Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Mar 31, 2020 7:11 am I was hoping for some advice from more experienced punters. We are about to do our PCI but due to social distancing restrictions, only one person can enter the home with our SS. We will not be permitted to touch anything. Only our SS will be permitted to touch surfaces, he will be gloved and he will place stickers on defects. Iām concerned about signing off and paying our remaining 10% in light of not being able to inspect our home as thoroughly as possible. We may not have a lot of choice if we want our house but is there any way to protect ourselves moving forward? Although our builder has some bad feedback on this forum (as do other builders), we have no personal reason to believe they will not do the right thing. Thank you Re: PCI during pandemic restrictions and consumer rights? 2Mar 31, 2020 8:05 am Why don't you get your own private inspector in before PCI? 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: PCI during pandemic restrictions and consumer rights? 3Mar 31, 2020 8:21 am becks81 Per the HIA contract your house is under the control of Wisdom Homes until final payment and handover. In addition they are responsible for everyone's safety in the house. In the current circumstances I feel Wisdom are correct to be very cautious. FYI below HIA guidelines about this. That said, you need to do a proper inspection, however long it takes. I suggest you prepare a detailed checklist including everything you think is important and share this with Wisdom Homes so they are prepared with the necessary tools, time allocation and PPE to do a proper inspection. I am sure the the Wisdom team will support this approach to ensure the quality of their contractors' workmanship and adherance to your building plans. Research the contents of this list thoroughly, referencing the NSW Fair Trading Guide to Standards and Tolerances so you know what to look for in each room and externally https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/hous ... tolerances or get professional advice. Your SS will need to bring; a powerful portable worklight, a stepladder, carpenters square, spirit level, 2 metre straight edge, window packers, small ruler, powerpoint test device and maybe also a laser leveling tool for good measure. Get agreement he will bring these and will inspect thoroughly and systematically based on your list, Australian standards tolerances, and your instructions to him on the day. If he won't bring these tools borrow them or go to Bunnings and buy them yourself for him to use under your direction. Don't allow your SS to play the usual game and just quickly focus on the minor scratches and paint blemishes, ignoring checking for typical major defects. Take photos of everything. If you are not confident with this DIY PCI approach get a professional inspector to do it alone prior to PCI or with your SS at the time. If you identify major defects you can formally dispute PCI has been achieved following the contract procedure for this. Don't sign anything under these circumstances. Good luck, and let us know how you go. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: PCI during pandemic restrictions and consumer rights? 5Apr 09, 2020 7:32 am luxbuild yes, the 'Macsim' brand plastic window packers are in exact thicknesses denoted by different colours and clearly demonstrate the gaps under a 2m straight edge level placed on walls and ceilings. This identifies unsightly waves and bows, in excess of building standards. The black window packer in this picture is 10mm thick and the Australian standards tolerance is a maximum 4mm gap over 2m length. This means the wooden house frame is not straight here. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: PCI during pandemic restrictions and consumer rights? 6Apr 09, 2020 11:33 am Ah thats excellent and makes it easy to check. Mixed size packers and they're less than $5. I see a 2m spirit level is $180 and a 2m straight edge is $43. You could use that with a Bosch rangefinder that also has a spirit level feature. As you said the SS should have this stuff. The only thing to add to these comments is that where possible it's always good to try and work with people than just say "no" because you can. Having someone… 4 17107 Just to makea point about this, an approach that some people have found sucessful in negotiating these rises down, Is to provide some workings to the builder, specifying… 4 81666 |