Browse Forums Building A New House Re: New build questions 6Oct 26, 2021 5:50 pm ez007 Hi All, im new here and almost completed my first home build! Never again, its been a disaster! but you people seem to know your stuff so i wanted to ask a few basic questions about issues we are having. Issue 1 = concrete 3 months after pouring our driveway still has "wet patches" that look like the concrete hasn't dried. the builder claims it looks fine to him. wont fix it also the alfresco has been poured with a 70mm overall fall towards the house, so now water pools along the bricks, and doesnt drain. builders comment = it passed the building inspection so he cant do anything for us. issue 2 = bathroom mirror this is a long one so bear with me. The window in the bathroom was shown on our chosen plans between 2 mirrors. the builders suggested we move this window above the mirror, as it looks better, so we said sure move the window above the mirror. now that the build is completed we walk into the bathroom and notice you can only see from your chin down in the mirror, they put the window too low, and now it's a bathroom for midgets. do we have a leg to stand on here? builders comment = we signed the contract, so we should have picked this up.... they are the builders, shouldn't they have picked this up? issue 3 = water tank our estate has to have a water tank, so yep fine we tell the builder that and they agree to connect the tank. Our contract says "colourbond down pipes" yet upon building they install plastic down pipes. we ask why and they say for the tank to be connected properly they have to be plastic. Ok cool, not ideal but we like the idea of saving money with the water tank so we say ok. Now they have only connected the water tank to one down pipe at the back of the house, and we have had 100ml of rain this week, and the tank has barely got a drop in it. builders comment = no one hooks all of the downpipes upto the water tank issue 4 = insurance the builder got the occupancy cert yesterday, and now claims we need to apply for house insurance even though we have not paid the last payment yet, because of all of the above issues. My google searching makes me believe its not upto me to insure a home i dont yet own? I could go on and on with complaints, but these are the three i really need to be resolved. Anyone have any tips for working with (or against) the builder to get this stuff sorted? Thanks, everyone Hi ez007 , It sounds like a building defect. You might engage a building expert. A building expert can inspect the work to assess if there are defects. If there are defects then the expert can make a report that explains the basis of the defect. If the Builder refuses to rectify the defect then you can rely on the report at the Tribunal. You can seek legal advice from a construction lawyer to enforce your rights. Cheers, John Get sound legal advice. We manage Building Disputes, Construction Contracts, Security of Payment. PM for queries. https://www.contractsspecialist.com.au/articles/ Hi Suku18 In NSW the statutory required insurances are: 1. HBCF ( Home Building Compensation Fund) - This is if the builder dies or goes broke. But this only covers 20%… 1 1278 Personally, considering your layout (study/work desks in bedrooms), I don't think you have any other option but to leave NW windows and make them as big as possible e.g.… 7 7844 We had this happen to us last year and got charged a variation. Try and give away as much as you can that is usable to charity otherwise if you are in Sydney I have a… 1 3287 |