Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 29, 2024 2:56 pm We are in the pre contract stage with Masterton Homes and conerned about the cost of hydraulics. Wondering if anyone can answer the following: How much and and for what have you been charged related to hydraulics? Is the plumbing to connecting the water tank to the garden taps and toilet included in the basic price or extra? We are in a flood zone requiring the house to be raised roughly 1 metre, so plenty of flow rate. Appreciate any feedback, we are starting to worry about the price blowing out. Re: Masterton Homes Hydraulics 2Mar 29, 2024 10:46 pm Your "Hydraulics" would most likely relate to Clause 5.6 of AS/NZS 3500.2 Stable / Unstable Soils & AS2870 Clause 5.6.3 Drainage requirements. 5.6 states a site that has fill (developers or builders fill) is classed as unstable by the plumbing code, the same code does not provide a Deemed-to-Satisfy solution to address the stability of the soil. Therefore a Performance Based Solution (PBS) is required to show how the bearing of the soil can support the drainage. Most engineers over the past 10-15 years have detailed straps to support the drainage connected to the slab mesh....YEP.. and it NEVER gets installed. NSW Fair Trading also realise it doesn't get installed and has stated this is not an acceptable solution and will not approve it! (THIS CLAUSE IS ONLY RELATED TO FILL AND STABILITY OF SOIL. NOTHING TO DO WITH REACTIVITY OF SOIL) AS2870 Clause 5.6.3 states the engineer must consider the reactivity of the soil and the risk broken drainage will have on the performance of the slab if the soil movement causes stress on the pipe system and breaks it, (causing abnormal moisture to a pocket under the house.). So, 2870 advises to install expansion joints and flexible joints. The problem is this is not included in the AS/NZS3500 plumbing code. (THIS PART RELATES ONLY TO THE REACTIVITY OF THE SOIL H1, H2 & E. NOTHING TO DO WITH FILL) SO..the builder must build to ALL standards/codes for a compliant house. The engineer must design to AS2870 and the soil classification report, & The plumber must lay drainage as per AS/NZS3500 which does not acknowledge the existence of AS2870. Fair Trading or the Council Plumbing inspector is not inspecting the house against all the relevant codes they are inspecting the drainage (AS/NZS3500 ....No Expansion/Flexi Joints.) Therefore a Performance Based Solution (PBS) is required to show how the drainage, with the aid of expansion joints and flex joints achieve or betters, the performance requirements of the Plumbing Code of Australia (Volume 3, part of the National Construction Code). The fact is, this is actually two totally different clauses dealing with two totally different problems, but currently most people in the industry think it is the same single problem. It's Not! The PBS masterton is using is a very expensive one, it doesn't need to be but it is! If you are on a H1, H2 or E class soil and your builder is not making the plumber install them you have a ticking time bomb! Hope this helps We are Expert Consultant's, and we are here to help. Re: Masterton Homes Hydraulics 3Mar 30, 2024 6:50 am BuildingandLegal Your "Hydraulics" would most likely relate to Clause 5.6 of AS/NZS 3500.2 Stable / Unstable Soils & AS2870 Clause 5.6.3 Drainage requirements. 5.6 states a site that has fill (developers or builders fill) is classed as unstable by the plumbing code, the same code does not provide a Deemed-to-Satisfy solution to address the stability of the soil. Therefore a Performance Based Solution (PBS) is required to show how the bearing of the soil can support the drainage. Most engineers over the past 10-15 years have detailed straps to support the drainage connected to the slab mesh....YEP.. and it NEVER gets installed. NSW Fair Trading also realise it doesn't get installed and has stated this is not an acceptable solution and will not approve it! (THIS CLAUSE IS ONLY RELATED TO FILL AND STABILITY OF SOIL. NOTHING TO DO WITH REACTIVITY OF SOIL) AS2870 Clause 5.6.3 states the engineer must consider the reactivity of the soil and the risk broken drainage will have on the performance of the slab if the soil movement causes stress on the pipe system and breaks it, (causing abnormal moisture to a pocket under the house.). So, 2870 advises to install expansion joints and flexible joints. The problem is this is not included in the AS/NZS3500 plumbing code. (THIS PART RELATES ONLY TO THE REACTIVITY OF THE SOIL H1, H2 & E. NOTHING TO DO WITH FILL) SO..the builder must build to ALL standards/codes for a compliant house. The engineer must design to AS2870 and the soil classification report, & The plumber must lay drainage as per AS/NZS3500 which does not acknowledge the existence of AS2870. Fair Trading or the Council Plumbing inspector is not inspecting the house against all the relevant codes they are inspecting the drainage (AS/NZS3500 ....No Expansion/Flexi Joints.) Therefore a Performance Based Solution (PBS) is required to show how the drainage, with the aid of expansion joints and flex joints achieve or betters, the performance requirements of the Plumbing Code of Australia (Volume 3, part of the National Construction Code). The fact is, this is actually two totally different clauses dealing with two totally different problems, but currently most people in the industry think it is the same single problem. It's Not! The PBS masterton is using is a very expensive one, it doesn't need to be but it is! If you are on a H1, H2 or E class soil and your builder is not making the plumber install them you have a ticking time bomb! Hope this helps Thank you for this. Certainly different to what we believed it to be, we had been experiencing difficulty getting an explaination. The site is classified Class P. They will be using fill to bring the site to the required flood level height but we don't know what soil type the fill will be used. Re: Masterton Homes Hydraulics 4Mar 31, 2024 7:01 pm P is a site classification (Problem) it could be trees, fill, all sorts of things. The reactivity of the soils brought in will probably equal a H1 or H2 (2 most likely). The fill automatically triggers Clause 5.6 (but any builders earthworks actually triggers 5.6). The fill should be laid down as controlled. 150mm fill, water, vibrate roll, 150mm fill, water, vibrate roll, etc etc. This is called controlled Fill. If this is done you can have a field density test on each 500mm rise confirming a minimum of 92%, which negate the requirement for piers. We are Expert Consultant's, and we are here to help. Ask for references and speak to them. 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