Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Apr 08, 2016 2:45 pm Recently I inspected new home at pre final stage. Owner and his wife came along and in the language I could not understand she was whingeing all along picking out minutest of details. Builder was there too, old timer and not worried about me being there saying he knew he did a good job. I completed inspection and yes builder had made some blunders and it was by no means perfect but in all important respects it presented as a premium job (way better than many project jobs I see). So the next job was to review plans and specifications to determine conformance. I pulled out the specification and it was only a basic two coat paint finish on ceilings and walls. Then I confronted the wife and explained that this was actually finished to a premium finish and way above what she signed off and that she got more that she paid. That silenced her and put a smile on husbands face (or perhaps my assessment did). On the way out builder was whingeing that there was no more money in building. Perhaps if he wasn't father Christmas giving away premium for the price of basic he may have an easier life. I told him he was looking old enough to be retired , why was he still working? Separation he said, there you are some have all the luck. So what's the moral of this story? Here we had builder who produced genuinely good job but wasn't making any money on it because he was giving it away too cheap. On the other hand we had owners who got premium without paying for it and ungrateful for it. As always I recommended that where the builder has done a good job, owners should reciprocate with grace. Lets hope they do. 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 do you get it right? 2Apr 11, 2016 12:22 pm building-expert Separation he said, there you are some have all the luck. So what's the moral of this story? Here we had builder who produced genuinely good job but wasn't making any money on it because he was giving it away too cheap. Old timer - no surprises there. Find me a young guy with that attitude ? I'm putting a new floor in my kitchen, slate flagging on a standard concrete slab. I have allowed for a bed thickness of up to 20mm to accommodate the different… 0 17538 They using concrete or timber sleepers? Timber or steel uprights? Any drainage behind sleeper? 3 5863 Thanks for that, the PVC pipe is still about 40cm below ground level and it sticks out of the sand with no end cap or anything on it just open pipe, is this the finished… 2 9571 |