Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Possible big problems :( 41Jul 05, 2013 3:47 pm Thanks so much Tezzab. If the worst that has to happen is we have an awesome deck and better views then I guess I'd deal with that! I think there are definitely some more conversations to be had with the engineers and builders and all that. It's just frustrating to be thinking about this now, after council has approved it all and I'm kicking myself for not keeping my options open a little earlier. There are always going to be lessons learned in this process, it's a tricky thing to master. Perhaps I'm getting far too ahead of myself and everyone knows what's going on, it's just me who's left panicking in the dark. At any rate thanks everyone for helping me understand everything a bit better and also some of the options we have to come up with solutions if there are definitely issues. If anyone still has stuff to add I want to know! Information is power as they say. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Possible big problems :( 42Jul 05, 2013 7:41 pm Bluesuede building-expert Excellent advice from robbie55 "People trust everything you say until something you say is not true then they trust nothing you say" I don't know who said that first but it's true. J Gillard could have learned from that. I think you have lost the trust in builder one, move on. With respect, without seeing the site plan from builder one you have no idea whether it is builder one or builder two that is full of it. We don't know whether builder one has proposed cut and fill and retaining wall or just cut and retaining wall in their design. Sounds like builder two is proposing only fill and in my opinion clearly has no idea if he thinks a metre fall over an entire block is a major issue requiring a complete redesign of the house. Without more information from the OP I don't think anyone can pass judgement on either builder. We don't have all the facts. You may be recommending the OP go with the worse of two options by suggesting they dump the first builder. Good point Bluesuede and valid as well but I was referring to the OP sentiment and sentiment too is important. Clearly by judging what was written the sentiment is not good. "At any rate I am enraged that Original builder never went and checked this. We have been talking to Original builder for the last 6 months about this house on this block and the plan has not changed the entire time. If he was serious about building our house like New builder is, he would have double checked and not just assumed. I am also upset that nothing was picked up by the engineers. " 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: Possible big problems :( 43Jul 05, 2013 8:43 pm Bluesuede Ok. Then in that case I'd be steering clear. Any engineer designing a slab and edge beam depth with no site survey, no soil survey and no idea of natural ground height is only opening themselves up to litigation when structural faults occur down the track. Extremely unprofessional and downright d0dgy. Apologies for cutting in but I'm really interested in a couple of points here. We had no contour survey done before building and there was a lot of trouble when it came to laying the slab because the site levels were wrong. Is it normal then for an engineer to have the results of a contour survey before they can do the engineering plans? Re: Possible big problems :( 44Jul 05, 2013 9:23 pm I'm not sure how you would even commence the engineering or plans for the house without the contours. You couldn't design a house based on a flat block if there was a 2m fall. To the OP, I wouldn't worry too much, everything can be fixed. However you'd rather over engineer than under engineer the footing. Re: Possible big problems :( 45Jul 05, 2013 9:38 pm I think the point is being missed here The professional in charge is building designer. It is building professional designer's job to assess the site topography, features, services, access,boundaries etc etc then order soil tests and then engineering. The problem is that builders designing for themselves don't need to hire building designers, so they get cowboys because they are cheaper but you get rubbish that OP is talking about. Over engineering sounds like playing it nice and safe until you realise it could be tens of thousands extra. The trick is to get it right. 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: Possible big problems :( 46Jul 05, 2013 10:10 pm Liliana- What I picked up when I spoke to the engineers assistant this afternoon is that they usually just go out and take levels from the corners of where the building is, like builder 2 did. The difference in this case is that the corners of our build are entirely different to the corners in the original build and they did not re-do the levels when they did ours because they had 'done them already'. I still have to speak to the head engineer and confirm if this was the case but I'm very sure that this is where our 'discount' came in. 'We will, however, make a reduction of 20% from our standard fee in recognition of the information we already have on the site.' As for your situation, they clearly got the levels wrong when they went out to do that. Obviously a site survey is more accurate so these kinds of mistakes don't happen but are more expensive then just getting levels at each corner. That's my understanding anyway. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Possible big problems :( 47Jul 05, 2013 10:22 pm I guess the point I'm making is that this clearly does happen, engineering without a survey, but it's prone to mistakes and inaccuracy which is why the contour surveys are so important. The previous architect will have one so if we still need more information by the time they get back late next week I will contact them to ask for it. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Possible big problems :( 48Jul 06, 2013 1:47 pm Yes, from our experience contour surveys are important. Our engineer did not come out to take any levels as far as I know though, looking through our plans, the building designer did estimate the fall and he may have been operating on her information. I'm not sure where she got this information from. Anyway it turned out to be wrong and wasn't addressed until the day they were to pour the slab when all hell broke loose. So builder 2 has done you a service in at least raising the issue for you. Re: Possible big problems :( 50Jul 06, 2013 3:21 pm Those kinds of drawings give me a headache. Well I think the lesson might be at any given point someone has to actually go to the block and accurately check the levels, preferably before you go to pour the slab! Well I'm just glad we did get builder 2 in because we would have been in the same position as you probably. What did you end up having to do? Did the engineer have to redesign? Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Possible big problems :( 51Jul 06, 2013 6:34 pm Hi Imille32, There was no re-engineering. A big argument between the builder and the building designer and then, to save the builder money, the house was taken off the boundary and we ended up paying for the new drawings and the building surveyor approval, and the money we spent on getting an R & C for the house to be on boundary went down the drain. The builder and the designer had different versions of what had gone wrong and we could never really get to the bottom of it. In hindsight we should have said we wanted everything to stop until we had a proper resolution but I felt sorry for the builder at the time. (A big mistake.) But it is still having repercussions for us because the garage is much lower than the rest of the house and now that we are trying to pave we have realised that we are going to have to put steps up and down around the house to get the required clearance from ground level to floor level. Re: Possible big problems :( 52Jul 06, 2013 9:36 pm Wow that really does sound like a nightmare. We're lucky then that this is getting sorted sooner rather then later. I can understand feeling sorry for the builder and that sort of thing, you start developing a relationship and you place your trust in them so it's really hard to keep a cool head and think objectively a lot of the time and in the heat of the moment when there is an issue like that I imagine it was extremely hard to decide what to do. Just reinforces the importance of checking and double checking everything *sigh* it's so hard to trust anyone! Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Possible big problems :( 54Jul 17, 2013 11:50 am Nothing quite yet. Builder 2 is waiting for a day when the concreter is free so they can go together and figure out a solution. Builder 1 has not yet replied to my email where I detailed my concerns about what Builder 2 has raised, we're pretty sick of Builder 1 to be honest. Really impressed with 2's attention to detail, I've been asked more questions by him about the build then I knew existed in the world! Will post more when I know the final outcome! Hopefully it's all sorted before the loans manager gets back 1st week of August. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar You can wash over existing pavers with 10% solution of water and hydrochloric acid, then wash off. The acid will provide for required bond key with new concrete. 1 37349 0 12343 Hi so sorry for the late reply. I already contacted them and they wouldn't tell me instead they tried to get me to talk to one of their home coordinators and I'm not… 2 6173 |