case then builders might take more care and do the right thing.

Gee if I didn’t follow procedures in my job lives would be lost and I would be out of a job, never to work in the industry again.

Your right but unfortunately the building industry is almost lacking any real consumer protection and to find out after the fact is life changing with years of frustration and knowing your right,but getting less than what you paid for at best once a poor build eventuates.

During my build I inform my ss and builder about temporary downpipes and he look stunt.

Lol.. And then give me the rounds about 20 years in the industry and he knows what's what.

Funny thing is I really think he wasn't BS. He just totally believe it doesn't need temporary down pipes.

And this pesky cluess clients apparently telling him what is what.

I had similar experience was told “we don’t do temp down pipes “
I asked him to read up on H1 classification sites but also provided the link in email , we got the temp down pipes , we have had a lot of standing water around the house which is also a concern which has been documented and lots of photos taken ,

I have done testing on soil moisture changes during construction and it showed up to 70% increase in soil moisture if poor drainage exists and temporary downpipes aren't used.That changes any site with highly reactive clay to a class “p” site regardless of the initial classification.
I presented this info to builders but just driving around any housing estate and it clearly has made little impact.
The VBA must enforce the standards but as we know they a waste of time and resources.

I have had major concerns regarding the standing water and its been a constant battle with them ,I had meetings with senior construction manager and he had no idea of implications all I would get was "we don't do it like that "

I have been in a good discussion with H20 regarding flexible joints for our down pipes and sewer , our private certifier has no understanding and passes the buck the plumber said they are only needed in Qld , I have contacted FTD nsw and got a very vague reply they said they don't reference AS 2870 0nly As3500 and if I wasn't happy I should get a independent expert to view details , the whole thing is a con in my book you either build to AS standards or you don't no grey areas but there are so many things which contradict each other its a farce, we need a full royal inquiry into construction here in Australia, its left to the owner with a up hill battle to get results.

My builder before handover send me VBA std and tolerances guide as reference.

And when I quote the reference saying if void in mortar is defective and stain in mortar is considered defective.

Then they chose to ignore the guide they send me.

I can only LOL.

The Guide is not legislated...it has no legal standing. If you make a complaint, you have to quote the NCC or the NCC reference to the appropriate Standard.

In some instances, the Standards may also be overruled by a certified Performance Solution hidden in the contract.

The VBA Technical Solution Sheets are also not legislated and while much of what they contain may be accurate, reliance must not be placed on their absolute accuracy.

Yes but the irony is my builder send me this guide before PCI.
They follow this guide in regards to inspection distance and natural light etc.

But when I quote it my advantage they ignore it.

Did they also give you the CSIRO Guide To Foundation And Slab Maintenance? Unless it has been recently updated, it advises of a non compliant slope away from the building but if you have a concrete path with the advised slope laid to protect a house on reactive soil against heave and there is heave later on, they will use the non compliant slope as a Get Out Of Jail Free card.