Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Aug 08, 2019 10:32 pm Hi guys, the more I read here about all those issues that my happen with new building, the more I think about getting an old house. My main idea is that if a house has a construction flaws - they should be already visible at that age (around 10-11 years). Could you tell me please - how fast such errors/flaws/mistakes usually become visible? For example I just read about different slabs and how a builder could screw that so a homeowner will face a big problem later on. But the question - how much time it may take for them to become noticeable? Now (in QLD) we have A LOT of houses being on sale that pretty much 9-12 years old. What is the reason for people selling them that much (and 70% of them is a exactly similar design like this - Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ is something wrong with this design or builder?) Thanks! Re: When do construction errors usually manifest themselves? 2Aug 08, 2019 11:46 pm A lot of later major faults are caused by the land itself and the builder's lack of attention to site drainage during construction. Some houses are patched up and sold after just a few years. A house foundation needs a good foundation (soil). Houses are sold on average every 7 years. If you buy established, having a good inspection is necessary but again, knowing the soil classification is very important. Inspections when on highly reactive soil need to be much more specific. You are in QLD, you also need to look for any possible overland flow issues and past flooding if it is a low area. 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: When do construction errors usually manifest themselves? 3Aug 10, 2019 9:21 pm SaveH2O A lot of later major faults are caused by the land itself and the builder's lack of attention to site drainage during construction. Some houses are patched up and sold after just a few years. A house foundation needs a good foundation (soil). Houses are sold on average every 7 years. If you buy established, having a good inspection is necessary but again, knowing the soil classification is very important. Inspections when on highly reactive soil need to be much more specific. You are in QLD, you also need to look for any possible overland flow issues and past flooding if it is a low area. That's exactly what I am trying to figure out. If a house was build with "builder's lack of attention to site drainage during construction" as you mentioned - how soon (typically) that may become visible and make problems? Is it possible to find out what type of soild the house was build on when someone is buying already established house? Re: When do construction errors usually manifest themselves? 4Aug 10, 2019 10:53 pm Some new home owners already have signs of cracking at final inspection but are assured by the builder that it is only settling and will be touched up later. Symptoms don't show overnight, it is slow but usually within the first 4-5 years if poor site drainage was the cause. If you build on saturated highly reactive soil during a wet period, the risk of subsidence is increased and if you build on dry reactive soil at the peak of a dry period, the risk of heave is increased. The latter is why there was a high incidence of heave in a relatively short time frame in the Melbourne western suburbs after the millennial drought broke. In Adelaide around 2005-2008, up to 70% of all houses in some suburbs were found to have subsidence caused cracking during the drought. I still have all of the statistics for most suburbs on file. If you build on a KDR site, the moisture levels should be optimised pre construction. Areas of highly reactive soil are well known and soil type maps can be found on the internet. If a house is built by a responsible builder and required attention to slab maintenance was attended to after handover and there are no nearby large trees, there is no real reason to worry but it must be remembered that some new estates are now built in areas that were previously shunned by builders and this substantially increases risk. Many new home buyers have never heard of heave and its implications and do not expect any type of problems but not all problems are caused by the builders, many problems are caused by homeowners. It is fair to say that a new home owner would be more at risk with a problem house than someone who purchased several years later after a thorough professional inspection. Any house could have construction issues but they should show up during a competent pre purchase inspection. If you buy established in QLD, make sure that it has a well designed solid roof. Times are a changin'. I don't know about QLD but further south generally provides the opportunity of a larger lot when purchasing an established property in suburbia. 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: When do construction errors usually manifest themselves? 5Aug 13, 2019 12:25 am thanks SaveH2O, much appreciated! Re: When do construction errors usually manifest themselves? 6Aug 15, 2019 9:17 am Great post, I often get asked this on site during Engineering inspections. my2c 1. Serious errors show initial signs within the maintenance period 3-6 months 2. Concrete elements generally are reinforced 3. Brickwork elements generally are not reinforced 4. Cracking is the first sign of failure, brittle collapses ( Without Warning) are dangerous 5. Structural cracking and excessive deflections should be appraised by a licence structural engineer 6. You can help by having/providing photographs during your build, Engineering/certification details, etc 7. You can also monitor defections and collect data over time, consult an engineer 9. Also Codes and Australian Standards also get revised hth Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: When do construction errors usually manifest themselves? 7Aug 15, 2019 9:27 am At the risk of confusion, it can happen at any stage. But-yes, it generally happens in the first few years. We've seen homes stand perfect for 20 years, until the long-standing drought affected them... Then they started cracking plaster. Although they were built to a higher overall quality, they needed newer solutions for the repairs - as they kept cracking after first repair. 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