Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Sep 12, 2010 4:38 pm hello guys, I am so excited and can't wait to have the keys for my lovely house. As I am in the final/pre-handover stage for a build that has been dragging on for a while, you understand what i am feeling now. Went through PCI yesterday with my SS, everything ran smoothly at the beginning but we stuck at the end and the final process: signing. Initially I managed to have my PCI with my independent inspector, however (no surprise) was told that I am not allowed to walk through with inspector and he is only permited to do his job after my inspection. Well, I got the PCI appointment on Friday and my builder promised to open door for my inspector on following Monday. I had no complaint as long as they have an arrangement with my inspector, and I can have my report done. Back to the PCI scene, I arrived with some blue tapes on the walls and defects area already where indicates that adjustment and touchup needed to be done. My SS had already done his initial inspection and placed those tapes. What he needed to do was to bring my arround my house and let me find out more. I did find a few more defects but no more than little cracks, chips, gaps ETC.... all of those were noted on his defect note. Well, we walked through the whole process in a little bit more than an hour which for me was so minimal. I had brought a really long list found from this forum and it was enough for me to do checking for at least 3 hours. I have not even had finished my first page. He did walk me through inside and outside area, but after that, it was straight to the signing bit. I requested to allow me another 15mins to quickly running through my variation/upgrade items, he said to me that I could stay in there as long as I wished after he left. But the point is that, he wanted to leave with my signature on the defect notes. That made no sense to me, as IMO if I had signed that form, that meant I agreed to have those items to be fixed. But for me, the list was incompleted. I rejected to put my name on it, but mentioned if he could put 'and any other defects noted by independent inspector....' at the end of his list, I would sign on it. Of course he refused to add this item as he would not know what is to be on my inspector's report, but they would follow up the findings of report if they are reasonable. I again asked him to put something in writting, he rejected. So nothing could be compomised for that afternoon, and we walked away without name signed. The excitment turned out to be disappointment and time wasted, for both of us. Don't know what to expect now, but I will have another leave from work for next monday and to do the checking with my inspector. Don't know what my SS will say then, but I will expect some hard ball needs to be played. Would like to know if any of you have good/bad experience in PCI? or any one have been in the same situation like myself? How did you cope with it? or am I simply thinking too much and screwed the whole thing up?? Is there any way to protect ourselves from major defects? Cheers, Frankie Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 2Sep 13, 2010 10:30 pm Hi Frankie, We were a little luckier in that we had the independent inspection done prior to the PCI, so we had the list to show the SS. But....the SS only recorded about 5 "major" items out of the 30 or so we had from the inspector. Having said that though, you should have a defect period in which you can catalog all of the issues (including those from your inspector) and present them to the builder at the end of the period. That's not to say they'll accept everything, but ours certainly did for a large amount of them As to how to cope with it - at the end of the day, we had to believe that if the builder didn't live up to expectations, we could take it further (eg. Dept of Fair Trading). Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 3Sep 14, 2010 1:04 am C&C Hi Frankie, We were a little luckier in that we had the independent inspection done prior to the PCI, so we had the list to show the SS. But....the SS only recorded about 5 "major" items out of the 30 or so we had from the inspector. Having said that though, you should have a defect period in which you can catalog all of the issues (including those from your inspector) and present them to the builder at the end of the period. That's not to say they'll accept everything, but ours certainly did for a large amount of them As to how to cope with it - at the end of the day, we had to believe that if the builder didn't live up to expectations, we could take it further (eg. Dept of Fair Trading). Thanks for your reply. Wasn't that very odd for them not allowing my inspector to do his job before my walk through? IMO, that only made me more determine to get my inspection report before signing anything. Well, at least to prove them not hiding any major defects. Seriously, it was so suspecious in first place. I was advised by my inspector and some of my friends saying that don't pay the builder until they fix the defects to satisfactory level, otherwise I would never be able to get them come back. It sounds right at first but after reading some useful info from internet, I realised that is even not an option to consider. There is a law protecting builders from not being paid, even though the final build is defective. Basically If I don't pay what they claim for, I lose my standing point and have no right for any repair. Yes you are right, we can always take it further. But I believe most of us do not have such amount of time to worry about it, and unfortunately that is what builders want. Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 4Sep 15, 2010 2:51 pm Our inspector noted about 10 items at the frame inspection, and then he narrowed it down to only 2 major ones and suggested we ask for those to get fixed. He still included the others in his report, but didn't say they had to be fixed. So then the builder feels he's getting a "discount" - 10 defects found, and he only has to fix 2 And we got both those items fixed. They were some roof trusses that were leaning beyond the acceptable angle, and some studs placed a little too far apart (they had tried to get away with 2 where they should have used 3). Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 5Sep 17, 2010 1:52 pm I am after the same type of assistance, we are up to roof timbers completed and have just sent through our latest report to our builders who have not even rectified or acknowledged properly any of our brickwork items that we raised from 2 weeks ago. Our inspector has told us that the builders must fix all the items of note if we have asked them to but after our 2nd supervisor on the job quitting we have had a severe lack of correspondence. Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 6Sep 17, 2010 4:11 pm Having learned the hard way on a few things to do with building, and having friends go through similar experiences, I would do three things: * Organise a time to visit the site supervisor on site and point out the issues in the report. * Write a letter to the builder and request that the issues be fixed as soon as possible - I don't know if you did that initially or just sent through the report. Be specific in your letter with references to your contract - your interpretation of the contract may not be correct (don't get me started on that...), but it can work for you. * Give your customer service officer a call - if you can never get through, then speak to the receptionist (I think all building companies would have one). When you get in contact with one of them, tell them you are sending the letter (email or fax) and wait until they confirm it has arrived. Keep a note somewhere of the person you spoke to and when...a diary is very beneficial! The builders may still do nothing, but at least you've conveyed the problems in writing which will be of benefit to you later if the problems are major. On a personal note, I think you need to be prepared for problems to occur which may delay when you get to move into your new house - going back to my first response, at the end of the day the builder has rules and regulations to follow and if they don't, then you can take further action. On the flip side, you need to give them time to react. While the lack of communication is frustrating, it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't doing anything. With any luck, things have been booked and the problems will be fixed and you just haven't been informed yet. The process will always cause stress, but all you can do is continually be watching and pointing out when things aren't going well. Keep your chin up, wait for the magical day when the house is yours, and don't settle for just leaving messages - keep calling until you get a person. Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 7May 22, 2012 7:19 pm Hi All, We have completed our Frame stage inspection with our independent inspector and he found 8 issues and 6 are major issues according to Australian standards. and report summery says, "SUMMARY -There are a number of items in this report which in my opinion should be completed to be able to receive a mandatory frame approval. A pre plaster inspection should be completed to allow for these items to be checked off." But when i spoke to my site supervisor he says they already got mandatory frame approval passed and no need to fix issues in inspection report provide my inspector. So what can i do . Is there any legal action can i take. Any advice please. Thanks in Advance. Nicole Nicole1983 Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 8Jun 03, 2012 4:28 pm Hi guys, Our independent inspector found 16 issues and our SS saying he will not fix any issues and all issues are rubbish. When I went to the site today I found Kitchen Bulkhead had been totally removed and plasters been done. I got really upset as kitchen looks awful without bulkhead. Then I called to SS and he said me inspector ask him to remove the Bulkhead. But when i look in to the report it doesn't say to remove bulkhead. It say just move the bulkhead 300mm …. And SS telling me if we need Kitchen Bulkhead back we have to pay him. When i ask to show him to prove the written document where mention Kitchen Bulkhead have to be removed. He is saying me "yes you are correct i don't have any proof, But if you go to legal action i will stop work for three weeks and drag your home whole 9 months as contract says and he will charge 15% interest on late payment as we haven't paid Frame stage invoice. And that way you have to pay more interest to the bank than paying Kitchen Bulkhead”. He was trying to bully me. I am really disappointed about all this, as end of the day we spent money for the inspection and no issue is fixed and also some items of the house also been removed (Kitchen Bulkhead) Any advice on above is appreciated. Nicole1983 Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 10Jun 07, 2012 12:44 pm Short answer is get your own private inspector with the right knowledge, qualifications and experience that will enable you to compel builder to rectify defects. If your inspectors are ignored they are a pushover and obviously not up to the job. There is plenty of them around. 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: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 11Jun 07, 2012 2:26 pm Thanks guys for all your help...Now dr5ama begins... Which one is structurally more superior than another,Bulkhead above the kitchen cupboards is MDF or Plaster boards (frame) ? 2550mm ceiling height and this is new construction. Originaly my Builder has done Bulkhead above the kitchen cupboards using Plaster (Frame). After Pre plaster inspection done by private inspector, his report says, "There have not been any noggins installed between the wall studs under the bulkhead/drop ceiling trimmers to the Kitchen to pick up and support the edges of the plaster wall sheets.The relevant Australian Standard AS/NZS 2589.1 Gypsum Linings In Residential and Light Commercial Construction – Application and Finishing , clause 7.6.2 Spacing, requires that ‘Plasterboard shall be fastened at a maximum of 300mm centres for internal angles, external corners and around openings’. Given the spacing of the existing studs, noggins will need to be installed so that the edges of the wall sheets can be securely fixed to the wall framing at their required centres." So what my builder did was he removed whole bulk head done by Plaster and he is telling me he will do it using MDF . So i don't know which method is good. Please help me on this. Thanks. Nicole Nicole1983 Re: How to get builder to fix defects noted by inspector 12Jun 09, 2012 5:21 pm I'd eat your inspector for breakfast and chew over his remains for lunch. He's ignored the fact that AS2589.1 is not referenced by the Building Code of Australia and is thus not enforceable *unless* specified in the contract documentation. If anything the applicable reference would be the plasterboard manufacturer's specifications, which may indeed reference AS2589.1. It's likely that the contract documentation states that "all products to be installed in full accordance with the product manufacturer's specifications" or similar, and the manufacturer's specifications may reference AS2589.1. If this were the case then he would have grounds to make the comment that he has - but he hasn't outlined the heirarchy of authority explaining the basis on which AS2589.1 can be referenced. I can therefore understand the supervisor getting annoyed, though his response in removing the bulkhead seems very unprofessional. MDF for the bulkhead will be fine. That's what 99% of commercial shopfront fitouts use. I would send it to the certifier who is technically your representative and working on your behalf not the builder's 1 2265 Hi All, I engaged a tradie to install concrete retaining wall 600-800mm high over 32 meters in Victoria. Sleepers are 200*75*2000 mm installed over 17 steel posts. I… 0 6901 1 9474 |